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Freshwater fish at risk or extinct in México

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Abstract

The Mexican freshwater fish that are at risk orextinct are listed by family, state,basin/region, and causes of risk. Of the 506known species, 168 are at some level of risk,and 25 are believed to be extinct. States withthe most reports are: Chihuahua (46); Coahuila(35); Nuevo León (20); Sonora (19); Durango(18); and Tamaulipas (15). With the exceptionof Sonora, these states are largely located inthe Río Bravo region, and are all arid orsemiarid. Most extinctions have occurred inNuevo León (8) and Coahuila (7). The maincauses of risk reported are: habitat reductionor alteration (86); water depletion (83);presence of exotics (76); small or decliningpopulation (73); and small habitat (57). Allof which result in very local endemism. Thesecauses of risk develop easily when thedistribution is small. The critical factor isaridity, which is associated withdesertization. Water conflicts were to beexpected, and the result is resource nonsustainability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, A.P. 504, San Nicolás, N.L., México, 66450

    Salvador Contreras-Balderas

  2. Cambridge, UK

    Patricia Almada-Villela

  3. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, A.P. 425, San Nicolás, N.L., México, 66450

    María de Lourdes Lozano-Vilano & María García-Ramírez

Authors
  1. Salvador Contreras-Balderas
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  2. Patricia Almada-Villela
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  3. María de Lourdes Lozano-Vilano
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  4. María García-Ramírez
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Contreras-Balderas, S., Almada-Villela, P., de Lourdes Lozano-Vilano, M. et al. Freshwater fish at risk or extinct in México. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 12, 241–251 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025053001155

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