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Differential effects of a catastrophic wildfire on downstream fish assemblages in an aridland river

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Abstract

Few studies have evaluated the effects of large wildfires on downstream non-salmonid fish assemblages. Using multi-year (2009–2015) data from fish assemblage surveys and high-frequency water quality monitoring, we analyzed within-site responses of a cypriniform-dominated fish assemblage at two sites located > 20 km downstream of a 633 km2 wildfire in 2011 in the Rio Grande watershed in New Mexico, USA. Season had a weak influence on fish assemblage (fish) catch rate, richness, and evenness at the upstream site, but it had a strong negative influence (during spring/winter) on fish catch rate and richness at the downstream site. Fish species richness and evenness at both sites were not strongly affected by the wildfire, despite numerous post-fire sags in dissolved oxygen (including short-lived hypoxia < 2 mg L−1and anoxia—0 mg L−1) during subsequent monsoon seasons. Although fish catch rate was negatively impacted by the wildfire at the upstream site, it was unaffected at the downstream site. Fish catch rate, richness, and evenness at the upstream site were suppressed following a major flood event that occurred 26 months post-fire, but the downstream fish assemblage was resistant to the flood disturbance. Our study provided a rare opportunity to evaluate how aridland riverine fishes respond to disturbance from wildfire and subsequent flooding. Larger and more severe wildfires are occurring due to climate warming, and responses of water quality and fish community assemblages require study and assessment.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Susan Bittick, Lynette Giesen, Ricardo González-Pinzón, Kara Hickey, Cecilia Horner, Amy Louise, Chelsea Reale Montoya, Matthew Segura, and Charles Yackulic for their support and assistance. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Government.

Funding

Collection of fish assemblage data at Bernalillo was funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s (USBOR) Albuquerque Area Office, NM. Collection of fish assemblage and physical habitat data at Buckman was funded by the Buckman Direct Diversion, City of Santa Fe, NM. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model (URGWOM) supported continuous water quality data collection through internal funding to JKR and Cooperative Agreement W912HZ-14-2-0014 to DJVH and CND. The Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program (USACE appropriation) and URGWOM funded JKR to conduct this study. TPA was funded by USBOR through Interagency Agreement R18PG00042.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 4101 Jefferson Plaza, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Justin K. Reale

  2. Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Justin K. Reale, David J. Van Horn, Thomas F. Turner & Clifford N. Dahm

  3. New Mexico Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 3800 Commons Avenue NE, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Thomas P. Archdeacon

  4. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 555 Broadway Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Eric J. Gonzales

  5. American Southwest Ichthyological Researchers, 800 Encino Place NE, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Robert K. Dudley

  6. Division of Fishes, Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico, 302 Yale Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Robert K. Dudley & Thomas F. Turner

Authors
  1. Justin K. Reale
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  2. Thomas P. Archdeacon
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  3. David J. Van Horn
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  4. Eric J. Gonzales
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  5. Robert K. Dudley
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  6. Thomas F. Turner
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  7. Clifford N. Dahm
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Contributions

JKR, TPA, EJG, RKD, and DJVH designed the study; RKD, EJG, JKR, and DJVH collected the data; JKR, TPA, RKD, and DJVH analyzed the data; Each author contributed substantially to the writing of this manuscript.

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Correspondence to Justin K. Reale.

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Reale, J.K., Archdeacon, T.P., Van Horn, D.J. et al. Differential effects of a catastrophic wildfire on downstream fish assemblages in an aridland river. Aquat Ecol 55, 483–500 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-021-09839-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-021-09839-4

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