Fishes of New Mexicoi
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Threatened and Endangered Fishes of New MexicoI BY DAVID L. PROPST ILLUSTRATED BY W. HOWARD BRANDENBURG MAPS BY AMBER L. HOBBES ◆ EDITED BY PAUL C. MARSH TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 1 1999 NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND FISH STATE OF NEW MEXICO: Gary E. Johnson, Governor STATE GAME COMMISSION: William H. Brininstool, Chairman ◆ Jal Gail J. Cramer ◆ Farmington Steve Padilla ◆ Albuquerque Dr. William E. Schuler ◆ Albuquerque George A. Ortega ◆ Santa Fe Bud Hettinga ◆ Las Cruces Stephen E. Doerr ◆ Portales DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND FISH: Gerald A. Maracchini, Director CONSERVATION SERVICES DIVISION: Andrew V. Sandoval, Chief $10.00 1999 Threatened and Endangered FISHES of New Mexico ◆ 1 Propst, D.L. 1999. Threatened and endangered fishes of New Mexico. Tech. Rpt. No. 1. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Santa Fe, NM. 84 pp. Cover by NoBul Graphics, Albuquerque, NM. Design and production by Janelle Harden, The Studio, Albuquerque, NM. Publication and printing supported by the Turner Foundation, Atlanta, GA. In part, a contribution of Federal Aid in Fish and Wildlife Restoration., Project FW–17–RD. Contents may be reprinted if credit is given to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Complete copies may be purchased for $10.00 U.S. (see address below). Make checks payable to “New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.” Conservation Services Division New Mexico Department of Game and Fish P.O. Box 25112 Santa Fe, NM 87504 (505) 827-7882 2 ◆ New Mexico Department of Game and Fish FORWARD Threatened and Endangered Fishes of New a major concern. Over half of the rivers in New Mexico Mexico by Dr. David L. Propst represents the first in do not meet designated or attainable uses. One-sixth this new series of technical reports by the Department of the state's surface waters exceed the acute numeric of Game and Fish. A treatise on the state's threatened water quality standards for toxic substances. The and endangered fishes for the Department's first tech- causes of surface water quality degradation include nical report is appropriate. With the exception of in- loss of riparian habitats, streambank destabilization, vertebrates, the native fish fauna is the most imper- and siltation. Nonpoint source pollution is responsible iled of the state's wildlife. For example, 43% of the for 96% of the impairment of New Mexico's streams. native fishes of the Rio Grande in New Mexico have Man and his activities have had a significant im- been extirpated or are extinct, one species is listed as pact on New Mexico's aquatic ecosystems, resulting endangered, and all others have declined substantially. in negative impacts, directly or indirectly, to the na- This report describes the biogeography and the tive fishes of the state. Despite the passage of numer- native icythofaunal diversity of New Mexico, includ- ous state and federal laws to protect our environment, ing extinct and extirpated species. The report presents the quality and quantity of aquatic habitat continues an overview of the status, distribution, biology, threats to decrease. Habitat loss, habitat degradation, and and conservation initiatives for 23 fish species listed fragmentation translate to decreased biological di- as threatened or endangered under New Mexico's versity. Thus, maintaining biological diversity is es- Wildlife Conservation Act. sential to prevent further extinction and for the re- New Mexico is an inhospitable place for fishes, covery of New Mexico's threatened and endangered averaging 13 inches of rainfall per year; it is the third fishes. most arid state in the nation. Ninety-seven percent of The Department's strategy to increase public the 88 million acre feet of water that enters the state awareness of, and appreciation for, the state's wild- annually is lost to evaporation. In spite of this, Dr. life prompted this technical reports series. We recog- Propst notes that New Mexico supports one of the nized that a great gulf of misunderstanding exists re- most diverse native icthyofauna of any interior south- garding conservation of endangered species. This con- western state. Some 66 species of native fish are known tributes to the difficulty in implementing effective to have occurred in New Mexico's waters, although conservation and recovery programs. It is our sincere 11 of these are presently extirpated or extinct. hope that this report will not only offer the scientific Concern for the conservation and recovery of en- community and interested publics insight to the plight dangered fishes has grown in direct proportion to the of our native fishes and the complex issues of endan- increasing rate and scale of extinction and habitat loss. gered species conservation, but that it will also inspire Many of the native riverine fish assemblages in New further appreciation and support for their continuing Mexico have been adversely affected by habitat modi- conservation. With this report, Dr. Propst makes a sig- fication resulting from stream impoundments, nificant contribution to the arena of endangered fishes channelization, and diversions, which drastically al- biology and conservation in New Mexico. I am proud tered natural flow regimes. The introduction of non- to be part of this important effort. native fish species has substantially changed commu- nity structure through competition, displacement, and Andrew V. Sandoval, hybridization. Impairment of surface water quality is Chief Conservation Services Division 1999 Threatened and Endangered FISHES of New Mexico ◆ 3 4 ◆ New Mexico Department of Game and Fish TABLE OF CONTENTS DIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO FISHES AND AQUATIC HABITATS ................................................ 7 BIOGEOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................... 8 SOUTH CANADIAN RIVER ........................................................................................... 8 PECOS RIVER .................................................................................................................... 9 RIO GRANDE ................................................................................................................... 11 TULAROSA BASIN .......................................................................................................... 11 MIMBRES RIVER ............................................................................................................. 12 SAN JUAN RIVER ........................................................................................................... 12 ZUNI RIVER ..................................................................................................................... 13 GILA RIVER ...................................................................................................................... 13 THREATS ....................................................................................................................................... 13 CONSERVATION.......................................................................................................................... 15 EXPLANATORY NOTES AND CONVENTIONS ................................................................................. 16 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................ 17 SPECIES ACCOUNTS GILA CHUB ................................................................................................................................... 18 CHIHUAHUA CHUB .................................................................................................................. 20 ROUNDTAIL CHUB .................................................................................................................... 23 RIO GRANDE SILVERY MINNOW .......................................................................................... 26 ARKANSAS RIVER SPECKLED CHUB ................................................................................... 29 SPIKEDACE ................................................................................................................................... 31 ARKANSAS RIVER SHINER ..................................................................................................... 34 PECOS BLUNTNOSE SHINER .................................................................................................. 36 SUCKERMOUTH MINNOW ..................................................................................................... 39 SOUTHERN REDBELLY DACE ................................................................................................. 41 COLORADO PIKEMINNOW .................................................................................................... 43 LOACH MINNOW ...................................................................................................................... 46 1999 Threatened and Endangered FISHES of New Mexico ◆ 5 ZUNI BLUEHEAD SUCKER ...................................................................................................... 49 BLUE SUCKER .............................................................................................................................. 52 GRAY REDHORSE ....................................................................................................................... 54 MEXICAN TETRA........................................................................................................................ 56 GILA TROUT ................................................................................................................................