Texas Drought of Record: Lessons Learned for the Conservation of Broadcast Spawning Cyprinids

The La Niña event of 2011 was among the most severe in recorded history and resulted in drastically reduced stream flows throughout the Great Plains region.  This record-setting drought was centered on Texas and Oklahoma, which saw drastic reductions in precipitation. Large streams and rivers in this portion of the Great Plains are inhabited by a guild of cyprinids that broadcast spawn semi-buoyant ova into the current, and require flowing water for successful recruitment.  Among the sites we monitored in 2011, there was a complete lack of reproduction in the Brazos River, Texas and a nearly complete failure in the Canadian River, Texas.  In coordination with the USFWS and Texas Parks and Wildlife, we collected mature individuals of five imperiled cyprinids and returned them to fish culture facilities for propagation in the event that reproduction was not possible in 2012. We were able to successfully propagate large numbers of three broadcast spawning species. However, two other broadcast spawning species went to a second facility, where propagation was largely unsuccessful. Herein, we use these case histories to recommend a protocol for collection, maintenance, and propagation of Great Plains cyprinids and recommend a proactive, rather than reactive approach to conservation-propagation.