Standing between Life and Extinction

Standing between Life and Extinction

Ethics and Ecology of Conserving Aquatic Species in North American Deserts

Edited by: David Propst, Jack Williams, Kevin Bestgen and Christopher Hoagstrom
Preface by: Tom Udall

University of Chicago Press | 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226694504

Overview
Contents

About this book

North American deserts—lands of little water—have long been home to a surprising diversity of aquatic life, from fish to insects and mollusks. With European settlement, however, water extraction, resource exploitation, and invasive species set many of these native aquatic species on downward spirals. In this book, conservationists dedicated to these creatures document the history of their work, the techniques and philosophies that inform it, and the challenges and opportunities of the future.

A precursor to this book, Battle Against Extinction, laid out the scope of the problem and related conservation activities through the late 1980s. Since then, many nascent conservation programs have matured, and researchers have developed new technologies, improved and refined methods, and greatly expanded our knowledge of the myriad influences on the ecology and dynamics of these species. Standing between Life and Extinction brings the story up to date. While the future for some species is more secure than thirty years ago, others are less fortunate. Calling attention not only to iconic species like the razorback sucker, Gila trout, and Devils Hole pupfish, but also to other fishes and obscure and fascinating invertebrates inhabiting intermittent aquatic habitats, this book explores the scientific, social, and political challenges of preserving these aquatic species and their habitats amid an increasingly charged political discourse and in desert regions characterized by a growing human population and rapidly changing climate.

Author information

David L. Propst is adjunct professor and associate curator in the Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico. He is coauthor of Fish of the Rockies. He lives in Albuquerque, NM. Jack E. Williams is emeritus senior scientist for Trout Unlimited. Most recently, he is coeditor of Trout and Char of the World. He lives in Oregon’s Rogue River Valley. Kevin R. Bestgen is a senior research scientist in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology as well as director of the Larval Fish Laboratory at Colorado State University. He lives in Fort Collins, CO. Christopher W. Hoagstrom is professor in the Department of Zoology at Weber State University. He lives in Ogden, UT.

Reviews

“This book should appeal to anyone broadly interested in conservation and management of water resources, and specifically to conservation scientists, natural resource managers, and fish biologists. There are strong historical threads woven throughout the chapters, and it serves both as a tribute to pioneering legends of early desert fish conservation and a synthesis of ongoing work that reveals successes, failures, and challenges in the face of human populations expanding into arid regions, the increasing conflicts over exploitation of water and land, and the overriding and worsening impacts of human-mediated climate change. The breadth of topics presented and synthesis of complex research outcomes as applied to conservation challenges are impressive. A valuable addition to the conservation literature that will be read widely and cited extensively.”

— Michael S. Parker, Southern Oregon State University

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	vii
Foreword Tom Udall Free access PDF PDF	xi
Preface Edwin P. Pister Free access PDF PDF	xiii
SECTION 1 ENGAGING THE BATTLE
1 The Battle to Conserve Aquatic Species in Lands of Water Scarcity Continues Jack E. Williams and David L. Propst Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	3
2 The Protagonists Robert J. Edwards, Chuck O. Minckley, María de Lourdes Lozano-Vilano, Armando Jesús Contreras-Balderas, Cindy Deacon Williams, Gary P. Garrett, Kevin R. Bestgen, Kurt D. Fausch and Kathryn Boyer Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	13
3 Biodiversity, Biogeography, and Conservation of North American Desert Fishes Christopher W. Hoagstrom, Derek D. Houston and Norman Mercado-Silva Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	36
4 Living with Aliens: Nonnative Fishes in the American Southwest Peter B. Moyle Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	69
5 Current Conservation Status of Some Freshwater Species and Their Habitats in México María de Lourdes Lozano-Vilano, Armando J. Contreras-Balderas, Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos and María Elena García-Ramírez Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	79
6 Ghosts of Our Making: Extinct Aquatic Species of the North American Desert Region Jack E. Williams and Donald W. Sada Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	89
SECTION 2 RACING TO COLLAPSE
7 Running on Empty: Southwestern Water Supplies and Climate Change Bradley H. Udall Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	109
8 Mining Hidden Waters: Groundwater Depletion, Aquatic Habitat Degradation, and Loss of Fish Diversity in the Chihuahuan Desert Ecoregion of Texas Gary P. Garrett, Megan G. Bean, Robert J. Edwards and Dean A. Hendrickson Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	124
9 Southwestern Fish and Aquatic Systems: The Climate Challenge Jonathan T. Overpeck and Scott A. Bonar Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	137
10 Novel Drought Regimes Restructure Aquatic Invertebrate Communities in Arid-Land Streams Kate S. Boersma and David A. Lytle Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	153
11 The Exotic Dilemma: Lessons Learned from Efforts to Recover Native Colorado River Basin Fishes Brandon Albrecht, Ron Kegerries, Ron Rogers and Paul Holden Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	167
SECTION 3 IMPROVING THE ODDS
12 Applying Endangered Species Act Protections to Desert Fishes: Assessment and Opportunities Matthew E. Andersen and James E. Brooks Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	183
13 The Value of Specimen Collections for Conserving Biodiversity Adam E. Cohen, Dean A. Hendrickson and Gary P. Garrett Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	199
14 Conservation Genetics of Desert Fishes in the Genomics Age Thomas F. Turner, Thomas E. Dowling, Trevor J. Krabbenhoft, Megan J. Osborne and Tyler J. Pilger Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	207
15 Long-Term Monitoring of a Desert Fish Assemblage in Aravaipa Creek, Arizona Peter N. Reinthal, Heidi Blasius and Mark Haberstich Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	225
16 Human Impacts on the Hydrology, Geomorphology, and Restoration Potential of Southwestern Rivers Mark C. Stone and Ryan R. Morrison Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	239
17 Conservation and Ecological Rehabilitation of North American Desert Spring Ecosystems Donald W. Sada and Lawrence E. Stevens Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	255
SECTION 4 SEARCHING FOR RECOVERY
18 Oases: Finding Hidden Biodiversity Gems in the Southern Sonoran Desert Michael T. Bogan, Carlos Alonso Ballesteros-Córdova, Scott E. K. Bennett, Michael H. Darin, Lloyd T. Findley and Alejandro Varela-Romero Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	272
19 Recent Discoveries and Conservation of Catfishes, Genus Ictalurus, in México Alejandro Varela-Romero, Carlos Alonso Ballesteros-Córdova, Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos, Sergio Sánchez-González and James E. Brooks Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	285
20 Ecology, Politics, and Conservation of Gila Trout David L. Propst, Thomas F. Turner, Jerry A. Monzingo, James E. Brooks and Dustin J. Myers Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	295
21 Large-River Fish Conservation in the Colorado River Basin: Progress and Challenges with Razorback Sucker Kevin R. Bestgen, Thomas E. Dowling, Brandon Albrecht and Koreen A. Zelasko Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	316
22 Assisting Recovery: Intensive Interventions to Conserve Native Fishes of Desert Springs and Wetlands Sean C. Lema, Jennifer M. Gumm, Olin G. Feuerbacher and Michael R. Schwemm Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	335
23 Restoration of Aquatic Habitats and Native Fishes in the Desert: Some Successes in Western North America Anthony A. Echelle and Alice F. Echelle Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	353
SECTION 5 EXPLORING OUR FUTURE
24 The Devils Hole Pupfish: Science in a Time of Crises Kevin P. Wilson, Mark B. Hausner and Kevin C. Brown Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	378
25 Politics, Imagination, Ideology, and the Realms of Our Possible Futures Christopher Norment Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	391
26 Searching for Common Ground between Life and Extinction Christopher W. Hoagstrom, Kevin R. Bestgen, David L. Propst and Jack E. Williams Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	407
Acknowledgments Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	419
Contributors Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	421
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	425

Standing between Life and Extinction

Ethics and Ecology of Conserving Aquatic Species in North American Deserts

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