Revealing the appetite of the marine aquarium fish trade: the volume and biodiversity of fish imported into the United States

The aquarium trade and other wildlife consumers are at a crossroads forced by threats from global climate change and other anthropogenic stressors that have weakened coastal ecosystems. While the wildlife trade may put additional stress on coral reefs, it brings income into impoverished parts of the world and may stimulate interest in marine conservation. To better understand the influence of the trade, we must first be able to quantify coral reef fauna moving through it. Herein, we discuss the lack of a data system for monitoring the wildlife aquarium trade and analyze problems that arise when trying to monitor the trade using a system not specifically designed for this purpose. To do this, we examined an entire year of import records of marine tropical fish entering the United States in detail, and discuss the relationship between trade volume, biodiversity and introduction of non-native marine fishes. Our analyses showed that biodiversity levels are higher than previous estimates. Additionally, more than half of government importation forms have numerical or other reporting discrepancies resulting in the overestimation of trade volumes by 27%. While some commonly imported species have been introduced into the coastal waters of the USA (as expected), we also found that some uncommon species in the trade have also been introduced. This is the first study of aquarium trade imports to compare commercial invoices to government forms and provides a means to, routinely and in real time, examine the biodiversity of the trade in coral reef wildlife species.

The relationship of shell dimensions and shell volume to live weight and soft tissue weight in the mangrove clam, Polymesoda erosa (Solander, 1786) from northern Australia

Shell dimensions (length, height, width) and shell volume were evaluated as estimators of growth for Polymesoda erosa in northern Australia. Each parameter was a good estimator when applied to live weight (r2 values of 76-96 percent), but not to soft tissue weight (wet, dry, or ash-free dry weight) (r2 values of 13-32 percent). The b value for shell volume to weight relationship of clams collected during the dry season (June to October) was signifi cantly different than for those collected in the wet season (February to April).

Breeding populations of seabirds in California, 1989-1991. Volume I - population estimates

In 1989-1991, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service surveyed breeding populations of seabirds on the entire California coast. This study was sponsored by the Minerals Management Service in relation to outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing. At 483 nesting sites (excluding terns and skimmers in southern California), we estimated 643,307 breeding birds of 21 seabird species including: 410 Fork-tailed Storm-petrel (Oceanodroma furcata); 12,551 Leach's Storm-petrel (O. leucorhoa); 7,209 Ashy Storm-petrel (O. homochroa); 274 Black Storm-petrel (O. melania); 11,916 Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis); 10,037 Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus); 83,394 Brandt's Cormorant (P. penicillatus); 14,345 Pelagic Cormorant (P. pelagicus); 888 Black Oystercatcher (Haemotopus bachmani); 4,764 California Gull (Larus californicus); 61,760 Western Gull (L. occidentalis); 2,838 Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia) (excluding southern California); 3,550 Forster's Tern (S. forsteri) (excluding southern California); 272 Least Tern (S. albifrons) (excluding southern California); 351,336 Common Murre (Uria aalge); 15,470 Pigeon Guillemot (Cepphus columba); 1,821 Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus); 1,760 Xantus' Murrelet (Endomychura hypoleuca); 56,562 Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramphus aleuticus); 1,769 Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata); and 276 Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata). The inland, historical or hybrid breeding status of American White Pelican (P. erythrorynchus), American Oystercatcher (H. palliatus), Heermann's Gull (L. heermanni), Ring-billed Gull (L. delawarensis), Glaucous-winged Gull (L. glaucescens) and Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) are discussed. Estimates for Gull-billed Tern (S. nilotica), Royal Tern (S. maxima), Elegant Tern (S. elegans) and Black Skimmer (Rhynchops niger) will be included in the final draft of this report. Overall numbers were slightly lower than reported in 1975-1980 surveys (summarized in Sowls et al. 1980. Catalog of California seabird colonies. U.S. Dept. Int., Fish Wildl. Serv., Biol. Serv. Prog., FWS/OBS 37/80). Recent declines were found or suspected for Fork-tailed Storm-petrel, Leach's Storm-petrel, White Pelican, Black Tern, Caspian Tern, Least Tern, Common Murre and Marbled Murrelet. Recent increases were found or suspected for Brown Pelican, Double-crested cormorant, California Gull, Western Gull, Forster's Tern and Rhinoceros Auklet. Similar numbers were found for other species or trends could not be determined without additional surveys, studies and/or more in-depth comparisons with previous surveys. The status of terns and skimmers in southern California has not yet been finalized.

Implications of using On-Farm Flood Flow Capture to recharge groundwater and mitigate flood risks along the Kings River, CA

Two large hydrologic issues face the Kings Basin, severe and chronic overdraft of about 0.16M ac-ft annually, and flood risks along the Kings River and the downstream San Joaquin River. Since 1983, these floods have caused over $1B in damage in today’s dollars. Capturing flood flows of sufficient volume could help address these two pressing issues which are relevant to many regions of the Central Valley and will only be exacerbated with climate change. However, the Kings River has high variability associated with flow magnitudes which suggests that standard engineering approaches and acquisition of sufficient acreage through purchase and easements to capture and recharge flood waters would not be cost effective. An alternative approach investigated in this study, termed On-Farm Flood Flow Capture, involved leveraging large areas of private farmland to capture flood flows for both direct and in lieu recharge. This study investigated the technical and logistical feasibility of best management practices (BMPs) associated with On-Farm Flood Flow Capture. The investigation was conducted near Helm, CA, about 20 miles west of Fresno, CA. The experimental design identified a coordinated plan to determine infiltration rates for different soil series and different crops; develop a water budget for water applied throughout the program and estimate direct and in lieu recharge; provide a preliminary assessment of potential water quality impacts; assess logistical issues associated with implementation; and provide an economic summary of the program. At check locations, we measured average infiltration rates of 4.2 in/d for all fields and noted that infiltration rates decreased asymptotically over time to about 2 – 2.5 in/d. Rates did not differ significantly between the different crops and soils tested, but were found to be about an order of magnitude higher in one field. At a 2.5 in/d infiltration rate, 100 acres are required to infiltrate 10 CFS of captured flood flows. Water quality of applied flood flows from the Kings River had concentrations of COC (constituents of concern; i.e. nitrate, electrical conductivity or EC, phosphate, ammonium, total dissolved solids or TDS) one order of magnitude or more lower than for pumped groundwater at Terranova Ranch and similarly for a broader survey of regional groundwater. Applied flood flows flushed the root zone and upper vadose zone of nitrate and salts, leading to much lower EC and nitrate concentrations to a depth of 8 feet when compared to fields in which more limited flood flows were applied or for which drip irrigation with groundwater was the sole water source. In demonstrating this technology on the farm, approximately 3,100 ac-ft was diverted, primarily from April through mid-July, with about 70% towards in lieu and 30% towards direct recharge. Substantial flood flow volumes were applied to alfalfa, wine grapes and pistachio fields. A subset of those fields, primarily wine grapes and pistachios, were used primarily to demonstrate direct recharge. For those fields about 50 – 75% of water applied was calculated going to direct recharge. Data from the check studies suggests more flood flows could have been applied and infiltrated, effectively driving up the amount of water towards direct recharge. Costs to capture flood flows for in lieu and direct recharge for this project were low compared to recharge costs for other nearby systems and in comparison to irrigating with groundwater. Moreover, the potentially high flood capture capacity of this project suggests significant flood avoidance costs savings to downstream communities along the Kings and San Joaquin Rivers. Our analyses for Terranova Ranch suggest that allocating 25% or more flood flow water towards in lieu recharge and the rest toward direct recharge will result in an economically sustainable recharge approach paid through savings from reduced groundwater pumping. Two important issues need further consideration. First, these practices are likely to leach legacy salts and nitrates from the unsaturated zone into groundwater. We develop a conceptual model of EC movement through the unsaturated zone and estimated through mass balance calculations that approximately 10 kilograms per square meter of salts will be flushed into the groundwater through displacing 12 cubic meters per square meter of unsaturated zone pore water. This flux would increase groundwater salinity but an equivalent amount of water added subsequently is predicted as needed to return to current groundwater salinity levels. All subsequent flood flow capture and recharge is expected to further decrease groundwater salinity levels. Second, the project identified important farm-scale logistical issues including irrigator training; developing cropping plans to integrate farming and recharge activities; upgrading conveyance; and quantifying results. Regional logistical issues also exist related to conveyance, integration with agricultural management, economics, required acreage and Operation and Maintenance (O&M).