Canadian River Research Articles

Hydrotechnical advances in Canadian river ice science and engineering during the past 35 years

Greater opportunity now exists compared to 35 years ago for civil engineers to apply river ice knowledge to practical problems of planning, designing, and operating hydro-power facilities, water intakes, bridges, and other infrastructure along ice-covered rivers. This is due to major advancements made during this period in understanding the physical processes of river ice formation, growth and breakup, in developing instrumentation for acquisition of information on winter environments, and in developing numerical modelling tools. An increasing number of journal articles, as well as papers presented at the river ice workshops of the CGU Committee on River Ice Processes and the Environment (CRIPE) and the ice symposia of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) attest to the advancement in river ice science and engineering knowledge that has occurred during the past 35 years. This paper reviews the developments in river ice science and engineering from a Canadian perspective and briefly discusses future directions.

Spatial variations in geochemical characteristics of the modern Mackenzie Delta sedimentary system

The Mackenzie River in Canada is by far the largest riverine source of sediment and organic carbon (OC) to the Arctic Ocean. Therefore the transport, degradation and burial of OC along the land-to-ocean continuum for this riverine system is important to study both regionally and as a dominant representative of Arctic rivers. Here, we apply sedimentological (grain size, mineral surface area), and organic and inorganic geochemical techniques (%OC, δ13C-OC and Δ14C-OC, 143Nd/144Nd, δ2H and δ18O, major and trace elements) on particulate, bank, channel and lake surface sediments from the Mackenzie Delta, as well as on surface sediments from the Mackenzie shelf in the Beaufort Sea. Our data show a hydrodynamic sorting effect resulting in the accumulation of finer-grained sediments in lake and shelf deposits. A general decrease in organic carbon (OC) to mineral surface area ratios from river-to-sea furthermore suggests a loss of mineral-bound terrestrial OC during transport through the delta and deposition on the shelf. The net isotopic value of the terrestrial OC that is lost en route, derived from relationships between δ13C, OC and surface area, is −28.5‰ for δ13C and −417‰ for Δ14C. We calculated that OC burial efficiencies are around 55%, which are higher (∼20%) than other large river systems such as the Amazon. Old sedimentary OC ages, up to 12 14C-ky, suggest the delivery of both a petrogenic OC source (with an estimated contribution of 19±9%) as well as a pre-aged terrestrial OC source. We calculated the 14C-age of this pre-aged, biogenic, component to be about 6100yrs, or −501‰, which illustrates that terrestrial OC in the watershed can reside for millennia in soils before being released into the river. Surface sediments in lakes across the delta (n=20) showed large variability in %OC (0.92–5.7%) and δ13C (−30.7‰ to −23.5‰). High-closure lakes, flooding only at exceptionally high water levels, hold high sedimentary OC contents (>2.5%) and young biogenic OC with a terrestrial or an autochthonous source whereas no-closure lakes, permanently connected to a river channel, hold sediments with pre-aged, terrestrial OC. The intermediate low-closure lakes, flooding every year during peak discharge, display the largest variability in OC content, age and source, likely reflecting variability in for example the length of river–lake connections, the distance to sediment source and the number of intermediate settling basins. Bank, channel and suspended sediment show variable 143Nd/144Nd values, yet there is a gradual but distinct spatial transition in 143Nd/144Nd (nearly three ε units; from −11.4 to −13.9) in the detrital fraction of lake surface sediments from the western to the eastern delta. This reflects the input of younger Peel River catchment material in the west and input of older geological source material in the east, and suggests that lake sediments can be used to assess variability in source watershed patterns across the delta.

Red water, black gold: the Canadian River in western Texas, 1920-1999

Red water, black gold: the Canadian River in western Texas, 1920-1999

Climate change and resilience of tributary thermal refugia for salmonids in eastern Canadian rivers

River water temperature regimes are expected to change along with climate over the next decades. This work focuses on three important salmon rivers of eastern Canada, two of which warm up most summers to temperatures higher than the Atlantic salmon lethal limit (>28°C). Water temperature was monitored at 53 sites on the three basins during 2–18 summers, with about half of these sites either known or potential thermal refugia for salmon. Site-specific statistical models predicting water temperature, based on 10 different climate scenarios, were developed in order to assess how many of these sites will remain cool enough to serve as refugia in the future (2046–2065). The results indicate that, while 19 of the 23 identified refugia will persist, important increases in the occurrence and duration of temperature events in excess of 24°C and 28°C, respectively, in the mainstems of the rivers, will lead to higher demands for thermal refugia in the salmonid populations.Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor T. Okruszko

Embodied heritage on the French River: Canoe routes and colonial history

In 1985, Ontario's French River was designated one of the inaugural Canadian Heritage Rivers by the Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS), highlighting the important natural and cultural heritage of the French River to the Canadian nation. Specifically, the designation noted the role the French River played in the fur trade as a major link between the port of Montreal and the trading posts of the interior. Important to the CHRS is the ability to recreationally experience the French River by canoe, replicating the voyageur mode of travel. The connection between landscape, colonial heritage, and recreational vehicles is emblematic of a particular historiographic reading of Canadian rivers that celebrates the land of the nation as an encounter with the nation's origins. In this heritage production, the tangled politics of colonialism, particularly the dynamics of the fur trade, are elided in the celebration of the nation as emerging from the landscape—not the social and political history of that landscape. By promoting this heritage through the embodied experience of a canoe trip, heritage promotion on the French risks reading history through a very limited lens, thus missing the value of understanding the historical geography of the French River as a contested space.

Nonstationary Analysis of Annual Maximum Streamflow of Canada

Abstract Both natural climate change and anthropogenic impacts may cause nonstationarities in hydrological extremes. In this study, long-term annual maximum streamflow (AMS) records from 145 stations over Canada were used to investigate the nonstationary characteristics of AMS, which include abrupt changes and monotonic temporal trends. The nonparameteric Pettitt test was applied to detect abrupt changes, while temporal monotonic trend analysis in AMS series was conducted using the nonparameteric Mann–Kendall and Spearman tests, as well as a parametric Pearson test. Nonstationary frequency analysis of the AMS series was done using a group of nonstationary probability distributions. The nonstationary characteristics of Canadian AMS were further investigated in terms of the Hurst exponent (H), which represents the long-term persistence (LTP) of streamflow data. The results presented here indicate that for Canadian AMS data, abrupt changes are detected more frequently than monotonic trends, partly because many rivers began to be regulated in the twentieth century. Drainage basins that have experienced significant land-use changes are more likely to show temporal trends in AMS, compared to pristine basins with stable land-use conditions. The nonstationary characteristics of AMS were accounted for by fitting the data with probability distributions with time-varying parameters. Large H found in almost ⅔ of the Canadian AMS dataset indicates strong LTP, which may partly represent the presence of long-term memories in many Canadian river basins. Furthermore, H values of AMS data are positively correlated with the basin area of Canadian rivers. It seems that nonstationary frequency analysis, instead of the traditional stationary hydrologic frequency analysis, should be employed in the future.

Characterization of trends in reservoir storage, streamflow, and precipitation in the Canadian River watershed in New Mexico and Texas

Dams and reservoirs were created on the Canadian River in New Mexico and Texas between 1918 and 1984 to supply water for irrigation and industrial and municipal uses; however, there are indications that the storage in the 4 major reservoirs is insufficient for current demand. This study was conducted to document changes in reservoir storage and streamflow throughout the watershed and to investigate the hypothesis that decreases in reservoir storage since 1990 were associated with changes in rainfall. Time-series analyses indicated that the reservoir storage values for all 4 major impoundments (Eagle Nest Lake, Conchas Lake, Ute Lake, and Lake Meredith) on the Canadian River in New Mexico and Texas during the decade of 2000–2009 were less than the historical means. Streamflows at all 4 USGS gauges on the Canadian River in New Mexico and Texas from 2000 to 2009 were less than the long-term mean flows. Mean annual precipitation from 36 weather stations either in or adjoining the watershed tended to be lower from 2001 to 2010 than the period from 1971 to 2000. The frequency of rainfall events in excess of 50 mm from a weighing rain gauge at Bushland, Texas, from 2000 to 2009 was different from that reported from 1960 to 1979. ArcSWAT, a hydrological model, was able to simulate the observed declines in storage in Lake Meredith from 1990 to 2009 using historical rainfall data. These results support the hypothesis that the decreases in storage in Lake Meredith were associated with changes in rainfall.

Combined impacts of future climate and land use changes on discharge, nitrogen and phosphorus loads for a Canadian river basin

Both climate and land use changes can influence water quality and quantity in different ways. Thus, for predicting future water quality and quantity trends, simulations should ideally account for both projected climate and land use changes. In this paper, land use projections and climate change scenarios were integrated with a hydrological model to estimate the relative impact of climate and land use projections on a suite of water quality and quantity endpoints for a Canadian watershed. Climatic time series representing SRES change scenario A2 were generated by downscaling the outputs of the Canadian Regional Climate Model (version 4.1.1) using a combination of quantile–quantile transformation and nearest neighbor search. The SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model was used to simulate streamflow, nitrogen and phosphorus loading under different climate and land use scenarios. Results showed that a) climate change will drive up maximum monthly streamflow, nitrate loads, and organic phosphorus loads, while decreasing organic nitrogen and nitrite loads; and b) land use changes were found to drive the same water quality/quantity variables in the same direction as climate change, except for organic nitrogen loads, for which the effects of the two stressors had a reverse impact on loading.

Nucleotide variation in the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase 1 gene in the Siberian sucker (Catostomus catostomus rostratus) from Kolyma River

This study presents the data of the first molecular genetic analysis of the Siberian sucker from Kolyma River. Polymorphism of the mtDNA cytochrome oxidase 1 gene was established. Comparative sequence analysis of the gene examined and the GenBank variants characterizing suckers from the rivers of Canada enabled the suggestion that the sucker penetrated to Asia from North America approximately at the end of Early and the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene. It was demonstrated that intrapopulation genetic variation in the Siberian sucker accounted for 11.63% of total variation, while the proportion of the intergroup, component (Fst) constituted 88.37%. It seems likely that a considerable proportion of intergroup variation was caused by the long period of isolation of the Siberian sucker in Kolyma River. The prevalence of one common haplotype, CH-COI 1, in the sample examined indicates that the founder effect played an importaht role in the history of the formation of the Kolyma population.

Recent changes in patterns of western Canadian river flow and association with climatic drivers

Climatic variability and change can have profound impacts on the hydrologic regime of a watershed, especially in regions that are sensitive to changes in climate, such as the northern latitudes and alpine-fed regions of western Canada. Quantifying historical spatial and temporal changes in hydrological data can provide useful information as to how water resources are affected by climatic and atmospheric forcings, as well as create an understanding of potential future variability. Trends in western Canadian runoff are examined for the period of 1976–2010. Regional patterns of spatial variability are quantified using a principal component analysis (PCA) that results in the identification of three hydrological regions. Both watershed-scale and PCA trend results show increased runoff in the northern-most watersheds, while decreased water availability has generally affected the mid-latitude basins. The southern watersheds show increases and decreases in runoff with no significant trends. Runoff is shown to be positively correlated with precipitation. Runoff in some regions of western Canada is shown to be influenced by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Pacific North American (PNA) modes of atmospheric variability. The results of this analysis provide water managers with an indication of the direction and magnitude of changing water availability in western Canada.

Correction: Artificial Sweeteners in a Large Canadian River Reflect Human Consumption in the Watershed

Correction: Artificial Sweeteners in a Large Canadian River Reflect Human Consumption in the Watershed

Benthic macroinvertebrate flow sensitivity as a tool to assess effects of hydropower related ramping activities in streams in Ontario (Canada)

Within Canada, hydro-electric power is the leading source of energy for households and industry. It is thus critical to understand and minimize its ecological impacts, by developing management guidelines for hydropower operations. Flow peaking is a common practice at hydroelectric facilities as hydropower generation often tracks the demand in electricity, and understanding its ecological impacts is key to developing sustainable river management guidelines. Based on standard macroinvertebrate biomonitoring data, the Canadian Ecological Flow Index (CEFI) is a tool to assess flow sensitivity based on Canadian rivers. Having already demonstrated its utility to detect changes in flow conditions, CEFI was applied in this study to investigate the ecological effects of altering a peaking hydropower scheme, specifically by changing the ramping rate, or the rate of change of flow from minimum to maximum and back in a peaking cycle. Data were collected in two proximate rivers in Ontario: one experiencing hydropower ramping and the other with a natural flow regime, allowing the detection of the effects unlimited ramping using a BACI (Before–After/Control–Impact) design. In the regulated river, the first two years of the study were subjected to restricted ramping rate practices while unlimited ramping was permitted thereafter. Hydrological data were collected at each station and used to compute a series of 33 Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) metrics to characterize the ecohydrological condition of the river systems. The benthic community responded to changes in ramping rate and CEFI was able to discriminate the alteration signal and to diagnose the impact. Hydrological descriptors of the effects of the ramping activities were clear drivers of the CEFI variation in the hydropower-ramping site. This study is the first to apply the CEFI approach to a BACI in situ experiment. The CEFI tool again proved to be a useful indicator of flow alteration, with great promise for its use in the development of hydroecological management guidelines.

Using regional flow classes as references to analyse flow regime anomalies across a set of regulated Canadian rivers

Summary It is well established that a river’s natural flow regime is a key determinant of ecological integrity and that dam regulated-flow releases can be detrimental to biotic communities and even affect river ecosystem structure (e.g. Poff and Zimmerman, 2010). Regional flow classes, groups of rivers that share similar natural flow regimes (called ‘river types’ by Poff and Zimmerman (2010)) and to which regional fish communities are ‘adapted’, have been proposed as units of analysis to identify significant damming related flow alteration (e.g. Poff, 1996; Poff and Zimmerman, 2010; McManamay et al., 2012a). Specifically, the natural range of flow behaviour within regional classes can be used to identify clearly anomalous flow features in rivers regulated by dams. Through ordination analysis on 70 ecologically important flow indices, we isolated five distinctive regional groupings of natural flow regimes among the 96 unregulated rivers located in study regions of South Eastern and South Western Canada, selected based on watershed characteristics as possible references for the 13 hydro-regulated, NSERC-HydroNet study rivers in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. The distinguishing characteristics of natural flow regimes within each flow class are explored through visualization in principal component space. The 16 regulated HydroNet sites were assigned to appropriate regional flow classes through discriminant function analysis based on shared geographic location and watershed characteristics. Anomalous flow features in the regulated rivers are then characterized by type and strength, based on identification of flow indices that are significantly different from observed natural variability in the relevant regional class. The magnitude distributions and the main axes of variability in index anomalies are analysed, across regions and regulation types (storage, peaking and run-of-the-river (RoR)). We also discuss the potential biological implications of the dominant flow anomalies in this set of Canadian rivers regulated by hydro dams.

A Comparison of Electrofishing and Visual Surveying Methods for Estimating Fish Community Structure in Temperate Rivers

AbstractStudies attempting to describe fish community structure in shallow riverine environments typically rely on electrofishing and/or visual (snorkelling) surveys, but few have addressed the relative efficiencies of these two methods at estimating fish density and biomass across wide ranges of geography, taxonomy and life history stages. Multiple paired electrofishing and visual surveys were conducted in 18 temperate Canadian rivers in order to obtain community‐wide density and biomass estimates from both methods. Partial canonical multivariate analyses were applied to the paired fish community matrices comparing the results of both surveying methods at the taxonomic levels of family, genus and species, as well as size classes within families and species, to assess the particular effectiveness of each sampling method. Although electrofishing estimates of family and species richness were generally greater, snorkelling surveys tended to generate higher density and biomass estimates for different size classes of many salmonid and cyprinid species. Moreover, mean river biomass estimates derived from visual surveying matched those obtained from our best mean river biomass estimates arising from the two methods combined. This study provides empirical evidence that electrofishing and visual survey methods generate different types of information when assessing fish community structure at the family level or by size classes. Our results provide ample background information for determining the most accurate sampling method for a particular fish community assemblage, which is fundamental to fisheries management and research. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Climate change impacts on the hydrologic regime of a Canadian river: comparing uncertainties arising from climate natural variability and lumped hydrological model structures

Abstract. Diagnosing the impacts of climate change on water resources is a difficult task pertaining to the uncertainties arising from the different modelling steps. Lumped hydrological model structures contribute to this uncertainty as well as the natural climate variability, illustrated by several members from the same Global Circulation Model. In this paper, the hydroclimatic modelling chain consists of twenty-four potential evapotranspiration formulations, twenty lumped conceptual hydrological models, and seven snowmelt modules. These structures are applied on a natural Canadian sub-catchment to address related uncertainties and compare them to the natural internal variability of simulated climate system as depicted by five climatic members. Uncertainty in simulated streamflow under current and projected climates is assessed. They rely on interannual hydrographs and hydrological indicators analysis. Results show that natural climate variability is the major source of uncertainty, followed by potential evapotranspiration formulations and hydrological models. The selected snowmelt modules, however, do not contribute much to the uncertainty. The analysis also illustrates that the streamflow simulation over the current climate period is already conditioned by the tools' selection. This uncertainty is propagated to reference simulations and future projections, amplified by climatic members. These findings demonstrate the importance of opting for several climatic members to encompass the important uncertainty related to the climate natural variability, but also of selecting multiple modelling tools to provide a trustworthy diagnosis of the impacts of climate change on water resources.

Winter Flows in the Mackenzie Drainage System

Winter low flow of northern rivers refers to the diminished discharge between the time of rapid flow reduction in the freeze-up period and the arrival of spring freshet, when the flow makes a quick rise. For the Mackenzie River in Canada, the duration of the winter low-flow season so defined varies considerably within the river’s large basin (1.8 million km2); therefore, to give a common time frame that enables between-basin comparison we consider 1 November to 31 March as the winter flow season. Several hydroclimatic conditions influence winter flows to varying degrees. Lengthy periods of sub-freezing temper­atures inhibit rain events and prevent snowmelt, while the formation of river ice increases channel storage at the expense of discharge. Groundwater sustains baseflow, and the flow amount at most stations is related to autumnal discharge, which reflects groundwater storage status in the pre-winter season. Large reservoirs and lakes provide substantially higher winter flows than their neighboring non-lake areas. Winter flow increases downstream as more water is gathered from the expanded drainage network, but flow contribution varies: larger baseflow is delivered from uplands than from lowlands, and discharge from the Williston Lake reservoir, regulated for hydropower production, provides about half of the total winter flow of the Mackenzie. Monotonic linear trends in winter flow are detected statistically for some tributaries, but the effect of short-term flow variability and the confounding influence of managed flow should be evaluated when considering long-term tendencies and their causative factors.

Interacting effects of discharge and channel morphology on transport of semibuoyant fish eggs in large, altered river systems.

Habitat fragmentation and flow regulation are significant factors related to the decline and extinction of freshwater biota. Pelagic-broadcast spawning cyprinids require moving water and some length of unfragmented stream to complete their life cycle. However, it is unknown how discharge and habitat features interact at multiple spatial scales to alter the transport of semi-buoyant fish eggs. Our objective was to assess the relationship between downstream drift of semi-buoyant egg surrogates (gellan beads) and discharge and habitat complexity. We quantified transport time of a known quantity of beads using 2–3 sampling devices at each of seven locations on the North Canadian and Canadian rivers. Transport time was assessed based on median capture time (time at which 50% of beads were captured) and sampling period (time period when 2.5% and 97.5% of beads were captured). Habitat complexity was assessed by calculating width∶depth ratios at each site, and several habitat metrics determined using analyses of aerial photographs. Median time of egg capture was negatively correlated to site discharge. The temporal extent of the sampling period at each site was negatively correlated to both site discharge and habitat-patch dispersion. Our results highlight the role of discharge in driving transport times, but also indicate that higher dispersion of habitat patches relates to increased retention of beads within the river. These results could be used to target restoration activities or prioritize water use to create and maintain habitat complexity within large, fragmented river systems.

The history of sturgeon in the Baltic Sea

AbstractAimMigrants of the Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus, from North America are thought to have founded the Baltic sturgeon population during the Little Ice Age around 1200 years ago, replacing the European sturgeon, Acipenser sturio. To test this hypothesis and to further elucidate the colonization of the Baltic Sea by A. oxyrinchus, we carried out DNA analyses of ancient and contemporary populations of both species.LocationWe analysed DNA from 188 specimens of sturgeons collected from archaeological sites and museums in Poland and of 225 contemporary specimens from North American and European populations.MethodsSeveral mitochondrial DNA fragments were sequenced and eight microsatellite loci were genotyped for species identification, polymorphism and population structure analyses. Approximate Bayesian computation was used to estimate when the Baltic Sea was colonized.ResultsOf 125 ancient sturgeon specimens from the Baltic Sea, only four were classified as A. sturio, the remainder being A. oxyrinchus oxyrinchus. The ancient A. o. oxyrinchus population over two different time periods was highly polymorphic and genetically distant from contemporary populations of this taxon. The time of entry into the Baltic Sea was estimated to be 4000–5000 years ago. We also detected introgression of A. sturio into the A. o. oxyrinchus gene pool, caused by a prior hybridization event.Main conclusionsFor the past 2000 years at least, A. o. oxyrinchus has been the dominant sturgeon in the Baltic Sea, indicating a much earlier origin than previously suggested. The most similar extant sturgeon populations to the extinct Baltic stock are those from the St John and St Lawrence rivers in Canada. These populations should be considered the best source of breeding material for the ongoing sturgeon restitution programmes in Poland and Germany.

Quantifying baseflow and water-quality impacts from a gravel-dominated alluvial aquifer in an urban reach of a large Canadian river

Groundwater discharge and non-point source (NPS) loading were evaluated along an urban reach of an eastern-slopes Rocky Mountains river (Bow River, Canada) to understand sources of water-quality impacts and baseflow. The discharge did not increase measurably over a 16-km reach. Groundwater in the river-connected alluvial aquifer was a mixture of river and prairie groundwater, with elevated chloride concentrations (average 379 mg L–1) from road salt. Alluvial groundwater was the major NPS of chloride discharging to the river. Although the mass-flux based estimates of groundwater discharge were small (mean 0.02 m3 s–1 km–1, SD = 0.04 m3 s–1 km–1, n = 30), the associated chloride mass flux over 16 km was significant (equivalent to that discharged from the city’s largest wastewater-treatment-plant effluent). Although local groundwater baseflow was previously thought to contribute significantly to overwinter baseflow in this reach, little contribution was measured in this study. Low baseflow generation is consistent with long-term river discharge data that show almost all of the baseflow generation occurs in the Rocky Mountain reach. Thus, local watershed areas are important for water-quality protection, but climate change in the headwaters is most salient to long-term flow.

Phylogeography ofRhinichthys cataractae(Teleostei: Cyprinidae): pre-glacial colonization across the Continental Divide and Pleistocene diversification within the Rio Grande drainage

The longnose dace, Rhinichthys cataractae, is a primary freshwater fish inhabiting riffle habitats in small headwater rivers and streams across the North American continent, including drainages east and west of the Continental Divide. The mitochondrially encoded cytochrome b gene (1140 bp) and 2298–2346 bp of the nuclear-encoded genes S7 and RAG1 were obtained from 87 individuals of R. cataractae (collected from 17 sites throughout its range) and from several close relatives. Phylogenetic analyses recovered a monophyletic R. cataractae species-group that contained Rhinichthys evermanni, Rhinichthys sp. ‘Millicoma dace’, and a non-exclusive R. cataractae. Within the R. cataractae species-group, two well-supported lineages were identified, including a western lineage (containing R. evermanni, R. sp. ‘Millicoma dace’ and individuals of R. cataractae from Pacific slope drainages) and an eastern lineage (containing individuals of R. cataractae from Arctic, Atlantic, and Gulf slope drainages). Within the eastern lineage of R. cataractae, two well-supported groups were recovered: a south-eastern group, containing individuals from the Atlantic slope, southern tributaries to the Mississippi River, and the Rio Grande drainage; and a north-eastern group, containing individuals from the Arctic slope and northern tributaries to the Mississippi River. Estimates of the timing of divergence within the R. cataractae species-group, combined with ancestral area-reconstruction methods, indicate a separation between the eastern and western lineages during the Pliocene to early-Pleistocene, with a direction of colonization from the west of the Continental Divide eastward. Within the southern portion of its range, R. cataractae likely entered the Rio Grande drainage during the Pleistocene via stream capture events between the Arkansas River (Mississippi River drainage) and headwaters of the Rio Grande. A close relationship between populations of R. cataractae in the Rio Grande drainage and the adjacent Canadian River (Mississippi River drainage) is consistent with hypothesized stream capture events between the Pecos (Rio Grande drainage) and Canadian rivers during the late-Pleistocene. The population of R. cataractae in the lower Rio Grande may have become separated from other populations in the Rio Grande drainage (upper Rio Grande and Pecos River) and Canadian River during the late-Pleistocene, well before initiation of recent and significant anthropogenic disturbance within the Rio Grande drainage. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 111, 317–333.