El Departamento, socios estudian matalotes jorobados en el río San Juan
El DGF colabora con Investigadores Ictiológicos del Sureste de Estados Unidos para probar algo nuevo en el río San Juan. Gracias a la tecnología, hemos desarrollado antenas con etiquetas transpondedoras integradas pasivas (etiquetas PIT, por sus siglas in inglés). Una etiqueta PIT es un pequeño dispositivo que utiliza radiofrecuencias para comunicar un código único desde una antena cuando se empareja con un lector, similar a la forma en que los microchips se utilizan para realizar [...]
Department works to #SaveOurSpecies
For more than 120 years, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has worked tirelessly to manage our state’s diverse wildlife. Our work with game species—any animals that are hunted, fished or trapped—always attracts the (mountain) lion’s share of attention. But managing game species is just one aspect of our goal to conserve New Mexico’s wildlife for future generations. Our work with New Mexico’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN for short)—non-game animals [...]
Though ‘spineless,’ Texas hornshell key to N.M.’s biodiversity
The following is just a taste of our work with invertebrate SGCN. Invertebrates are creatures that lack (“in-”) backbones (“vertebra”). The Texas hornshell is one of the few river mussels that are native to New Mexico. Although “spineless,” this mussel has proven robust in its fight to survive. Read on to discover the important part it plays in our biodiversity! * It’s a gray, crisp morning in Southern New Mexico. The back of a [...]
Biologist experiences threats to cuckoos firsthand
Erin Duvuvuei has managed a lot during her conservation career. She’s our non-game avian biologist who recently participated in a comprehensive survey of yellow-billed cuckoos in 11 western states. Erin’s encounter during a recent survey allowed her to experience the threats that can be faced by this bird first hand. The yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) is a member of the cuckoo family (Cuculidae). It’s native to wide swaths of the Americas running from southern [...]
Department, partners study razorback suckers in San Juan River
The DGF is collaborating with American Southwest Ichthyological Researchers to try something new in the San Juan River. Through technology, we’ve developed Passive Integrated Transponder tag antennas (PIT tags for short). A PIT tag is a small device that uses radio frequencies to communicate a unique code from an antenna when paired with a reader, similar to the way microchips are used to keep track of our dogs and cats. These PIT tags are being [...]
River otters thrive in upper Rio Grande
The North American river otter (Lontra canadensis), a member of the weasel family (Mustelidae), is a semiaquatic mammal endemic to the North American continent. Originally native to New Mexico’s Gila River, the Rio Grande and the Canadian River, this species has been sadly absent from the Southwest since the 1950s. Deforestation, pollution and unregulated trapping all contributed to their disappearance—until now! Thanks to concerted conservation efforts, river otters have been returning to their native [...]