Technical Report

Progress Report - 2004 Contributions to Delisting Rio Grande Silvery Minnow: Egg Habitat Identification

URL: https://webapps.usgs.gov/mrgescp/documents/PorterandMassong_2004_ProgressReport2004ContributionstoDelistingRGSMEggHabitatIdentification.pdf

Date: 2004/09/01

Author(s): Porter M.D., Massong T.M.

Publication: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Progress Report-2004, 18 p.

Abstract:

The nursery habitat project was initiated in 2003 with the purpose of substantiating egg retention in constructed nursery habitat inlets. In the first year, two constructed inlets were sampled for silvery minnow and artificial egg retention while another existing, constructed inlet was sampled for artificial egg retention only. The data from the first study year indicated that inlet features did retain eggs, but that retention of the eggs varied greatly between inlets.

For the second year of the project, several stakeholders have contributed both funds and personnel to the collection and analysis of the field data. In addition to better understanding the physical features that contribute to the retention of silvery minnow and artificial eggs in constructed inlets, the project has been broadened to explore retention abilities of natural habitat features that currently exist in the Rio Grande. Several natural habitat features were examined at arroyos with a variety of confluence features: pro-grading fan deposits, purely inlet features and confluences with a variety of fan and inlet features (Figure 1). The confluences of Arroyo Calabacillas, Arroyo Abo, and Arroyo de la Parida were sampled as existing, natural sites (Figure 1). Inlets at North Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA) confluence, and the Los Lunas Habitat Restoration Site were sampled this year as the constructed inlet features (Figure 1). In addition to the sampled sites, several other sites were observed during the sampling period but were not actually sampled: Rio Puerco confluence, Rio Salado confluence, Low Flow Conveyance Channel Outfall, and Bosque del Apache NWR Channel Widening Inlets.