PROGRAM
Days: Wednesday, November 19th Thursday, November 20th Friday, November 21st Saturday, November 22nd Sunday, November 23rd
Wednesday, November 19th, 2025
View this program: with abstractssession overviewtalk overview
16:00-20:00 Session 1: Registration and packet pickup
drop by to pickup your pre-registration packet with name tag and other essentials, to pay in person, or to inquire about any aspect of the event, local information, etc.
Chair:
Dean Hendrickson (University of Texas, United States)
Location: Casa de Cultura - Sala de Congresos
Thursday, November 20th, 2025
View this program: with abstractssession overviewtalk overview
09:00-09:30 Session 2: Welcome / Bienvenida
Local committee and dignitaries welcoming the group
Chair:
Susana Moncada Diaz (DeSuValle, A.C., Mexico)
Location: Casa de Cultura - Sala de Congresos
09:30-10:00 Session 3: Dedication and Indigenous Peoples
Chair:
Dean Hendrickson (University of Texas, United States)
Location: Casa de Cultura - Sala de Congresos
| 09:30 | Dedication (abstract) |
| 09:40 | Resource Exploitation by the Indigenous People of the Cuatro Ciénegas Valley (abstract) |
10:00-10:30Coffee Break
10:30-13:00 Session 4: Invited Papers
Special invited session focusing on habitat history, threats, current status and conservation in Cuatrociénegas
Chair:
Alejandro Varela-Romero (Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico)
Location: Casa de Cultura - Sala de Congresos
| 10:30 | DFC and Cuatrociénegas: history and thoughts about the future (abstract)  |
| 11:05 | Overview of Activites of the staff of the Cuatrociénegas Protected Area (abstract) |
| 11:30 | Pro Cuatrociénegas Foundation; preserving and restoring a unique ecosystem (abstract) PRESENTER: Ana Sofia Perez |
| 11:45 | CICBEC: between academia, research, and culture in the Cuatro Ciénegas Valley, Coahuila (abstract) PRESENTER: Iñaky Laredo |
| 12:00 | Review of IMTA's work on monitoring static water levels in the Cuatrociénegas aquifer, Coahuila (abstract) |
| 12:15 | Regional Flow in a Karst System – Cuatrociénegas, México (abstract) PRESENTER: John M. Sharp Jr. |
| 12:30 | Chasing Water Sustainability in a Dynamically Changing World (abstract) |
13:00-15:00Comida (Lunch)
served in Casa de Cultura
15:00-16:00 Session 5: Contributed Papers
Chair:
David Propst (University of New Mexico, United States)
Location: Casa de Cultura - Sala de Congresos
| 15:00 | Protecting Endemic Freshwater Fish and Biodiversity: Assessing the Impact of Invasive Alien Aquatic Fauna to Native Species in Cuatro Ciénegas, Mexico (abstract) PRESENTER: Dileri Berdeja |
| 15:15 | Calcium Carbonate Precipitation Influences Processes Across Multiple Trophic Levels in the Little Colorado River (abstract) PRESENTER: Eric Moody |
| 15:30 | Historical Documentation of Ichthyofaunal Diversity in Northern and Northeastern Mexico (abstract) PRESENTER: Erick Cristóbal Oñate González |
| 15:45 | Native Fish Refuges of the Endangered Sonoyta River, Last Safeguard in the Sonoran Desert (abstract) PRESENTER: Nélida Barajas Acosta |
16:00-21:00 fieldrip to Poza Azul, La Becerra, Gypsum Dunas, Mina de Marmol
transportation provided
Chair:
Elan Laredo (Centro de Investigación para la Conservación de la Biodiversidad de Ecología de Coahuila (CICBEC), Mexico)
Location: Mina de Marmól (outside)
Friday, November 21st, 2025
View this program: with abstractssession overviewtalk overview
09:00-10:00 Session 6: posters
All posters in a single session
Chair:
Stewart Reid (Western Fishes, United States)
Location: Casa de Cultura - Sala de Congresos
Desert Fishes Engagement: The Race Against Time (abstract) PRESENTER: Kayla Kelley |
Ictalurus nazas sp. nov., a New Species of North American Catfish (Siluriformes, Ictaluridae) from Mexico (abstract) PRESENTER: Rodolfo Pérez-Rodríguez |
A New Record of a Hypogean Ictalurid: Cave Population of Ictalurus sp. from the Candela River, Coahuila, MéXico (abstract) PRESENTER: Rodolfo Pérez-Rodríguez |
Monitoring and Control Program for Exotic Fishes in Ciénega de Santa Clara at the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve (abstract) PRESENTER: Martha Román |
Rehabilitation of a Refuge for the Sonoyta Pupfish (Cyprinodon eremus) in Sonora (abstract) PRESENTER: Salvador Jáuregui |
Desert Fishes Engagement: The Race Against Time (abstract) PRESENTER: Kayla Kelley |
Preliminary Ecological Modelling predicts niche overlap between Yaqui catfish (Ictalurus pricei) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) in northwest Mexico (abstract) PRESENTER: Alexsandre Gutierrez-Barragan |
Mechanical Removal of Invasive Ameiurus natalis to Support Native Fish Restoration in Bonita Creek, Arizona (abstract) PRESENTER: Alicia Rifkin |
10:00-10:30Coffee Break
10:30-12:00 Session 7: Contributed Papers
Chair:
Lindsey Elkins (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, United States)
Location: Casa de Cultura - Sala de Congresos
| 10:30 | Conservación de La Platilla de Tamazulapam (Astyanax Salvatoris), Alto Balsas, Oaxaca, MéXico (abstract) PRESENTER: Topiltzin Contreras MacBeath |
| 10:45 | A tale of two rivers: historical and current status of fish, amphibian, and reptile species in the Santa Cruz River, Arizona (abstract) PRESENTER: Michael Bogan |
| 11:00 | Gila Topminnow (Poeciliopsis occidentalis occidentalis) and P. monacha-occidentalis; Demographics and Morphology in the Santa Cruz River, Arizona (2016-2024). (abstract) PRESENTER: Matthew Mayer |
| 11:15 | Advances in Genetic Evidence in the Knowledge of the Distribution of the Genus Agosia in Northwestern Mexico (abstract) PRESENTER: Alejandro Varela-Romero |
| 11:30 | Environmental DNA Analysis Does Not Detect the Endangered Rio Concepcion Topminnow, Poeciliopsis jackschultzi (abstract) PRESENTER: Alanna Fulkerson |
| 11:45 | North America’s Desert Fishes: Origins, Diversity, and Conservation (abstract) PRESENTER: Michael Tobler |
| 12:00 | Mutation Load and Embryonic Death Due to Long-Term Small Population Size and Severe Inbreeding in the Devils Hole Pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis) (abstract) |
| 12:15 | The Jewel of the Gila (abstract) |
| 12:30 | Deep Genomic Divergence Among Regional Populations of Pecos Gambusia, Gambusia nobilis (abstract) PRESENTER: Kevin W. Conway |
| 12:45 | Updates on Water Resources and Aquatic Conservation Efforts Across Texas (abstract) |
12:00-13:00 Session 8: Springs Symposium and Discussion Group
Springs Symposium
Chair:
Michael Tobler (University of Missouri Saint Louis, United States)
Location: Casa de Cultura - Sala de Congresos
| 12:00 | An Overview of Springs Ecosystem Ecohydrogeology and Conservation (abstract) PRESENTER: Lawrence Stevens |
| 12:15 | Global Significance of Springs and the IUCN Springs Task Force (abstract) PRESENTER: Chouly Ou |
| 12:30 | Roundtable Discussion: Toward a Global Alliance for Spring Conservation (abstract) PRESENTER: Joseph Holway |
13:00-15:00Comida (Lunch)
served in Casa de Cultura
15:00-18:00 Session 9: Contributed papers
Chair:
Stewart Reid (Western Fishes, United States)
Location: Casa de Cultura - Sala de Congresos
| 15:00 | Tracing Life in Desert Springs: Optimizing eDNA Sampling to Reveal Hidden Aquatic Biodiversity (abstract) PRESENTER: Shohreh Mahdavinia |
| 15:15 | Protection of the desert pupfish (Cyprinodon eremus) of the Sonoyta River, as an educational project at the Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Sonora, Sonoyta campus (abstract) PRESENTER: Maria Isela Gamboa Hernández |
| 15:30 | Bringing back to nature three extinct in the wild pupfish species (Cyprinodon alvarezi, C. longidorsalis and C. veronicae) from Nuevo León, México (abstract) PRESENTER: Topiltzin Contreras-MacBeath |
| 15:45 | Is the Paria River a Pariah? ¿Es el Río Paria un Paria? (abstract) PRESENTER: David Rogowski |
| 16:00 | BIOFAIR for fishes, researchers, and conservation (abstract) PRESENTER: Dean A. Hendrickson |
| 16:15 | Integrated Monitoring Strategies for Optimizing Independence Valley Speckled Dace (Rhinichthys osculus lethoporus) Species Status Assessment (abstract) PRESENTER: Lindsey S. Roberts |
| 16:30 | Environmental DNA (eDNA) for Early Detection of Invasive Aquatic Species and Endemic Fish Surveillance in Mojave Desert Spring Systems (abstract) PRESENTER: Duane Moser |
| 16:45 | Richness and functional ecology of freshwater ichthyofauna at the Monterrey Metropolitan Zone, Nuevo León (abstract) PRESENTER: Néstor Alonso Castillo Méndez |
Saturday, November 22nd, 2025
View this program: with abstractssession overviewtalk overview
09:00-10:00 Session 10: Contributed Papers
Chair:
David Propst (University of New Mexico, United States)
Location: Casa de Cultura - Sala de Congresos
| 09:00 | Spatiotemporal Analysis of Fish Diversity and Biotic Integrity in Two Western Mexico Watersheds (abstract) PRESENTER: Norman Mercado-Silva |
| 09:15 | Genomics of Herichthys cyanoguttatus and H. minckleyi (abstract) |
10:00-10:30Coffee Break
10:30-13:00 Session 11: Contributed Papers
General papers session
Chair:
Einar Topiltzin Contreras MacBeath (Universidad Autónoma del estado de Morelos, Mexico)
Location: Casa de Cultura - Sala de Congresos
| 10:30 | Poza de la Becerra: an ecosystem in agony (abstract) PRESENTER: Arturo González González |
| 10:45 | Integrating Ecological and Genetic Insights to Guide Gambusia nobilis Translocations in Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (abstract) PRESENTER: Casey Ernest |
| 11:00 | Desert Fish Habitat Partnership Update (abstract) |
| 11:15 | Update on Endangered Species Act Activities for Desert Aquatics in Nevada, United States (abstract) |
| 11:30 | DFC Business Meeting (abstract) |
13:00-15:00Comida (Lunch)
served in Casa de Cultura
15:00-18:00 snorkeling, swimming, kayaking in Río Mesquites
Río Mesquites (Hacienda 1800 property), continuing into the banquet. Transportation provided but private vehicles also possible (details explained during the meeting)
Chair:
Elan Laredo (Centro de Investigación para la Conservación de la Biodiversidad de Ecología de Coahuila (CICBEC), Mexico)
Location: Rio Mesquites (outside)
18:00-20:00Banquet
Open Air event with drinks on the banks of the Río Mesquites
Sunday, November 23rd, 2025
View this program: with abstractssession overviewtalk overview
08:00-13:30 Optional field trip
Las Playitas and El Santuario (details to be announced at the meeting). Private trips also possible.
Chair:
Elan Laredo (Centro de Investigación para la Conservación de la Biodiversidad de Ecología de Coahuila (CICBEC), Mexico)