Arizona Project
Environmental Conditions Utilized by Endangered Moapa Dace While Spawning
October 2011 - December 2020
Personnel
Participating Agencies
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Moapa Dace Moapa coriacea is an endangered cyprinid endemic to the Warm Springs area of Clark County in southeastern Nevada. Moapa Dace were federally listed as endangered because of their limited range, low abundance, and competition with introduced species. Spawning by Moapa Dace has never been documented; consequently, the environmental conditions they require for this critical aspect of their life history are unknown. Knowledge of Moapa Dace spawning ecology would provide vital data for managers to manage habitat and to identify factors that induce spawning in captivity. Twelve underwater cameras were deployed in the uppermost reach of Plummer Stream to attempt to capture Moapa Dace spawning activity. Camera sites were selected systematically and represented a variety of conditions available. I quantified the available environment by dividing the field of view in front of each camera into a grid and estimating size and embeddedness of substrate, depth, stream velocity, and cover categories in each cell of every grid. Video was recorded from March through May 2012 and then watched to identify grids over which spawning occurred and their associated characteristics. From over 4,000 10-min video clips selected for analysis, 13 spawning events were identified. Moapa Dace displayed behaviors consistent with broadcasting cyprinids. For spawning, Moapa Dace selected depths ranging from 30-34 cm, water velocities from 0.11-0.17 m/sec, cobble substrate, and instream overhead cover. I could not find that they selected for any category of embeddedness or cover (i.e. open water, instream velocity shelter, instream overhead cover, or above stream overhead cover). This information will further the understanding of Moapa Dace spawning ecology in the wild. Moreover, replicating these conditions in captivity will aid in initial efforts to breed Moapa Dace in captivity. This work was prepared for a thesis, and a peer-reviewed final report was published in December 2015. This work was published as a featured article in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management in 2020. Partners include the USFWS.
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Ruggirello, J. E., S. A. Bonar, O. G. Feuerbacher and L. H. Simons. 2020. Use of underwater videography to quantify conditions utilized by endangered Moapa Dace while spawning. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 40:17-28. | March 2020 |
| Presentations | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| Ruggirello, J. E., S. A. Bonar and O. G. Feuerbacher. 2014. Endangered Moapa Dace in captivity and spawning ecology. 47th Joint Annual Meeting of the AZ and NM Chapters of the American Fisheries Society and The Wildlife Society, Pinetop Arizona, February 6-8, 2014. | February 2014 |
| Ruggirello, J. E., S. A. Bonar, and O. G. Feuerbacher. 2013. Spawning ecology of the critically endangered Moapa Dace revealed through underwater videography. 143nd Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, Little Rock, Arkansas, September 8-12, 2013. CONTRIBUTED. | September 2013 |
| Ruggirello, J. E., S. A. Bonar, and O. G. Feuerbacher. 2014. An attempt to spawn endangered Moapa Dace in captivity. 47th Joint Annual Meeting of the AZ and NM Chapters of the American Fisheries Society and The Wildlife Society, Pinetop Arizona, February 6-8, 2014. | February 2014 |
| Ruggirello, J. E., S. A. Bonar, O. G. Feuerbacher, and C. Powers. 2015. Spawning ecology and captive husbandry of endangered Moapa dace. The Joint Annual Meeting of the Arizona/New Mexico American Fisheries Society and the Wildlife Society, Las Cruces, New Mexico. February 5 – February 7, 2015. Contributed Oral Presentation. | February 2015 |
| Ruggirello, J., S. Bonar and O. Feuerbacher. 2013. An attempt to spawn endangered Moapa dace in captivity. 45th Annual Meeting of the Desert Fishes Council. November 20-24, Flagstaff, Arizona. | November 2013 |
| Ruggirello, J., S. Bonar, and O. Feuerbacher. 2013. Spawning ecology of the endangered Moapa dace revealed through underwater videography. 45th Annual Meeting of the Desert Fishes Council. November 20-24, Flagstaff, Arizona. | November 2013 |
| Theses and Dissertations | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Ruggirello, Jack E. 2014. Spawning Ecology and Captive Husbandry of Endangered Moapa Dace. MS. Thesis, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. | December 2014 |