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人工春汛的影响格雷戈里·P·迪特尔，古生物研究所，科罗拉多州-1420978摘要科罗拉多河水的过度分配导致了三角洲和最低河道的生态破坏。科罗拉多河每年向其三角洲输送超过1500万英亩英尺（约1.85x1010立方米）的水，但近年来这个数字为零。2012年，通过一项名为Minute 319的双边协议，美国和墨西哥谈判达成了一项为期五年的试验期，释放相当于约1%自然年河流排放量的环境脉冲流量。 虽然这种工程环境流量有可能成为一个恢复成功的故事，有一个关键的差距，在我们的知识：没有研究的软体动物群落的生态在河流的最低通道提供一个基准来评估这一恢复工作的成功。第一次脉冲将于2014年早春发布，为建立当前条件的基线提供了一个小窗口。 因此，这一建议寻求支持使用一个相对简单的社区为基础的方法-比较软体动物的生活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。所收集的样本将提供一个独特的视角，对组成的前脉冲流社区，这是不可用的任何其他来源，这将允许未来的问题，有关脉冲流的成功。

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.