Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Nevada
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Monitoring for population status and trends is a critical component to successful conservation and management of freshwater fishes. However, integrated status and trend monitoring efforts for native and invasive fishes that combine traditional active and passive capture methods with single- and multiple-species eDNA assays have yet to be developed for desert ecosystems. A modern, formalized sampling design, analysis, and reporting framework is needed to institutionalize science-based management and advance our understanding of native and nonnative fishes at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR), Nevada. The project is a collaboration of researchers across multiple agencies and includes the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Nevada, Reno, Washington State University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Desert Refuge Complex, and the Nevada Department ​of Wildlife. We will develop a peer reviewed integrated status and trend monitoring plan for native and non-native aquatic taxa at AMNWR that incorporates eDNA assays, traditional fish sampling, and structured decision making.