Watershed-scale Conservation of Native Fishes in the Basin, Texas

Kevin Mayes, TPWD Gene Wilde, TTU Monica McGarrity, TPWD Brad Wolaver and Todd Caldwell, UT-BEG

American Fisheries Society Tampa FL August 24, 2017 Brazos RiverBrazos BasinBrazos River River Basin Basin

Lubbock • 2,060 km from New Mexico,Possum through Kingdom Lakethe heart of Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico Lake Granbury

Abilene Lake Whitney • Sixteen major reservoirs control streamflow Waco and create distinct, disconnected fragments. Lake Waco

2,060 km from New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico 16 major reservoirs (4 on mainstem) Over 60 fishes (2 listed shiners)

Upper Brazos River Watershed

• Spans 8 ecoregions • Over 60 fishes • Two endangered cyprinids Brazos River Native Fishes

Silverband Shiner

Plains Minnow

Shoal Chub

Sharpnose Shiner (End.)

Smalleye Shiner (End.) Non-Native Invasives

Sheepshead Minnow

hybrids

Red River Pupfish Non-Native Invasives

Gulf Killifish Sharpnose shiner Shoal chub 25 rs = -0.85, P = 0.004 8 rs = -0.37, P = 0.332 20 6 Pelagophils 15 4 10 5 2

1990Smalleye shiner 2000 2010 1990Red shiner 2000 2010 25 rs = -0.62, P = 0.077 rs = 0.97, P < 0.001 30 20 15 20 10 10 5

1990Chub shiner 2000 2010 1990Red River pupfish 2000 2010 rs = -0.41, P = 0.277 rs = 0.67, P = 0.050 0.3 30

0.2 20

0.1 10

Plains minnow Plains killifish 60 1990 2000 2010 rs = -0.67, P = 0.050 rs = 0.27, P = 0.488 15

Percent (%) of Fish (%) AssemblagePercent 40 of Fish (%) AssemblagePercent 10

20 5

Silver chub 1990Western mosquitofish 2000 2010 0.8 rs = -0.54, P = 0.127 Rs = 0.82, P = 0.007 Nesting and 15 0.6 10 live-bearers 0.4 5 0.2

1990 2000 2010 1990 2000 2010 Year Year

Source: Wilde and Mayes 2015 Brazos River Annual Discharge

Discharge = 206.605 - 0.100 x Year ) 50 r2 = 0.115; P =0.0006; N = 91 3 -s 50 40 40 30 30 20 10 nual discharge (m discharge nual

Mean an Mean 10

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Source: Wilde and Mayes 2015 and Sharpnose Shiner

Brief Timeline • Texas endemics once thought to be extirpated (mid-late 80s) • TPWD confirms both species abundant in upper Brazos; absent from middle; and low numbers of sharpnose in lower • Federal candidates since 2002 • TTU initiates long-term monitoring and research program Smalleye Shiner and Sharpnose Shiner

Species and Population Requirements • Wide, shallow, sandy, flowing habitat • Short life span, typically 2 yrs • Pelagic broadcast spawners • Spawning season Apr-Sept • River reaches ~ 275 km (171 miles) • Streamflows consisting of base & pulse flows (227 cfs SES, 62 cfs SNS)

2011 Drought

Shiner Rescue September 15-16, 2011

Captive Spawning Facility

Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery

2011 Drought

Repatriated ~800 Sharpnose and Smalleye Shiners Lower Brazos River near Hearne 5/29/12 2014 ESA Listing Endangered Smalleye and Sharpnose Shiners

Factors • severe range reduction • river fragmentation • alterations of the natural streamflow regime (by impoundments, drought, groundwater withdrawal, and saltcedar encroachment) • water quality degradation • commercial harvesting for fish bait

Nongame Fish Permits Barrier Mitigation

Barrier Mitigation

Barrier Mitigation

Flows and Water Levels

Opportunities • Validating/improving flow standards • Flow and water level agreements: releases, pool reallocations, hydropower relicensing • Surface water permits and groundwater rights with high conservation value • Leases, improved irrigation, conservation easements, donations

Flows and Water Levels Fish Conservation in the “John Graves” Segment of the Brazos River • Loss of native fish assemblage following dam construction • Minimum flows agreement and hydropower decommissioning offers restoration opportunity Surface-Groundwater Interactions Riparian Management/Research

• Surveys and control of invasive salt cedar • Landowner contacts and logistics • Quantify changes in instream habitat and riparian vegetation • Monitor changes in groundwater • Develop surface water budget/model Riparian Management/Research

Potential Benefits • Improve riparian habitat: plant diversity, wildlife, livestock, and people • Improve river function: channel shape, hydraulics, geomorphology, fish habitat • Improve base flows: river flows, flows into Possum Kingdom • Model calibration and increase odds for future funding

Brazos River

NFDMF Salt Fork

Double Mountain Fork

Groundwater Monitoring and Modeling

• Three wells per site for water levels and chemistry • Surface soil moisture and chemistry loggers • Water budget developed to predict water availability

Prairie Stream Fish Conservation Research and Propagation Laboratory

Conservation Research

• Conservation Genetics • VIE marking and tracking • Larval and juvenile tolerances/preferences • Captive spawning/propagation techniques • Repatriation

Captive Spawning in 5 Easy Steps Prairie Stream Fish Conservation Research and Propagation Laboratory Plains Minnow (Hybognathus placitus) - repatriation Sharpnose Shiner ( oxyrhynchus) Smalleye Shiner (Notropis buccula) Arkansas River Shiner (Notropis girardi) Red River Shiner (Notropis bairdi) Sand Shiner (Notropis stramineus) Prairie Chub (Macrhybopsis australis) Shoal Chub (Macrhybopsis hyostoma) - repatriation Peppered Chub (Macrhybopsis tetranema) Red Shiner (Cyprinella lutrensis)

Source: Urbanczyk et al. (2017) BrazosAcknowledgements River Basin Very special thanks to: TTU PhD candidate Aaron Urbanczyk and other members of the Wilde Lab; TPWD Wildlife Division,Other recovery Watershed efforts Conservation Branch, AIS Team, River Studies, PK and Dundee hatcheries; USFWS Partners in Wildlife Program and ES Arlington; NRCS, and the many cooperating Brazos River landowners.

Partial funding for the Prairie Stream Initiative provided through State AIS funds, GPLCC, and Texas State Wildlife Grants and Section 6 programs in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.