Movements and Growth of Fishes in the Gila River Drainage, Arizona and New Mexico

Bestgen, Kevin R.; Hendrickson, Dean A.; Kubly, Dennis M.; Propst, David L.

doi:10.2307/3671452

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…There is evidence that habitat size drives the overall range of fish movement (Woolnough et al 2009), and we observed greater movement distances by Sonora Suckers and Desert Suckers than did Booth and Shipley (2012) for the same species in streams in Arizona, likely in part because the Gila River is longer and the spatial scale of our study (6 km) larger than is the case with the small streams (hundreds of meters; median discharge, <0.1 m 3 /s) that they studied. The movements detected in this study are similar in magnitude to those observed by Siebert (1980) and Williams (1991) but substantially greater than those observed by Bestgen et al (1987) for Sonora Suckers and Desert Suckers. Unlike Siebert (1980), who found that suckers exhibited a tendency to move into a canyon-bounded reach of Aravaipa Creek during summer, we did not observe directional movements upstream into the canyon-bounded reach of the Middle Fork Gila River.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…We focus here on the locally abundant Sonora Sucker Catostomus insignis and the Desert Sucker Catostomus clarkii, which can provide insight into the variation in movement patterns within and among species. Previous work in small streams found greater mobility in Desert Suckers than Sonora Suckers as well as variation in movement behavior among streams (Booth and Shipley 2012), while no movements were detected among the few fish recaptured in a larger stream, the Gila River (Bestgen et al 1987). Concurrent with the present study, we investigated small-scale, short-term movement behaviors and found high but variable rates of population turnover at the habitat scale, distinct diel patterns in movement behavior, and high site fidelity despite extended forays elsewhere for both suckers in the Gila River (Booth et al 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 77%

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Is Mobility a Fixed Trait? Summer Movement Patterns of Catostomids using PIT Telemetry

2014

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Fish populations are composed of a mixture of sedentary and mobile individuals, but it is not clear whether movement behavior is plastic or fixed for individuals and what proportion of the population exhibits mobile behavior. To investigate the mobility and movement patterns of two common species of suckers, the Sonora Sucker Catostomus insignis and the Desert Sucker Catostomus clarkii, in the Gila River of western New Mexico, we tracked 449 individuals over three summers using passive integrated transponder (PIT) telemetry. Both species were mobile and the typical linear home ranges for mobile individuals exceeded 150 m, but approximately 25% of individuals were detected only in a single habitat segment. We observed increased movement after spates caused by summer monsoon rains, and fish used areas of the stream differently under high‐ and low‐flow conditions. Fish moved farther between years than within years, but a subset of individuals were found in the same locations from year to year. For the study species, movement behavior does not appear to be a fixed trait for individuals, and many individuals exhibited both stationary and mobile behavior among years. We also investigated whether sample size biased the estimates of movement parameters. We concluded that movement parameters would be underestimated by 20–50% if we had tracked fewer individuals, but the degree to which the parameters were biased varied from year to year. Received August 7, 2013; accepted January 23, 2014

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

mentioning

confidence: 77%

Is Mobility a Fixed Trait? Summer Movement Patterns of Catostomids using PIT Telemetry

2014

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“…Creek. These species have been reported to be mobile in larger stream systems (Bestgen et al 1987), and movements in small streams have been limited to descriptions of spawning migrations from rivers into small streams (Minckley and Holden 1980;Weiss et al 1998). Tagged adults of all three species moved upstream into McKinney Creek during the spawning season and then returned downstream.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fish that are endemic to the CRB often exhibit complex life histories, including movements over large distances, and dams and barriers can prevent necessary movements. Movement patterns of fishes in desert streams of the southwestern United States are poorly understood, and knowledge of bluehead sucker, flannelmouth sucker, and roundtail chub movements is minimal (Bestgen et al 1987). For these three species, most studies have focused on temporal patterns of fishes moving in and out of tributary streams, typically to spawn (Minckley and Holden 1980;Weiss et al 1998).…”

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confidence: 99%

Influences of Fragmentation on Three Species of Native Warmwater Fishes in a Colorado River Basin Headwater Stream System, Wyoming

Compton

Hubert

Rahel

et al. 2008

N American J Fish Manag

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We investigated the effects of constructed instream structures on movements and demographics of bluehead suckers Catostomus discobolus, flannelmouth suckers C. latipinnis, and roundtail chub Gila robusta in the upstream portion of Muddy Creek, an isolated headwater stream system in the upper Colorado River basin of Wyoming. Our objectives were to (1) evaluate upstream and downstream movements of these three native species past a small dam built to divert irrigation water from the stream and a barrier constructed to prevent upstream movements of nonnative salmonids and (2) describe population characteristics in stream segments created by these structures. Our results indicated that upstream and downstream movements of the three target fishes were common. Fish of all three species moved frequently downstream over both structures, displayed some upstream movements over the irrigation diversion dam, and did not move upstream over the fish barrier. Spawning migrations by some fish into an intermittent tributary, which was not separated from Muddy Creek by a barrier, were observed for all three species. Both the irrigation diversion dam and the fish barrier contributed to fragmentation of the native fish populations, and considerable differences in population features were observed among segments. The instream structures may eventually cause extirpation of some native species in one or more of the segments created by the structures.

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“…Similarly, other potamodromous suckers have exhibited considerable localized movement during sedentary periods (Bestgen et al. ; Booth et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavior and Reproductive Ecology of the Sicklefin Redhorse: An Imperiled Southern Appalachian Mountain Fish

Favrot

Kwak

2018

Trans Am Fish Soc

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Many nongame fishes are poorly understood but are essential to maintaining healthy aquatic ecosystems globally. The undescribed Sicklefin Redhorse Moxostoma sp. is a rare, imperiled, nongame fish endemic to two southern Appalachian Mountain river basins. Little is known of its behavior and ecology, but this information is urgently needed for conservation planning. We assessed the spatial and temporal bounds of spawning migration, quantified seasonal weekly movement patterns, and characterized seasonal and spawning behavior using radiotelemetry and weir sampling in the Hiwassee River basin, North Carolina–Georgia, during 2006 and 2007. Hiwassee River tributaries were occupied predominantly during the fish's spawning season, lower reaches of the tributaries and the Hiwassee River were primarily occupied during the postspawning season (i.e., summer and fall), and lower lotic reaches of Hiwassee River (upstream from Hiwassee Lake) were occupied during winter. Adults occupied Hiwassee Lake only as a movement corridor during spawning migrations. Both sexes conducted upstream spawning migrations simultaneously, but males occupied spawning tributaries longer than females. Sicklefin Redhorse exhibited interannual spawning‐area and tributary fidelity. Cold water temperatures associated with hypolimnetic releases from reservoirs and meteorological conditions influenced spawning migration distance and timing. During 2007, decreased discharges during the spawning season were associated with decreases in migration distance and spawning tributary occupancy duration. Foraging was the dominant behavior observed annually, followed by reproductive behaviors (courting and spawning) during the spawning season. No agonistic reproductive behavior was observed, but females exhibited a repetitious postspawning digging behavior that may be unique in the family Catostomidae. Our findings suggest that protection and restoration of river continuity, natural flow regimes, seasonally appropriate water temperatures, and geographic range expansion are critical components to include in Sicklefin Redhorse conservation planning. Fisheries and ecosystem managers can use our findings to justify sensitive management decisions that conserve and restore critical streams and rivers occupied by this imperiled species.

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Movements and Growth of Fishes in the Gila River Drainage, Arizona and New Mexico

Cited by 11 publications

References 4 publications

Is Mobility a Fixed Trait? Summer Movement Patterns of Catostomids using PIT Telemetry

Is Mobility a Fixed Trait? Summer Movement Patterns of Catostomids using PIT Telemetry

Influences of Fragmentation on Three Species of Native Warmwater Fishes in a Colorado River Basin Headwater Stream System, Wyoming

Behavior and Reproductive Ecology of the Sicklefin Redhorse: An Imperiled Southern Appalachian Mountain Fish

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