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This poster summarizes the body of research on the vertebrate community of the Mora River being carried out by faculty and students of New Mexico Highlands University. This anchor posters presents the context in which many of the projects are taking place with reference to the general methods used and common study site and techniques. The core of the project consists of evaluating the impact of Bullfrog eradication in the community of aquatic vertebrates. For this purpose, a section of the Mora River was divided in two regions. One experimental where the bullfrogs were eradicated using different methods and another one, control, where bullfrog population is not affected. Most of the project associated in this site look at the impact of the presence or absence of bull frogs on different aspects of the ecosystem.

Invasive species are the single most important conservation problem at the species level. When a new species colonizes a new habitat, it finds good conditions since the local organisms do not have an evolutionary history exposure to the invaders. Potential prey has not evolved defenses against the newcomer and predators do not recognize it as prey. American bullfrog (Lithobates castebiana) was introduced in Northern New Mexico more than 50 years ago. Its impact on the local fauna has been quite important driving to extinction many local populations of native species. In this Study we set out to assess the impact that the bullfrog predation on the local wildlife. We studied the diet of 268 via analyzing their stomach content. Surprisingly we did not find any of the native amphibians in the diet of the bullfrogs. In fact, an invasive species of crayfish seems to be the dominant prey item in their diet. We hypothesize that local populations of leopard frogs might have evolved behavioral avoidance of bullfrog predation. The potential use of this population to restock places where leopard frogs have gone extinct is an appealing, and seemingly possible, alternative.

The combined effects of agriculture, climate change, and river channelization have left native Northern New Mexico species vulnerable to predation and competition from invasive species. This study examines the demographic changes of the native Northern leopard frogs after the removal of the invasive species the American Bullfrog. A section of the Mora River was divided in 2000- meter long section. One control region where no bullfrogs were eliminated and an experimental region where we eradicated Bullfrogs. Fifty one Leopard frogs were captured, pit tagged, and processed for demographic data. Control and experimental regions did not differ in the relative abundance of leopard frogs. We did not find significant difference in the mass of frogs from the two regions either. The preliminary data does show lower average mass and greater abundance in the experimental region suggesting an increase in recruitment of metamorphosis frog into the population. A change in demography within a year of bullfrog removal shows how fast a species can react to environmental changes.

Plan to Increase American Beaver Populations at Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge, NM Goals: Grow beaver population in Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge to 20; Improve and expand habitat; Deter bison from beaver habitat

This poster illustrates the parts of a typical watershed, describes some basic concepts, and provides suggestions for good land stewardship. This version is a preliminary draft of a soon-to-be-published product. Contact the Forest and Watershed Health Office ("contact us") for permission to use or for more information.