~_ ..4
<br />on, thoroughness. and time available
<br />tay differ greatly from collector to
<br />ollector. It may he nearly impossible
<br />~ seine fishes that are readil~~ taken by
<br />leans of electrofishing methods or gill
<br />ets. Data obtained in winter, when a
<br />iven species retires to deep pools, may
<br />document" its extinction, but in .June
<br />he fish may swarm in shallow, more
<br />ccessible places. We know three stu-
<br />ents who worked more than half a
<br />Wile of stream in southern Arizona
<br />rith electrofishing equipment in an at-
<br />empt to catch the Yaqui chub, Gila
<br />?ilaenia; they failed. The area they
<br />ampled was Less than a fourth of a
<br />Wile upstream from the canyon in
<br />vhich the species was abundant, and in
<br />vhich it remains abundant today; the
<br />tream was flowing in the area of
<br />ampling only as a result of persistent
<br />ainfall. Such errors are to be expected
<br />n any field operation, especially if spe-
<br />~ific data are not generally available.
<br />A program of study on the more ob-
<br />cure "endangered" species is hampered
<br />i) by a lack of information (informa-
<br />ion concerning [he species in question
<br />:nd .information disseminated to the
<br />tublic); (ii) by misinformation (or un-
<br />Ivailability of unpublished data) largely
<br />•esulting from a lack of time on the part
<br />]f people in the field; and (iii) by apathy
<br />m the part of the public and of profes-
<br />ional workers. Lack of communication,
<br />• iven among active scientists, may result
<br />o grievous errors. Making a collection
<br />]f fishes from a desert spring may not
<br />,eem a serious matter; however, if
<br />mother worker is systematically sam-
<br />lli:tg the already small population for a
<br />ifc-history study, activities of. a collec-
<br />or unaware of this sampling could pro-
<br />luce results that are spurious, to say the
<br />east. Errors in judgment may also
<br />-ause problems. For example, an ich-
<br />h)•ologist who may wish to eradicate
<br />-xotic fishes from a spring so that the
<br />tative form may be reestablished had
<br />lest consider the effects of his efforts on
<br />]ther organisms; in preserving a fish
<br />+pecies, a gepus or higher taxon of in-
<br />~ertcbrate animal might be destroyed.
<br />iuch a happening is not consistent with
<br />I successful, progressive program. Per-
<br />~ons studying fishes are perhaps delin-
<br />{ucnt in not reviewing the endemicity
<br />tnd distributions of other animal
<br />;coups. However, scientists working
<br />>n other groups appear, with some
<br />potable exceptions, relatively unaware
<br />>f changes taking place in many habi-
<br />ats, and have yet to become active in
<br />locumenting depleted populations.
<br />What are needed arc broad, ,c~mpre-
<br />hensive studies geared to++ard realization
<br />of three major objecti+~es. (i) thorouoh
<br />documentation of the past and present
<br />population status of nati+e animals, with
<br />publication of data and wide dissemina-
<br />tion of topical reports: (iii accumulation
<br />of basic information on ccoloeic re-
<br />quirements of depleted animal species
<br />and, if possible, preparation of descrip-
<br />tive life histories for such animals: and
<br />(iii) possible laboratory study and main-
<br />tenance of populations of depleted
<br />species in seminatural conditions, in
<br />case nothing can be done to maintain
<br />their habitats in nature. This laboratory
<br />maintenance is simple in some in-
<br />stances, especially in most fishes of our
<br />category 4, but is exceedingly complex
<br />and time-consuming in the case of
<br />larger species of category 3. After the
<br />objective of documentation is realized
<br />we will have information o^ depleted
<br />species that will speak for itself. We will
<br />then be in a position to project trends
<br />and consider probabilities on the basis
<br />of facts rather than observational inter-
<br />pretations. This documentation will lay
<br />the groundwork for study to satisfy the
<br />second objective. Populations large
<br />enough to sustain themselves under
<br />pressures of research collecting may be
<br />found, and detailed, meaningful infor-
<br />mation may be compiled. Laboratory
<br />study and maintenance' (the third objec-
<br />tive) may or may not be necessary, but
<br />the development of facilities and tech-
<br />niques for maintaining certain animals
<br />will insure their availability for future
<br />study and will provide substantial in-
<br />formation in itself. A number of fishes
<br />are currently being studied under such
<br />a program, but much additional effort
<br />is needed, on fishes and on other groups
<br />as well.
<br />The problems we have discussed are
<br />not unique to fishes, or to the American
<br />Southwest. However, they are acute in
<br />the Southwest because of the increasing
<br />population pressure on the limited
<br />aquatic environment. Most water laws,
<br />for instance, permit "beneficial" use of
<br />water without regard to the needs of
<br />wildlife. Habitat destruction is generally
<br />regarded as the vested right of the land-
<br />owner, and, if immediate economic gain
<br />can be realized, as the duty of govern-
<br />mental agencies. The problem of en-
<br />dangered species therefore is only one
<br />result of attitudes and measures which
<br />at present permit, or even demand, ex-
<br />ploitation of resources that the environ-
<br />ment has not the capacity to restore.
<br />Pumpage of water in Pahrump Valley
<br />in excess of the annual recharge does
<br />not differ, in kind, from farming prac-
<br />tices that result in the washing away of
<br />topsoil: front the rise of prime farming
<br />land for building cities: from lumbering
<br />that destro+•s forests; and from a hun-
<br />dred other catastrophic practices. These
<br />practices attempt to "answer a de-
<br />mand." instead of recognizing the more
<br />fundamental problem-that of meeting
<br />the long-term need of a population that
<br />will ultimately be forced to restrict its
<br />use of resources so as not to exceed the
<br />carn•ing capacity of the environment.
<br />Possibly the most compelling reason
<br />for preserving species is the value such
<br />a program has in demonstrating the
<br />importance of restraint. An "endan-
<br />gered species" program is imperative,
<br />not only for the sake of the species
<br />studied but also because of what it can
<br />teach us about the possibilities for con-
<br />tinued survival of other species, in-
<br />cluding man.
<br />In the narrower sense, in the program
<br />discussed here we .are dealing duectly
<br />with the western aquatic fauna, poorly
<br />known and viewed by many people as
<br />unimportant. These animals are difficult
<br />to observe and to exhibit, and are gen-
<br />erally considered less worthy of preser-
<br />vation than organisms of value to
<br />sportsmen or to industry. Native aquatic
<br />animals of the American Southwest are
<br />unique and endemic-part of an an-
<br />cient, relict fauna that provides impor-
<br />tant scientific information. Changes that
<br />have occurred and are occurring are
<br />amplified and accelerated by the scarcity
<br />of water. A great natural experiment of
<br />evolution, also amplified and perhaps
<br />accelerated by isolation in desert aquat-
<br />ic habitats, appears about to become an
<br />exercise in extinction, if man will have
<br />it so.
<br />References and Notes
<br />1. Nevada Game and Fish Commission, En-
<br />demic Endangered Fisb, Protection and Sanc-
<br />tuaries Jot (policy statement No. 16) (1%7);
<br />Los Angeles Times (29 December 1967).
<br />2. U.S. Bureau of Sports Fisheries and Wild-
<br />life, Rare and Endangered Flsh and WIldlije
<br />o/ the United Stages (Government Prlntlng
<br />Office, Washington, A.C., 1966), and papers
<br />cited therein.
<br />3. D. G. Frey, Ed., Limnology in North Amer-
<br />ica (Univ. of Wisconsin Press, Madison,
<br />1963), and papers cited therein.
<br />4. R. R. Miller, Papers Mlch. Acad. Scl. 46,
<br />365 (1961).
<br />S. J. C. Greenway, Estlnct and Vanishing Birds
<br />a) the World (American Committee on In-
<br />ternational Wildlife Protection, New York,
<br />(1958); G. C. Monro, Birds of iYawall
<br />('Iltttle, Rutland, Vt., 1960); F. Richardson
<br />and J. Bowles, B. P. Bishop Museum Bull.
<br />227, 1 (1964).
<br />6. C. L. Hobbs, Blologlsf 22, 61 (1940);
<br />and R. R Miller, Utah Unfv. Bull. 9ti, 17
<br />(1948); R. R. Miller, Unlv. Mich. Museum
<br />Zoo1. Misc. Pub. 68, 1 (1948); Amtr. Museum
<br />hat, Hlst. Mag. SB, 447 (1949); Evolution 4,
<br />lSi (1950).
<br />'9 MARCH 1968 1431
<br />
<br />~k.
<br />t: .
<br />~:.
<br />~';
<br />i
<br />C„.
<br />~~,
<br />
|