Conservation of Biodiversity in the Lower Rio Grande Valley
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Oklahoma State University An International Borderland of Concern: Conservation of Biodiversity in the Lower Rio Grande Valley Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5078 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Front cover. Photographs of Amazilia yucatanensis (buff-bellied hummingbird), Falco femoralis septentrionalis (northern aplomado falcon), and Leopardus pardalis albescens (northern ocelot). Used with permission and modified from ©Larry Ditto Nature Photography. Back cover. Photograph of Aythya americana (redheads). Used with permission and modified from ©Larry Ditto Nature Photography. Lower banner artwork, Biological Report 88(36), November 1988, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. An International Borderland of Concern: Conservation of Biodiversity in the Lower Rio Grande Valley By David M. Leslie, Jr. Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Oklahoma State University Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5078 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2016 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Leslie, D.M., Jr., 2016, An international borderland of concern—Conservation of biodiversity in the Lower Rio Grande Valley: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5078, 120 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ sir20165078. ISSN 2328-031X (print) ISSN 2328-0328 (online) ISBN 978-1-4113-4060-2 iii Acknowledgments Funding for this project was provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under Cooperative Agreements 20181J848 and F13AC00484 to Oklahoma State University. I am extremely grateful to Bryan R. Winton, Refuge Manager of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), for financial and logistical support of this project. Without a doubt, this report is richly supported by many superb photographs by Larry Ditto, former Project Leader of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Santa Ana NWRs; his willingness to share these photographs that so perfectly capture the variety and color of the Lower Rio Grande Valley is greatly appreciated. Gwyn Carmean also permitted use of her seagrass images. My sincere thanks are extended to Professor Timothy Brush with the University of Texas-Pan American and Sonja Jahrsdoerfer, Project Leader at the Lower Green River NWR Complex and senior author of note on the original 1988 USFWS report, for their thorough critiques of this synthesis. I am also very grateful for input from the USFWS staff at the South Texas Refuge Complex, including Bob Barry, Gisela Chapa, Imer De La Garza, Chris Hathcock, Rob Jess, Marion Mason, Kelly McDowell, Chris Perez (particularly for his exceptional editing of multiple drafts of this report), Mitch Sternberg, Hilary Swarts, and Kim Wahl-Villarreal; Willy Cupit, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; Oklahoma State University colleagues and support staff, including Shannon Brewer, Richard Dolman, Renee Flasch, Jim Long, Sheryl Lyon, and Cheryl McKnight; and Kevin Whalen, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Cooperative Research Units Program. Particular thanks to Vince Cavalieri (USFWS East Lansing Ecological Services Field Office) who assisted me early on with literature searches and preliminary organization of some sections of the report, Jesse Burton (National Park Service Natchez Trace Parkway) and Jim Long who drafted the maps in this report, Donna Shaver (National Park Service Padre Island National Seashore) who shared current information and her expertise on sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico, and Erin Fernandez (USFWS Arizona Ecological Services Office) who commented on ocelot status in Arizona. The Oklahoma Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, USGS, USFWS, and Wildlife Management Institute) provided technical support during the preparation of this synthesis. ©Larry Ditto Nature Photography iv v Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1 Original Report and Its Impact ............................................................................................................1 Need for Updated Compilation ...........................................................................................................2 Survey of LRGV-centric Literature since 1988 .................................................................................4 Report Objectives..................................................................................................................................4 Unique Aspects of the Lower Rio Grande Valley ......................................................................................6 General Description..............................................................................................................................6 Floral Characteristics ...........................................................................................................................6 IVC Ecological Systems in the LRGV ......................................................................................14 Tamaulipan Floodplain .....................................................................................................14 Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub ...................................................................15 Texas Coastal Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh ..............................................................15 Tamaulipan Closed Depression Wetland ......................................................................15 Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub ..............................................................................17 Tamaulipan Ramadero .....................................................................................................17 Tamaulipan Savanna Grassland .....................................................................................17 Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland ....................................................................17 Tamaulipan Loma Shrubland and Grassland ................................................................18 Texas Saline Coastal Prairies .........................................................................................18 Tamaulipan Palm Grove Riparian Forest .......................................................................18 Tamaulipan Saline Lake ...................................................................................................18 Seagrass Meadows of Laguna Madre ...................................................................................19 Restoration of Threatened Plant Communities .....................................................................20 Threatened and Endangered Plants ......................................................................................22 Overview.............................................................................................................................22 Ashy Dogweed ..................................................................................................................25 South Texas Ambrosia .....................................................................................................25 Star Cactus ........................................................................................................................27 Tamaulipan Kidneypetal ...................................................................................................27 Walker’s Manioc ...............................................................................................................27 Zapata Bladderpod ...........................................................................................................27 Faunal Characteristics .......................................................................................................................28 Invertebrates ..............................................................................................................................28 Amphibians and Reptiles ..........................................................................................................34 Fishes ...........................................................................................................................................35 Birds .............................................................................................................................................36 Northern Aplomado