Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program
Long Term Resource Monitoring
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Upper Mississippi River Restoration ProgramLong Term Resource Monitoring |
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Water Quality |
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Habitat suitability in backwatersA large part of the interest in water quality is related to fish and wildlife habitat suitability. Physical conditions, directly and indirectly, often limit the use of aquatic areas. Studies used to define habitat suitability and determine the occurrence of suitable conditions in the UMRS are of great interest to UMRS resource managers. Most of the LTRMP studies to date are related to backwater suitability for sunfishes.Water level change affects temperature and dissolved oxygen in a large backwater lake in Pool 8. Minor fluctuations in water level alter water exchange with the channel, thus impacting habitat suitability. Project Status Report Predicting backwater suitability using landscape metrics. The exchange of water between the channel and backwaters influences habitat conditions. The amount of water exchange should be somewhat predictable by morphometric characteristics that can be spatially mapped in a GIS. We found a couple simple metrics that partially explain suitability. Project Status Report . A related study takes the same approach to look at fish assemblages. Report Water quality rehabilitation in a backwater and the response by largemouth bass to habitat changes. Citation Habitat conditions in a backwater complex and response by fish. The Finger Lakes complex in Pool 5 was altered as part of a rehabilitation project. Researches tracked WQ conditions and bluegill movement during the winter to assess response and habitat suitability. Publication abstract |
