Browsing by Subject "Rio Conchos"
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Item Conservation of the Conchos Trout: a white paper on history of its discovery, report on its status, and an urgent plea for action(Dean A. Hendrickson, 2006-04-13) Camarena Rosales, Faustino; Cutter, Ralph F.; De Los Santos Camarillo, Ana Belia; Espinosa Pérez, Héctor; García de León, Francisco; Hendrickson, Dean A.; Kuhajda, Bernard; Mayden, Richard L.; Neely, David A.; Pfiefer, Frank; Propst, David L.; Ruiz Campos, Gorgonio; Tomelleri, Joseph R.; Varela Romero, AlejandoA broad-scale survey of potential trout habitats in upper tributaries of the Río Conchos of Chihuahua, México resulted in the re-discovery in 2005 of a long-lost native, endemic, and now endangered, undescribed trout species that we call the “Conchos Trout.” We are currently in the process of scientifically describing this rare trout, the only native Mexican trout known from an Atlantic drainage. Our extensive field efforts to date clearly indicate that this species was formerly much more widely distributed historically. Though surveys should continue, our extensive field surveys found only one small isolated and extremely vulnerable population, leaving us less than optimistic that many other, if any, additional populations will be found. Persistence of this new critically endangered endemic Conchos Trout clearly requires rapid conservation action. Our consensus expert opinion is that we cannot over-emphasize the urgency of protection for this critically endangered population of this unique trout, and so we have produced this “white paper” in hopes that it might encourage others to join us in initiating appropriate conservation programs. The potentially viable population is restricted to a short reach of a very small stream where it and another newly discovered, undescribed fish species, a sucker (and likely another unique taxon), could be relatively easily protected, studied and managed. Additionally, adjoining arroyos where the species recently occurred offer the possibility of restoring native fish populations to them following appropriate protection and habitat restoration efforts. All members of our highly qualified and diversely specialized, binational “Truchas Mexicanas” team stand prepared to join collaborators and invest personal resources in hands-on actions to help this new species persist. We recommend immediate establishment of a small reserve centered around currently occupied habitat and adjacent streams having suitable habitat, combined with education and compensation of local residents for their cooperation with reserve management. We recognize that we are largely ignorant of the local political and cultural systems via which conservation actions will have to proceed and are limited with regard to our ability to raise funds. We thus hope that readers of this white paper will add their financial and in-kind support and additional expertise to help us conserve the Conchos Trout!Item Final Report: Data provision and projected impact of climate change on fish biodiversity within the Desert LCC(2013-11-30) Cohen, Adam E.; Labay, Ben J.; Hendrickson, Dean A.; Casarez, Melissa; Sarkar, SahotraThe four primary objectives of this project were to: (1) compile a dataset of fish occurrence records for the entirety of the Rio Grande drainage in the US and Mexico; (2) improve that dataset by reformatting dates, synonymizing species names to a modern taxonomy, georeferencing localities, and flagging geographic outliers; (3) for those species with sufficient data for modeling, create species distribution models (SDMs); (4) use the environmental conditions determined via those models to project the species distributions into the future under two climate scenarios. To accomplish those objectives, we compiled 495,101 fish occurrence records mined from 122 original sources into a single database. We then, on the basis of text string searches of the original sources' verbatim locality fields, extracted 145,426 records that we judged to have a reasonable likelihood of being from the Rio Grande drainage. For those records we edited taxonomy, reformatted dates, and finally georeferenced 59,156 (41%) records, which proved sufficient for constructing SDMs for 36 species that met a priori quality assurance criteria. We provide basic interpretation of these models and discuss projections of them into several different future climate forecasts. Products include raw model outputs and symbolized maps helpful in interpretation and comparison, as well as raw data sets and recommendations regarding how all of these product might be used in future management and research efforts.Item Modeling climate change impacts on hydrology and water resources : case study Rio Conchos basin(2011-05) Ingol Blanco, Eusebio Mercedes; McKinney, Daene C.; Maidment, David R.; Charbeneau, Randall J.; Hodges, Ben R.; Eaton, David J.Water resources availability could be affected by alterations of hydrologic processes as a result of climate change. Global projections of climate change indicate negative impacts on water systems with increasing flooding and drought events. This investigation presents the modeling of climate change effects on the hydrology and water resources availability in the Rio Conchos basin, the main tributary of the lower portion of the bi-national Rio Grande/Bravo basin, and its impact on the water treaty signed between the United States of America and Mexico in 1944. One of the problems most relevant to the study basin is the frequent occurrence of long drought periods. Coupled with increased water demands and low irrigation efficiencies, the competition for water resources is high on both sides of the border. Three main parts are addressed in this research. First, a hydrologic model has been developed using the one-dimensional, 2 layer soil moisture accounting scheme embedded in a water evaluation and planning model. Second, downscaled precipitation and temperature data, from five general circulation models for two emission scenarios, A1B and A2, were used as inputs to the Rio Conchos hydrologic model to determine the effect on basin hydrology. A multi-model ensemble is developed and several techniques, such as probability density functions, wavelet analysis, and trend analysis, are used to assess the impacts. Third, a water resources planning model for the basin has been developed, which integrates the hydrologic model and water management modeling, to evaluate the impacts on the entire water system and simulate adaptive strategies to mitigate climate change in the study basin. Skill-weighted multi-model ensemble results show that annual average runoff may be reduced by 12% ± 53% and 20% ± 45% in 2080-2099 relative to 1980-1999 for the A1B and A2 scenarios, respectively. Likewise, results show that reliability and resiliency of the water system will tend to decrease; consequently, the vulnerability of the system increases over time. Proposed adaptation measures could make the system more reliable and less vulnerable in meeting water demands for irrigation and municipal uses.Item The Texas-Mexico water dispute and its resolution (?): agricultural liquid & land practice and discourse along the Rio Conchos, Chihuahua, 1990-2005(2007-08) Reed, Cyrus, 1965-; Knapp, Gregory W.Between 1992 and 2005, Chihuahua's Río Conchos outflows were at less than 10 percent of their historical average, prompting a highly public dispute with the U.S. over water quantity under terms of the 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty. Still, Mexico made a number of water "payments" and achieved an eventual resolution of the dispute. The resolution focused on a number of steps, including investing over $140 million in irrigation district water conservation projects in the Río Conchos, which has historically provided two-thirds of the Río Grande's water below Fort Quitman. Utilizing a case study approach rooted in political and cultural ecology, the research examines the factors -- from drought to land use change-- purported by different interest groups as contributing to the transboundary Texas-Mexico water dispute and finds at least three major "narratives" emerged in the period to explain the low flows, including drought, dam management and agricultural expansion and land use changes. The dissertation shows, however, that the reduced outflows and reductions in "dam" water to farmers was just one factor in a changing agricultural context in which new land tenure rules, decentralization of water management and the enactment of a more open economic framework precipitated resource use changes within the agricultural areas. In addition, the dissertation examines water and land resource use, including conservation projects, in three specific agricultural areas, and finds significant transformations in markets, policies and climate. Farmers were not just passive victims of reduced water use, the curtailment of government programs, and "privatization" of land and water resources, but adopted alternative water source strategies, began to examine more "conservationist-minded" agricultural practices and shifted cultivation to higher yield crops. Still, many farmers chose to abandon agriculture altogether, as there was some consolidation of resources among wealthier farmers. The "transnationalization" of the Río Conchos which has resulted from the new focus on its water users may influence local decision-making, but the research contends that resource management decisions in the Río Conchos Watershed are influenced and determined by local practices and environments as well as by economic and legal changes brought about by Mexico's inclusion into a globalized economy.