Year 1 Report for 'Conserving Texas Biodiversity: Status, Trends, And
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Year 1 report for ‘Conserving Texas Biodiversity: Status, Trends, and Conservation Planning for Fishes of Greatest Conservation Need’ PI – Dean A. Hendrickson, Curator of Ichthyology, University of Texas Austin, Department of Integrative Biology, Biodiversity Collections (Texas Natural History Collections - TNHC), 10100 Burnet Rd., PRC176EAST/R4000, Austin, Texas 78758-4445; tel: 512-471-9774; email: [email protected]; co-authors - Gary P. Garrett; Ben J. Labay; Adam E. Cohen, Melissa Casarez (all same affiliation as PI) TPWD Project Leader: Timothy Birdsong, Habitat Conservation Branch – Inland Fisheries Division, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744. [email protected]. Phone 512 389-4744. Funded by: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department through U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service State Wildlife Grant Program, grant TX T-106-1 (CFDA# 15.634) Contract/Project Number: Contract No. 459125 UTA14-001402 Reporting Period: September 1, 2014 through August 31, 2015 Submitted: December 31, 2015 Hendrickson et al. 2015. Year 1 State Wildlife Grant report - Conserving Texas Biodiversity: Status, Trends, and Conservation Planning for Fishes of Greatest Conservation Need Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................... i List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. vii Activity 1. Coordinate and Facilitate Science and Conservation Actions for Conserving Texas Biodiversity ...................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Year 1 Outcomes ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Expand and strengthen UT-TPWD coordination. .............................................................................. 1 2. Establish the collaborative relationship between UT and TPWD ..................................................... 1 3. Provide data-supported recommendations to TPWD for fishes in the anticipated updates to the Texas Conservation Action Plan (supports activities 2, 3 and 4). ......................................................... 1 4. Integrate specimens, datasets and feedback from resource managers and other FoTX stakeholders to increase overall size of FoTX database, especially with newer records, and facilitate improved data flow between FoTX and TPWD. ............................................................................................................ 1 5. Continue cleaning and normalizing FoTX Project online database records...................................... 4 Activity 2. Identify Priority Geographic Management Units for Conserving Fishes of Greatest Conservation Need .............................................................................................................................................................. 5 Year 1 Outcomes ....................................................................................................................................... 5 1. Identify and propose Native Fish Conservation Areas for the portions of Texas where spatial prioritization analysis has not yet been conducted. ............................................................................. 5 2. New species distribution models for SGCN taxa ............................................................................... 6 3. Prioritization assessment for SGCN fishes in Texas .......................................................................... 6 4. Native Fish Conservation Areas ........................................................................................................ 8 Activity 3. Develop Monitoring and Conservation Plans for Native Fish Conservation Areas .................... 10 Year 1 Outcomes ..................................................................................................................................... 10 1. Monitoring and conservation plans for Native Fish Conservation Areas ....................................... 10 Activity 4. Conduct Field-Based Surveys Detailed Biodiversity Assessments (i.e. Bioblitzing), and Citizen-Based Monitoring .................................................................................................................................................. 11 Year 1 Outcomes ..................................................................................................................................... 14 4.1. Field-Based Surveys ....................................................................................................................... 14 Fish sampling in under-sampled areas indicated by FoTX database analyses .................................... 14 4 .2 . Detailed Biodiversity Assessments (i.e., Bioblitzing) ................................................................... 16 Bioblitz within the Nueces River headwaters ..................................................................................... 16 Bioblitz within the Big Cypress Creek basin ........................................................................................ 16 Bioblitz within the Village Creek basin ................................................................................................ 17 4.3 Citizen-Based Monitoring ............................................................................................................... 17 Develop guidelines and best practices for citizen-based monitoring to ensure that data are provided in a format that supports species identification, scientists trained to use iNaturalist and in fish ID. ...................................................................................................................................... 17 Annual report for Texas Parks and Wildlife / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service State Wildlife Grant TX T-106-1 (CFDA# 15.634) Contract/Project No. 459125 UTA14-001402 Page i Hendrickson et al. 2015. Year 1 State Wildlife Grant report - Conserving Texas Biodiversity: Status, Trends, and Conservation Planning for Fishes of Greatest Conservation Need Promote citizen-based monitoring via iNaturalist forums, expert workshops, Master Naturalists, etc. ............................................................................................................................................................ 20 Develop a fact sheet with guidance on processing photographic observations into iNaturalist. ...... 21 Provide identification verification and other recommendations on data provided through online collaboration with iNaturalist users .................................................................................................... 23 Literature Cited ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Appendix 1 - Species of Greatest Conservation Need – updated ............................................................... 25 Appendix 2 - Conservation Plans for Great Plains NFCAs ........................................................................... 55 Conservation Activities and Monitoring Guidelines for the Southern Plains Native Fish Conservation Areas ....................................................................................................................................................... 55 Objective 1: Protect and maintain intact, healthy habitats ................................................................ 55 Objective 2: Restore impacted habitats.............................................................................................. 56 Objective 3: Restore stream and habitat connectivity ....................................................................... 57 Objective 4: Mitigate effects of invasive species ................................................................................ 57 Objective 5: Organize networks of public and private landowners .................................................... 57 Objective 6: Develop conservation demonstration areas .................................................................. 57 Objective 7: Conduct research to fill critical information gaps .......................................................... 58 Objective 8: Adaptive management and reporting ............................................................................ 58 Fishes of the (upper) Brazos River NFCA................................................................................................. 59 Macrhybopsis hyostoma ..................................................................................................................... 60 Notropis buccula ................................................................................................................................. 60 Notropis oxyrhynchus ......................................................................................................................... 61 Notropis potteri .................................................................................................................................. 62 Notropis shumardi .............................................................................................................................