Changes in fish communities following concrete lining of the Coachella Canal, southeastern California

Gordon Mueller; Gary Bryant; Tom Burke

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USGS · 70123374

Changes in fish communities following concrete lining of the Coachella Canal, southeastern California

Gordon Mueller·Gary Bryant·Tom Burke

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Abstract

The fish community of a 3.4-km section of the concrete-lined Coachella Canal, Imperial County, California, was comprised of six species, with an absolute density of 0.039 fish/m 2 and estimated biomass of 4.367 g/m 2 . When compared to studies conducted in the canal prior to lining, or in other unlined areas, these data suggest reductions in species diversity (-14.3 to -62.5%), density (+8.9 to =83.8%), and biomass (-30.1 to -91.2%). These data support speculations that numbers of river-adapted fish would remain relatively high in a concrete-lined canal, but lentic and cover-oriented fishes such as centrarchis would decline.

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Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 32.6186° to 33.4338° latitude; -116.1063° to -114.4629° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Gordon Mueller, Gary Bryant, Tom Burke. 1989. Changes in fish communities following concrete lining of the Coachella Canal, southeastern California. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70123374

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