Gap Analysis as a Planning Tool to Restore Stream Diversity

Session: 08b. - Restoration of Native Fishes

Jeffrey Schaeffer, USGS Great Lakes Science Center, [email protected]
Josh Miller, U.S. Geological Survey - Great Lakes Science Center, [email protected]
James McKenna, Tunison Lab. of Aquatic Sciences, U.S. Geological Survey, [email protected]
Michael Slattery, USGS Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science, [email protected]
Cherie Blair, [email protected]

Abstract

Resource managers charged with restoring stream fish communities are often vexed by lack of data, and even data-rich stream networks can have many reaches that have never been sampled. This makes restoration placement problematic because it is often difficult to discern if sampled sites are representative, or the scale at which stressors are operating to reduce diversity. That makes choosing restoration approaches problematic, especially if specific goals are to be achieved. This is especially critical in Areas of Concern that must meet targets to achieve delisting. We used stream fish data from the lower Maumee River collected by the State of Ohio, and compared it with GAP-modeled fish assemblages predicted from landscape-scale variables to compare diversity and habitats at multiple scales. We found surprising uniformity; most streams were characterized by GAP as somewhat degraded warmwater fish communities, albeit with isolated reaches that represented rarer habitats. Fish sampling generally agreed with model predictions, and suggested that habitat issues drove frequent low diversity scores. The Maumee River mainstem maintained high diversity. Our results provide a tool that resource managers can use to evaluate regional restoration approaches with limited data, and suggested several previously unconsidered approaches that might increase regional diversity.

4. Additional Keyword
fish communities

5. Additional Keyword
streams

6. Additional Keyword
GAP analysis