Download or read book Battle Against Extinction written by W. L. Minckley and published by . This book was released on 1991-12 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1962 the Green River was poisoned and its native fishes killed so that the new Flaming Gorge Reservoir could be stocked with non-native game fishes for sportsmen. This incident was representative of water management in the West, where dams and other projects have been built to serve human needs without consideration for the effects of water diversion or depletion on the ecosystem. Indeed, it took a Supreme Court decision in 1976 to save Devils Hole pupfish from habitat destruction at the hands of developers. Nearly a third of the native fish fauna of North America lives in the arid West; this book traces their decline toward extinction as a result of human interference and the threat to their genetic diversity posed by decreases in their populations. What can be done to slow or end this tragedy? As the most comprehensive treatment ever attempted on the subject, Battle Against Extinction shows how conservation efforts have been or can be used to reverse these trends. In covering fishes in arid lands west of the Mississippi Valley, the contributors provide a species-by-species appraisal of their status and potential for recovery, bringing together in one volume nearly all of the scattered literature on western fishes to produce a monumental work in conservation biology. They also ponder ethical considerations related to the issue, ask why conservation efforts have not proceeded at a proper pace, and suggest how native fish protection relates to other aspects of biodiversity planetwide. Their insights will allow scientific and public agencies to evaluate future management of these animal populations and will offer additional guidance for those active in water rights and conservation biology. First published in 1991, Battle Against Extinction is now back in print and available as an open-access e-book thanks to the Desert Fishes Council.

Download or read book CUTTHROAT TROUT written by and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Interactions Between Native and Nonnative Species written by Julie Kay Henry Zimmerman and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although previous research has investigated competition between native and nonnative trout, few studies have examined effects of introduced trout on other species in coldwater stream communities. I designed a field experiment to examine interactions between native brook trout versus nonnative brown trout with native slimy sculpin to investigate whether introductions of nonnative trout affect food web relationships in small streams. I hypothesized that brown trout would compete with sculpin and reduce sculpin growth, whereas competition would not occur between brook trout and sculpin, based on the premise that brook tout and slimy sculpin have coevolved in Minnesota streams. Enclosures (1m2) were stocked with fish according to six treatments: combined-species treatments (juvenile brown trout with sculpin, juvenile brook trout with sculpin), single-species controls, and no fish. Fish were stocked at three densities to examine intraspecific versus interspecific competition. Replicates of each treatment were placed in riffles in Valley Creek, Minnesota, and six 38-day experiment trials were conducted over three summers (2002-2004). Enclosures did not reduce abundance of drifting invertebrate prey. Interactions between brown trout and sculpin led to reduced growth of both large sculpin and large brown trout in enclosures, whereas presence of brook trout was not associated with changes to sculpin growth. Presence of brown trout also led to indirect effects on food web dynamics that may have resulted in these observed changes in growth. Brown trout was the only species associated with a decrease in abundance of a benthic invertebrate taxon, suggesting that brown trout may feed in the benthos to a greater extent than brook trout. Brown trout were also associated with shifts in sculpin diets, indicating a change in sculpin feeding behavior when sculpin were with brown trout that was not evident when sculpin were alone or with brook trout. Feeding behavior and intraspecific interactions among brown trout, along with shifts in feeding behavior of sculpin when brown trout were present, likely was a mechanism underlying reduced growth of both species. My research shows that introduced brown trout have effects on the stream community in Valley Creek that are different than native brook trout.