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Invasive Species in Mountain Streams

Invasive species threaten survival of native fishes and conditions in aquatic ecosystems throughout the world. In the Interior West non-native fishes represent a primary threat to the persistence of threatened, endangered, or sensitive species such as bull trout, Chinook salmon, and cutthroat trout. Non-native species like brook trout are now among the most widely distributed fishes in the region. Fortunately, however, invasion and disruption of native aquatic species doesn't happen everywhere. Invasions advance quickly in some streams, but not others. To effectively manage invasions and their consequences it is important to prioritize limited management resources (time and money) where risks and chances of success are highest. To support this need the Boise Aquatic Sciences Laboratory has focused its invasive species research in three primary areas: Detection, Prediction and Management. Recent work will be in application soon and has shown that management of non-native invasions is often a tradeoff. Intentional isolation of native species with stream barriers to protect them from invasion, for example, can also increase the chance of local extinction through loss of connection to other habitats and populations. Direct eradication of invasive species is also extremely costly and can have unwanted side effects on other native species. The risks associated with tradeoffs like these depend strongly on environmental context (stream size, climate, habitat condition, species, etc.) and the goals of conservation management. Scientists in the Boise lab have collaborated with Region 1, Colorado State University, and the Fish and Wildlife Service to develop a conceptual framework to support consistent and defensible evaluations of these issues (see Fausch et al. 2006). Application of the framework can be enhanced through formal decision analysis and a decision model is also in development.

Managers are faced with the urgency of native species declines, a growing list of threats including invasive species, and a complex problem of tradeoffs and uncertainty that has led to conflict and inconsistency in management actions. Our framework provides the objective foundation for consistent, defensible evaluations of management actions and effective prioritization of limited resources.

References

More information on this work and related issues can be found in:

Fausch, K.D., Rieman, B.E., Young, M.K., and Dunham, J.B. 2006. Strategies for conserving native salmonid populations at risk from nonnative fish invasions: tradeoffs in using barriers to upstream movement. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, GTR RMRS-GTR-174, Fort Collins, CO.

Adams, S.B., C.A. Frissell, and B.E. Rieman. 2000. Movements of non-native brook trout in relation to stream channel slope. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 129:623-638.

Adams, S.B., C.A. Frissell, and B.E. Rieman. 2001. Geography of invasion in mountain streams: consequences of headwater lake fish introductions. Ecosystems. 296-307.

Adams, S.B., C.A. Frissell, and B.E. Rieman. 2002. Changes in distribution of non-native brook trout in an Idaho drainage over two decades. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 131: 561-568.

Dunham, J., D. Pilliod, and M. Young. 2004. Assessing the Consequences of Nonnative Trout in Headwater Ecosystems. Fisheries 29(6):18-26.

Dunham, J., S. B. Adams, R. Schroeter and D. Novinger. 2002. Alien invasions in aquatic ecosystems: Toward an understanding of brook trout invasions and their potential impacts on inland cutthroat trout in western North America. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 12:373-391

Dunham, J.B., M.K. Young, R.E. Gresswell, and B.E. Rieman. 2003. Effects of fire on fish populations: landscape perspectives on persistence of native fishes and non-native fish invasions. Forest Ecology and Management 178: 183-196.

Rich, Jr. C.F., T.E. McMahon, B.E. Rieman and W.L. Thompson. 2003. Local-habitat, watershed, and biotic features associated with bull trout occurrence in Montana streams. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 132:1053-1064.

Rieman, B.E., J.T. Peterson, and D.E. Myers. 2006. Have brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) displaced bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) along longitudinal gradients in central Idaho streams? Canadian Journal of Fish and Aquatic Sciences 63:63-78.

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