Geology topics

Research about Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

USGS2022

Recommendations regarding water level management to achieve ecological goals in the Upper Mississippi River System

The Water Level Management Regional Coordinating Committee tasked an ad hoc group to employ structured decision making (SDM) practices to reach partnership agreement around a set of basic recommendations as to when, where, and why WLM should be used as an ecosystem restoration tool in the UMRS. Between April 2021 and August 2021, the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA; www.umrba.org) hosted a series of six virtual meetings for the ad hoc group to evaluate the issues, explore agency perspectives, and develop shared recommendations for WLM implementation. This report describes the process and outcomes of the SDM exercise.

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USGS2022

USGS invasive carp database management and integration support

Bigheaded carps (Bighead Carp and Silver Carp) tracking, monitoring, and contracted removal will continue throughout the Illinois River and Upper Mississippi River as part of an adaptive management effort to mitigate, control, and contain bigheaded carps. Other fish will also be tracked to maintain a holistic view of the transmitter distribution in the Upper Illinois River Waterway. To facilitate these actions, a need to compile and analyze invasive carp-related data from all agencies exists. Invasive carp-related data include all data sources that could inform the MRWG objectives or projects. These data, often in disparate formats, must be integrated into a common format that allows all agencies the opportunity to assess invasive carp monitoring, control, and removal efforts. Ensuring the interoperability of these datasets allows for their use in various analyzes and modeling efforts. Implementing an interoperable data management framework provides the mechanisms for end users to find and use integrated data. Integrating data for use in modeling and analysis furthers the partnership’s collective understanding of bigheaded carp life history, distribution, and movement and can be used to facilitate adaptive management actions (e.g., directing monitoring, sampling, and removal efforts, assessing invasive carp abundance to support modeling efforts, informing deployment of control actions, etc.). An effective data management strategy will streamline the data update process, providing all agencies with timely data and analyses in support of informed decision-making processes.

Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin↗

USGS2021

Timing and hydrological conditions associated with bigheaded carp movement past navigation dams on the upper Mississippi river

As the range of non-native bigheaded carps ( Hypophthalmichthys spp.) continues to expand throughout river systems of the United States, managers are tasked with preventing or slowing the spread of these invasive species. Main stem navigation dams on the upper Mississippi River, long considered a deterrent to fish migration, may slow or prevent the spread of invasive fish species. As discharge increases, hydraulic head (i.e., difference between upstream elevation and downstream elevation) at these navigation dams decreases, which is believed to allow for easier fish passage. We used acoustic telemetry to investigate the occurrence, frequency, and timing of bigheaded carp passage of upper Mississippi River dams, along with factors related to successful dam passage. During 2013 through 2017, adult silver carp ( H. molitrix ), bighead carp ( H. nobilis ) and their hybrids (N = 358) were tracked throughout the upper Mississippi River. A total of 1078 dam passages by bigheaded carps (N = 158) were observed past 15 dams. Seventy-eight percent of dam passages occurred during April through July. Cox proportional hazards regression models indicated that both upstream and downstream dam passages by these species were strongly affected by hydraulic head height at the dam and water temperature, with dam passages increasing as hydraulic head decreased and water temperature increased. A few dams rarely experience low hydraulic head and passages of those dams by bigheaded carps were rare. This information can be used by managers to develop strategies (e.g., placement of deterrent technologies, targeted removal efforts) to slow the spread of these invasive species.

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USGS2021

Understanding constraints on submersed vegetation distribution in a large, floodplain river: The role of water level fluctuations, water clarity and river geomorphology

Aquatic vegetation is a key component of large floodplain river ecosystems. In the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS), there is a long-standing interest in restoring aquatic vegetation in areas where it has declined or disappeared. To better understand what constrains vegetation distribution in large river ecosystems and inform ongoing efforts to restore submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV), we delineated areas in ~1200 river km of the UMRS where the combined effects of water clarity, water level fluctuation, and bathymetry appeared suitable for establishment and persistence of SAV based on a 22-year dataset for total suspended solids (TSS), water surface elevation, and aquatic vegetation distribution. We found a large increase in suitable area downstream from a large natural riverine lake near the northern end of the UMRS (river km 1230) that functions as a sink for suspended material. Downstream from river km 895, there was much less suitable area due to decreased water clarity from tributary input of suspended material, changes in river geomorphology, and increased water level fluctuation. A hypothetical scenario of 75% reduction in TSS resulted in only minor increases in suitable area in the southern portion of the UMRS, indicating limitations by water level fluctuation and/or bathymetry (i.e., limited shallow area). These results improve our understanding of the structure and function of large river systems by illustrating how water clarity, fluctuations in water level, and river geomorphology interact to create complex spatial patterns in habitat suitability for aquatic species and may help to identify locations most and least likely to benefit from management and restoration efforts.

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USGS2020

Use of upland and riparian areas by wintering bald eagles and implications for wind energy

Weather can shape movements of animals and alter their exposure to anthropogenic threats. Bald eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) are increasingly at risk from collision with turbines used in onshore wind energy generation. In the midwestern United States, development of this energy source typically occurs in upland areas that bald eagles use only intermittently. Our objective was to determine the factors that cause wintering bald eagles to occupy riparian areas and riskier, upland areas. We tracked 20 bald eagles using telemetry in the Upper Midwest (MN, IA, MO, WI, IL, USA) during winter 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 and evaluated habitat use by eagles in response to variation in weather and time of year. Eagles used riparian areas more when wind speed and atmospheric pressure were low. Exclusive use of uplands was more frequent during weather systems with low pressure and high humidity and after long periods of cold weather. There was a non‐linear response to time of year (measured by days before migration) in the frequency of exclusive use of uplands or riparian areas. Probability of exclusive use of either landscape was generally constant within 95 days prior to migration. The probability of use of riparian areas, however, was markedly less during dates >100 days before migration. Our results suggest that eagles are most likely to be exposed to wind energy developments located in upland areas during low pressure systems, after long periods of cold weather, and several months before the onset of spring migration. This information helps to better understand the factors influencing bald eagle habitat use in winter and will be useful to managers and developers wishing to establish effective strategies to avoid, minimize, and mitigate take, and to survey for mortalities at wind energy developments.

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USGS2020

Mussel community assessment tool for the Upper Mississippi River system

Upper Mississippi River (UMR) resource managers need a quantitative means of evaluating the health of mussel assemblages to measure effects of management and regulatory actions, assess restoration techniques, and inform regulatory tasks. Our objective was to create a mussel community assessment tool (MCAT), consisting of a suite of metrics and scoring criteria, to consistently compare the relative health of UMR mussel assemblages. We developed an initial MCAT using quantitative data from 25 sites and 10 metrics. Metrics fell in five broad groups: conservation status and environmental sensitivity, taxonomic composition, population processes, abundance, and diversity. Metric scoring categories were based on quartile analysis: 25% scoring as good, 50% scoring as fair, and 25% scoring as poor. Scores were meant to facilitate establishing management priorities and mitigation options for the conservation of mussels. Scoring categories assumed that a healthy mussel assemblage consists of species with a variety of reproductive and life-history strategies, a low percentage of tolerant species, and a high percentage of sensitive species; shows evidence of adequate recruitment, a variety of age classes, and low mortality; and has high abundance, species richness, and species and tribe evenness. Metrics were validated using a modified Delphi technique. MCAT metrics generally reflected the professional opinions of UMR resource managers and provided a consistent evaluation technique with uniform definitions that managers could use to evaluate mussel assemblages. Additional data sets scored a priori by UMR resource managers were used to further validate metrics, resulting in data from 33 sites spanning over 980 km of the UMR. Initial and revised MCAT scores were similar, indicating that data represent the range of mussel assemblages in the UMR. Mussel assemblages could be evaluated using individual metrics or a composite score to suit management purposes. With additional data, metrics could be calibrated on a local scale or applied to other river systems.

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USGS2020

Recent planform changes in the Upper Mississippi River

Geomorphic changes in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) have long been a concern of river agencies charged with maintaining and restoring river habitat (GREAT 1980; Jackson et al. 1981; USFWS 1992). Large meandering alluvial rivers like the UMR are expected to constantly change and adjust their fluvial landforms within their riparian corridors as a result of the natural interaction of hydrologic processes, sediment movement, and vegetation over time. However, present geomorphic changes in the UMR reflect altered hydrologic, hydraulic, and sediment conditions caused by regulated flows, constructed agricultural levees and navigation dams, altered land use in the watershed, and climate change. Levees reduce lateral hydrologic and sediment connectivity between channels and floodplains on many tributaries and on the Mississippi River downstream of Pool 13. Between each of the dams are a repeating series of landforms associated with tailwater, intermediate, and impounded conditions. The dams maintain a minimum water level, thus creating many off-channel areas that act as sediment traps. Whereas high-head dams cut off sedimentological connectivity longitudinally through the river corridor (Skalak et al., 2013), low head dams on the UMR only slightly altered transport longitudinally. Deltaic-like sedimentation can be common in the impounded sections of dammed rivers. Erosion of relict land surfaces that remained above the raised impounded water levels has been the dominant change in UMR impounded sections due to increased wind fetch leading to increased wave action. Even though upland sources of sediment from tributaries have decreased over the middle to late 20th century, increased annual precipitation, the interplay of increased variability in flood magnitudes from year to year, and more fall and winter flooding have likely changed erosion and sedimentation patterns in the UMR (Belby, et al., 2019). Paradoxically, monitoring and research indicates that the concentration of some water column constituents like total suspended solids and phosphorous has decreased during the 1991 to 2014 time period (Kreiling and Houser, 2016). In areas prone to increased sedimentation, bed elevations rise and thereby water depths are reduced at a given discharge, resulting in loss of fish habitat. Sediment deposition or erosion further influences water exchange rates between main channel and off-channel areas in the river by increasing resistance in connecting channels or enlarging existing connecting channels. Water depth and water exchange rates are the most prominent features describing habitat quality in the UMR (De Jager et al. 2018), and in some cases, the trajectory of planform change from heightened deposition promises to threaten deep backwater habitats particularly important for overwintering fish. Although information on the rate of vertical change in bed elevation is needed for a complete assessment of geomorphic change associated with the loss of deep backwater habitats, mapping planform changes over time (i.e., lateral changes between the land-water boundary) provide needed information on the location, potential cause, and progressive direction of deposition, especially in the mid sections between dams where deltaic processes are the most pronounced. Several types of planform changes have been observed and identified as concerns. For example, island loss in the large impounded areas of the upper part of the UMR was one of the concerns identified by river managers in the 1980s and 90s, and subsequently island construction became a common form of restoration implemented by the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program (USACE 2012). Other subtler planform changes, such as channel bank erosion and delta formation in backwaters, are perceived to be important, but have largely gone unquantified. A systemwide reconnaissance of the UMR and IWW conducted in 1998 concluded that 14-percent of the river banks were eroding (Nakato and Anderson 1998). However, stabilization of existing river banks has never been widely pursued as a restoration measure, due to the high cost and uncertain benefits. Delta formation reduces the amount of backwater habitat; however, the deltas maintain and create a mix of riparian and aquatic habitats, and that is generally considered to be beneficial for wildlife and fish. If recent hydrologic trends of more frequent and longer duration flood events continue, a better understanding of planform changes can help in describing past changes, and then be used to forecast potential future trajectories of change. If UMR resource managers determine that past and forecasted conditions are undesirable, then UMRR projects could be identified and prioritized to address those concerns. Vegetative cover associations with landform changes have been used to detect and quantify planform changes in many rivers (Johnson 1985; Hiatt 2015; Volte et al. 2015). Freyer and Jefferson (2013) completed such a study in Pool 6 of the UMR using the landcover data from 12 dates over a 115-yr period, including the 1989, 2000, and 2010/2011 landcover/use (LCU) data from the UMRR Program. Planform change detected over the last 20 years represented by the UMRR Program data best reflect present-day geomorphic patterns, rates and processes. Changes occurring prior to dam construction and changes occurring soon after dam construction are likely not the same as those happening now, 50-70 years after dam construction and creation of the impoundments (McHenry et al., 1984; Bhowmik and Adams, 1986; WEST Consultants, 2000). The LCU data from each of the 1989, 2000, and 2010/2011 imagery was developed using similar methods and is available in a Geographical Information System (GIS) for the entire UMR and therefore provides the opportunity for a more comprehensive planform change analysis. This study used GIS overlays of LCU classes to map and quantify changes in planform features over two periods, looking specifically for depositional areas where terrestrial and wetland vegetation expanded at the expense of open water. The land expansion was grouped into four possible process-based types common in large floodplain rivers, some following that used by Lewin et al. (2017). The four types include: crevasse deltas emanating from a breach from a main channel through a natural levee or narrow floodplain into backwaters (crevasse deltas), tributary deltas expanding into backwaters (tributary deltas), deltaic bars at the upstream end of impoundments (impounded deltas), and linear-like bars extending from the downstream ends of narrow levees and remnant floodplains (bar-tail limbs). The methods deployed for change detection addressed possible errors from a variety of sources.

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USGS2020

Smallmouth buffalo (Ictiobus bubalus) growth across a 1200km human use and ecological disturbance gradient in the Upper Mississippi River System

Smallmouth buffalo (Ictiobus bubalus) is a common and widely distributed large-bodied species of the family Catostomidae. It inhabits large rivers and reservoirs of the eastern continental United States (east of the continental Divide) and is most abundant and common in the large rivers of the Midwest and Central Plains, though it does occur as far north and east as the Hudson Bay drainage and as far south and west as Arizona (Edwards and Twoney 1982). Historically, smallmouth buffalo were an important component of commercial fisheries on both the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. However, following the introduction of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in the mid-1800s (Carlander 1954), the construction of a system of navigation dams on Upper Mississippi and Illinois River in the 1930s (USGS 1999), and water quality/pollution issues through the 1980s (Weiner 2010), the role of smallmouth buffalo in the overall UMRS fish community and commercial fishery has generally diminished relative to historical standards. Still, smallmouth buffalo remains an important and valued component of the UMRS commercial fishery. The study area is represented by three study reaches on the Illinois River and three study reaches on the Upper Mississippi River (Figure 1). Collectively, these study reaches represent nearly 1200 river km and exist across strong and pronounced ecological and disturbance gradients. For example, habitat composition, water quality, commercial navigation intensity, aquatic plant prominence, and the number and abundance of nonnative fish species vary strongly across the study domain, with northern Mississippi River reaches exhibiting less navigation traffic, better water quality, markedly greater aquatic plant prominence, more diverse habitat composition, and comparably much smaller numbers of nonnative species than the lower Mississippi River study reach and those on the Illinois River (USGS 1999; Johnson and Hagerty [eds] 2008; Irons et al. 2009). Long term monitoring efforts conducted under the auspices of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program over the past 27 years have provided tremendous insights into shifts and changes of the overall UMRS fish community (Ickes et al. 2005; Garvey et al. 2010; Schramm and Ickes 2016). However, these monitoring efforts observe only the most basic aspects of the UMRS fish community (i.e., catch, length, weight, distribution, and occurrence). To gain a greater understanding of forces driving community level shifts and changes, more directed study is needed on the functional attributes of fish populations (i.e., growth, mortality, recruitment). Collectively, these functional attributes of populations are termed population dynamics and/or vital rates. It is important to note, the population dynamics of fishes in large rivers is generally poorly understood, especially for non-game species (Ickes 2018). The prevailing view is that abiotic factors largely govern inter-annual population dynamics, typically based upon rather short-term observations and correlations with assorted abiotic river attributes that vary on a seasonal or annual basis (for example, Risotto and Turner 1985). However, the role that longer-term abiotic factors play in regulating population abundance, or that biotic factors internal to the population (e.g., spawner-recruit dynamics, growth dynamics) or external to the population (e.g., predator-prey dynamics, sympatric competitors, disease) remain poorly understood. Achieving a greater understanding of these dynamics is important for stock, game, and invasive species management. In 2017, as part of a larger study designed to gain vital population rate information for smallmouth buffalo in the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers (“Smallmouth Buffalo population demographics of the Upper Mississippi River System”; UMRR LTRM 2018SOW project items 2018MMBF1-2018MMBF6) annual growth patterns in smallmouth buffalo were determined and evaluated. This was accomplished by measuring growth histories recorded in annual growth increments on hard bony parts (here otoliths), a method known generically as biochronology, and somewhat analogous to dendrochronology practiced by foresters. These methods allow one to generate time-series of annual growth histories that depend upon age, year class (i.e., cohort), and annual environmental conditions experienced by the population over time (Weisberg, 1993). Biochronology methods were used to develop a 36-year time series of smallmouth buffalo growth in the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers across a 1200 km ecological and human use disturbance gradient. Annual growth intervals were identified and measured from otoliths to determine fish age and growth history. A mixed model that parses the growth increment into age and year effects was fit to these data. Given the pronounced ecological and disturbance gradients inherent to the UMRS and the study domain, an a priori expectation of differing patterns in growth is accepted as a null hypothesis to test. The goal of this study was to model smallmouth buffalo growth as a function of the age of the fish and the growth year in which the growth was gained. The primary modeling objective was to parse growth observed on each annulus into a portion attributable to the age of the fish and the portion attributable to the year in which the growth was gained. In effect, this modeling approach removes the somewhat trivial age effects on growth so that a non-confounded growth year effect can be gained. Results attributable to growth year provide a time series of growth information that is of the same duration as the oldest fish observed and solely reflects environmental influences on growth. These model responses can then be investigated relative to environmental covariate time-series suspected of influencing growth of smallmouth buffalo in the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers (e.g., temperature, discharge, population density, population mortality, forage availability, sympatric competition, habitat composition, navigation intensity, nonnative fish prominence, etc.). Thus, the primary scientific objective was to investigate if and how smallmouth buffalo growth varies in accordance with innate ecological and disturbance gradients across the study domain.

Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin↗

USGS2020

Upper Mississippi River system weighted wind fetch analysis (1989, 2000, 2010/2011)

Wind fetch is defined as the unobstructed distance that wind can travel over water in a constant direction. Fetches are limited by landforms surrounding the body of water. Fetch is an important characteristic of open water because longer fetches can result in larger wind-generated waves. The larger waves, in turn, can increase shoreline erosion and sediment resuspension (Rohweder and others 2012). Increases in sediment resuspension lead to increases in water turbidity, which in turn decreases light penetration and, therefore, create conditions less conducive to aquatic plant growth (Giblin and others 2010). A wind fetch model was developed by David Finlayson, U. S. Geological Survey, Pacific Science Center, while he was a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington (Finlayson 2005). This method calculates effective fetch using the recommended procedure of the Shore Protection Manual (USACE 1984). Scientists at the United States Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) further refined this model (Rohweder and others 2012) and structured it to operate using the most recent version of the ArcMap Geographic Information System platform (Esri, 2019). At the time the analysis was performed, the version of ArcMap used was 10.7.1. The model refined in 2012 was used for the analyses described in this report. Using this model, UMESC performed an analysis to model weighted wind fetch for the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) corresponding to three separate time periods of land cover spatial data acquisition (1989, 2000, and 2010/2011). The purpose of the analysis was to examine how fetch varies over time and space within the UMRS for potential management applications. For more detailed information on the wind fetch model, examine the USGS Open-File Report by Rohweder and others (2012).

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USGS2020

Forest canopy gap dynamics: Quantifying forest gaps and understanding gap – level forest regeneration in Upper Mississippi River floodplain forests

In most forest systems, the dynamics of forest canopy gap development play an important role in the transition from relatively short-lived early successional tree species to longer-lived, late successional tree species. In resilient forest systems, tree seedlings establish within newly created canopy gaps and grow to close the gap within one or two decades of disturbance. However, evidence in portions of the Upper Mississippi River System indicates that floodplain forests do not appear to be following these same trajectories, with canopy gaps instead seeming to fail to recruit new tree seedlings and reverting to non-forested cover types. Because of the heavy dominance of short-lived tree species in current UMRS forests, there is concern that continued failure of canopy gaps to recruit back to forest could be an early indicator of long-term, widespread forest loss as gaps become larger and larger and begin to coalesce into large, non-forested areas. Little research to date has documented either the density and distribution of forest canopy gaps across the UMRS or the vegetative conditions within those gaps to provide an initial assessment of forest dynamics in those areas. The current study utilizes both remotely sensed data and field sampling to assess the conditions of forest canopy gaps within 6 navigation pools on the Upper Mississippi River and one pool on the Illinois River. In general, canopy gap distributions and characteristics are similar across the study, with most pools ranging from 3% to 5% of forest canopy in gaps. Gap sizes are also relatively uniform, with most pools averaging 0.09 to 0.14 ha per gap. The highest proportion of forest cover in canopy gaps at the pool level was driven by the total number of gaps and not gap size, indicating that canopy gap formation in this system is commonly due to individual tree or small clump mortality. Undesirable competing vegetation was dominant in most canopy gaps, with reed canarygrass and native forbs being most prevalent in upper pools and vines most problematic in the lower pools. In the upper pools, very little viable forest regeneration is occurring within canopy gaps. The viability of forest regeneration increases in middle and lower pools, though competing vegetation continues to be a problem. Overall, canopy gaps appear 3 most likely to recruit back to forest in lower pools, and chronic forest loss facilitated by regeneration failures seems most likely in upper pools. However, competing vegetation in lower pools may still interact with woody regeneration to limit effective reestablishment of forest canopy.

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USGS2019

Estimating the degree to which distance and temperature differences drive changes in fish community composition over time in the upper Mississippi River

Similarity in community composition declines as distance between locations increases, a phenomenon that has been observed in a wide variety of freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. One driver of the distance-similarity relationship is the presence of environmental gradients that alter the suitability of sites for particular species. Although some environmental gradients, such as geology, do not change on a year-to-year basis, others, such as temperature, vary annually and over longer time periods. Here, we used a 21-year dataset of fish communities in the upper Mississippi River to identify the effect of distance on variation in community composition and to assess whether the effect of distance is primarily due to its effect on thermal regime. Because the Mississippi River is aligned mostly north-to-south, larger distances along the river roughly correspond to larger differences in latitude and therefore temperature. As expected, there was a moderate distance-similarity relationship, suggesting greater distance leads to less similarity. The effect of distance appeared to increase slightly over time. Using a subset of data for which air temperature was available, we found that difference among sites in degree days (a surrogate for thermal regime) was more strongly associated with similarity in community composition than physical distance (river km). Although physical distance presumably incorporates more environmental gradients than just temperature (and other potential mechanisms), temperature alone appears to be more strongly associated with differences in the Mississippi River fish community.

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USGS2019

A food web modeling assessment of Asian Carp impacts in the Middle and Upper Mississippi River, USA

The invasion of non-native fishes has caused a great detriment to many of our native fishes. Since the introduction of invasive carps, such as Silver, Bighead, Common and Grass Carp , managers and researcher have been struggling to remove these species while also hypothesizing the detriment of further invasion. This study developed a food web model of four locations on the Mississippi River and used those models to assess the impacts of two scenarios: carp removal and carp invasion. In the Middle Mississippi River where these invasive carps are already present, the models found that it would take a sustained exploitation of up to 30% of initial biomass over an extended period to remove Grass Carp and up to 90% removal of initial biomass to remove Silver and Bighead Carp. In the locations where Silver, Bighead, and Grass Carp are not yet established (i.e., Pools 4,8, and 13) the invasion of these species could cause declines from 10 to 30% in initial biomass of native fishes as well as already established nonnative invasive species.

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USGS2019

Scientific Framework for resilience research on the Upper Mississippi River System

The goal of this research framework is to outline research that would continue to improve our understanding of ecological resilience of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) and inform management of the system for health and resilience. We provide a broad overview of recently completed and ongoing work that has been funded as a part of the UMRS Ecological Resilience Assessment and related efforts to provide context for how proposed research questions build upon our current knowledge and may inform restoration planning and design. We describe two primary objectives within this research framework - the first objective is to investigate hypothesized drivers and feedbacks related to specified resilience, and the second is to expand our utility of general resilience indicators through further development and evaluation. The intended audience for this framework is the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program (UMRR). The UMRR partnership is made up of natural resource agencies from five states (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin) and five federal agencies (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service).

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USGS2018

Development of a quantitative PCR method for screening ichthyoplankton samples for bigheaded carps

Monitoring ichthyoplankton is useful for identifying reproductive fronts and spawning locations of bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.). Unfortunately, sorting and identifying ichthyoplankton to monitor for bigheaded carp reproduction is time consuming and expensive. Traditional methods require frequent egg-larvae sampling, sorting of all samples to obtain presumptively identified bigheaded carp, and genetic validation of presumptively identified eggs. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) has the potential to streamline this process by identifying samples that likely do or do not contain a target species. Our objective was to develop a genetic screening tool using qPCR with the duplex assays SCTM4/5 and BHTM1/2 to prioritize samples that have a higher likelihood of containing bigheaded carp eggs or larvae. We used tandem ichthyoplankton samples collected for monitoring bigheaded carps in the Upper Mississippi, Illinois, and St. Croix rivers to evaluate the effectiveness of qPCR as a screening tool. Samples with > 10,000 copies of DNA had 100% occurrence of bigheaded carp eggs or larvae in the traditionally sorted samples, whereas samples with < 10 copies of DNA had 0% occurrence of ichthyoplankton from these invasive species. We used a logistic regression model to calculate the probability of finding bigheaded carp eggs or larvae based upon the number of DNA copies; 406 copies corresponded with a 50% probability of having bigheaded carp ichthyoplankton present in a sample. These data can be used to inform management actions (i.e., control, containment) for these invasive fishes, and this tool could be adapted for monitoring for reproduction of other aquatic invasive species.

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USGS2018

Commercial fisheries of the Upper Mississippi River: A model of sustainability

Commercial harvest is often considered as a primary cause of fish population declines in marine and inland systems throughout the world. However, much of the data supporting the negative attributes of commercial harvest are derived from marine fisheries and may not be directly applicable to inland fisheries. In this study, over 60 years of commercial fishery data from the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) was synthesized to better understand how inland commercial fisheries function and to address concerns associated with the exploitation of aquatic resources in freshwater systems. Overall, total commercial harvest in the UMR remained relatively stable over the study period and did not negatively influence fish populations or recreational fisheries. Our results address concerns associated with inland fisheries and highlight how proper management and interagency partnerships result in consistent and productive fisheries over large spatial and temporal scales.

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USGS2017

The Upper Mississippi River System—Topobathy

The Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS), the navigable part of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, is a diverse ecosystem that contains river channels, tributaries, shallow-water wetlands, backwater lakes, and flood-plain forests. Approximately 10,000 years of geologic and hydrographic history exist within the UMRS. Because it maintains crucial wildlife and fish habitats, the dynamic ecosystems of the Upper Mississippi River Basin and its tributaries are contingent on the adjacent flood plains and water-level fluctuations of the Mississippi River. Separate data for flood-plain elevation (lidar) and riverbed elevation (bathymetry) were collected on the UMRS by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program. Using the two elevation datasets, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) developed a systemic topobathy dataset.

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USGS2016

Documenting the use of the Long Term Resource Monitoring element’s fish monitoring methodologies throughout the Midwest

The Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program’s Long Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM) element is designed to monitor and assess long term trends in the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). To accomplish this, standardized methods are used that allow for comparisons across pools and rivers. In recent years, other projects and other agencies have adopted the LTRM fish methodologies for use outside the UMRR. To determine how widespread the use of the Fish Component’s methods are, a twelve question survey was delivered via SurveyMonkey.com through the states comprising the American Fisheries Society (AFS) North Central Division and the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee. Approximately 2,000 professionals were reached with ≈11 percent participating. Results indicate that nearly all (95 percent) respondents use standardized methods in their sampling and 48 percent are familiar with the LTRM fish methodologies. Roughly one-third (35 percent) of all respondents have used the methods in the past and most (78 percent) of those have modified the methods to suit the information needs specific to their fishery. Results indicate that the LTRM methods have indeed spread outside the UMRR and are now a well-known and potentially widely used technique to sample fish communities.

Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin↗

USGS2016

Long-term decreases in phosphorus and suspended solids, but not nitrogen, in six upper Mississippi River tributaries, 1991–2014

Long-term trends in tributaries provide valuable information about temporal changes in inputs of nutrients and sediments to large rivers. Data collected from 1991 to 2014 were used to investigate trends in total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), nitrate (NO3–N), soluble-reactive P (SRP), and total suspended solids (TSS) in the following six tributaries of the upper Mississippi River: Cannon (CaR; Minnesota (MN)), Maquoketa (MR; Iowa (IA)), Wapsipinicon (WR; IA), Cuivre (CuR; Missouri (MO)), Chippewa (ChR; Wisconsin (WI)), and Black (BR; WI) rivers. Weighted regression on time discharge and season was used to statistically remove effects of random variation in discharge from estimated trends in flow-normalized concentrations and flux. Concentration and flux of TSS declined in all six rivers. Concentration of P declined in four of the rivers, and P flux declined in five rivers. Concentration and flux of N exhibited small changes relative to TP. TN concentration and flux did not change substantially in four of the rivers and decreased in two (ChR, CuR). Nitrate concentration and flux increased in three rivers (ChR, BR, CaR) and remained relatively constant in the other three rivers. General declines in P and TSS suggest that improvements in agricultural land management, such as the adoption of conservation tillage and enrollment of vulnerable acreage into the Conservation Reserve Program, may have reduced surface runoff; similar reductions in N were not observed.

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