Using the Tools of Conservation Paleobiology to Assess the Impact of the Engineered Spring-Flood of the Colorado River

利用保护古生物学的工具评估科罗拉多河工程春洪的影响[j] . gregory P. Dietl，古生物研究所，[r] . 1420978 [j] .科罗拉多河水资源的过度分配导致了其三角洲和最下游河道的生态破坏。科罗拉多河每年向其三角洲输送超过1500万英亩英尺（约1.85 × 1010立方米）的水，但近年来这个数字已经为零。2012年，通过一项名为“319分钟”的两国协议，美国和墨西哥商定，在5年的试验期内释放相当于河流年自然流量约1%的环境脉冲流量。虽然这种工程环境流有可能成为恢复成功的故事，但在我们的知识中存在一个关键的空白：没有关于河流最下游河道中软体动物群落生态学的研究，可以为评估这种恢复工作的成功提供基准。第一个脉冲将在2014年早春释放，提供一个小窗口，为当前的条件建立基线。因此，该提案寻求支持使用一种相对简单的基于社区的方法——比较软体动物的生存和时间平均死亡组合——由保护古生物学家开发，以建立一个基线。收集到的样本将为预脉冲流群落的组成提供一个独特的视角，这是无法从任何其他来源获得的，这将允许提出有关脉冲流成功的未来问题。

Using the Tools of Conservation Paleobiology to Assess the Impact of the Engineered Spring-Flood of the Colorado RiverByGregory P. Dietl, Paleontological Research Institute, EAR-1420978ABSTRACTThe over allocation of the Colorado River's water has led to the ecological devastation of its delta and lowermost channel. The Colorado River annually delivered over fifteen million acre-feet (~1.85x1010 m3) of water to its delta but in recent years that number has been zero. In 2012, via a bi-national agreement known as Minute 319, environmental pulse flows equal to approximately 1% of the natural annual river discharge were negotiated by the United States and Mexico to be released over a five-year trial period. While this engineered environmental flow has the potential to be a restoration success story, there is a crucial gap in our knowledge: no studies on the ecology of the molluscan community in the lowermost channel of the river are available to provide a benchmark for evaluating the success of this restoration effort. The first pulse will be released in the early spring of 2014, providing a small window in which to establish a baseline for current conditions. This proposal thus seeks support to use a relatively simple community-based approach - comparison of molluscan living and time-averaged death assemblages - developed by conservation paleobiologists to establish a baseline. The samples collected will provide a unique perspective on the composition of the pre-pulse-flow community that is not available from any other source, which will allow the asking of future questions about the success of the pulse flows.