River Almanac - Upper Midwest · River Almanac An Information Sharing Bulletin of the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program U.S. Department of the Interior Common carp may find zebra

Information Sharing Bulletin - Jaunuary 1996

River AlmanacAn Information Sharing Bulletin of the

Long Term Resource Monitoring ProgramU.S. Department of the Interior

Common carp may find zebra mussels a taste treatby Madelon Wise

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Ecosystem management is the process of obtaining information, makingdecisions, and acting to maintain an ecosystem within identified limits of quality orintegrity. For the Upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, this means taking thenecessary steps to keep these systems looking and acting like floodplain rivers. Pastmanagement approaches on the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) haveemphasized site and species management. Ecosystem management will require amore holistic perspective that recognizes the river as a subsystem of the streamnetwork and basin (Fig. 1). The importance of the hydrologic regime in sustainingecosystem structure will be a primary consideration in ecosystem management.

Information used in making ecosystem management decisions can be dividedinto four categories: system objectives and action levels, system status, causal

Floodplain river hydrologic attributes andecosystem management objectives

by Kenneth S. Lubinski

The surprise came one day last sum-mer when John Tucker, a biologist withthe Illinois Natural History Survey andthe Upper Mississippi River Long TermResource Monitoring Program Alton, Il-linois, Field Station, was fishing with hisdaughter at Brussels Ferry, Illinois. Ac-cording to Tucker, he and 11-year-oldMoynell M. Tucker caught a 12-inchcarp, and to satisfy her scientific curi-osity, “Moynell insisted on taking ithome to dissect.” At home, Tucker andhis daughter examined the gut contentsof the common carp. To Tucker’s sur-prise, “The fish’s gut was completelypacked with fragments of zebra mus-sels.”

Zebra mussels are the “exotic” spe-cies of mussel transported from Europevia shipping boats to the Great Lakes in1988 and are of concern because of theirpotential economic and ecological im-pacts on the Upper Mississippi and otherrivers. Scientists, navigators, boaters,and farmers are concerned about the ef-fects zebra mussels could have on natu-ral ecosystems, river navigation, recre-ational boating, and agricultural irriga-tion. Large populations of unionid mus-sels have already been lost in the GreatLakes from zebra mussel colonizationon native mussels.

Because the common carp, itself anexotic species, has not been reported tofeed extensively on this newly intro-duced mussel species in the UnitedStates, Tucker approached Alton FieldStation colleague Fred Cronin with newsof his discovery. Subsequently, field

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1994 aerial photographs covering 1300 river miles of the Upper MississippiRiver System are now available via the Internet. The EMTC provides thesephotos as a service to UMRS natural resource managers, industry, and thegeneral public. This photo shows Lock and Dam 8. Note the barge tow leavingthe lock. The Home Page address is http//www.emtc.nbs.gov (EMTC Photo).

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2 Long Term Resource Monitoring Program

Selected abstracts of ongoing LTRMP effortsand post-migration (November) fromfour control and eight duck exclosuresites within a 200-m area during 1994 inLake Onalaska, Mississippi River. Div-ing ducks were denied access to foodsources within the exclosures. Meanadult (>3 mm) fingernail clam popula-tions decreased from pre-migrationPonar samples (5,135 m-2, standard de-viation = 127) to post-migration samples(192 m-2, standard deviation = 17), whilechanges in young (1-2 mm) fingernailclam populations remained relativelyunchanged (47,173 m-2, standard devia-tion = 1,223 to 36,019 m-2, standarddeviation = 956). There were no sig-nificant differences between control andexclosure sites for fingernail clams pre-and post-migration, suggesting that pre-dation by diving ducks was not a factorin the decline of adult fingernail clams.

Does water velocity and depthaffect fingernail clam distributionsin Lake Onalaska?

Burkhardt, R. 1995. Poster presentedat the Twenty-Seventh Annual Meetingof the Mississippi River Research Con-sortium, La Crosse, Wisconsin, April27-28, 1995.

Twenty-four standard Ponar grabswere collected near Arrowhead Islandat 100-, 300-, and 500-m intervals alongeight transects during September 1993and 1994. In 1994, four additionaltransects were sampled near BrokenGun and Cormorant Islands. Bathym-etry coverages were used to estimatewater depth. FastTABS was used toestimate water velocities based on aver-age discharges from Lock and Dam 6during June, July, August, and Septem-ber 1993 (80,000 cfs) and 1994 (30,000cfs). Fingernail clam densities weresignificantly (P <0.001) associated withwater velocity and depth. However,fingernail clam density and bulk sedi-ment density were uncorrelated (P>0.05). These data suggest that finger-nail clams may prefer specific ranges ofwater velocities and depths in Lake

Building islands for habitat reha-bilitation in a backwater lake ofthe Upper Mississippi River

Soballe, D. M., R. F. Gaugush, and J. T.Rogala. 1994. Paper presented at the14th Annual International Symposiumof the North American Lake Manage-ment Society, Orlando, Florida, Octo-ber 31-November 5, 1994.

The Environmental ManagementProgram for the Upper Mississippi Riverhas sponsored Habitat Rehabilitationand Enhancement Projects (HREPs) atselected sites along the River to im-prove conditions for fish and wildlife.One of these HREPs involved the con-struction of islands in a backwater lakeof Pool 7 near La Crosse, Wisconsin.This multifaceted project was designedto deepen and improve water circula-tion in one section of the lake by dredg-ing, while using dredged material tocreate islands elsewhere in the lake to(1) reduce wind fetch and resuspension,(2) provide sheltered areas for aquaticbiota, and (3) provide increased ripar-ian areas for waterfowl. To guide fur-ther projects of this type, studies havebeen under way for 2 years to model andevaluate the limnological and hydrauliceffects of the constructed islands. Theresults obtained thus far indicate thatsignificant changes have resulted fromisland construction.

Do migrating ducks affect thepopulation dynamics of fingernailclams?

Burkhardt, R. 1995. Poster presentedat the Twenty-Seventh Annual Meetingof the Mississippi River Research Con-sortium, La Crosse, Wisconsin, April27-28, 1995.

I conducted an in situ experimenton the effects of predation by migratingdiving ducks (primarily scaup Aythyasp., canvasback A. valisineria and ring-necked A. collaris) on the densities offingernail clams (Musculiumtransversum). Ponar samples were takenprior to waterfowl migration (October)

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The Mississippi River is by far thelargest riverine ecosystem in North America;the river floodplain and deltaic plain totalnearly 12 million hectares (30 million acres).Draining 41% of the contiguous UnitedStates, the River is one of the most signifi-cant environmental factors influencing theGulf of Mexico. Valued as a natural, his-torical, cultural, commercial, recreational,and transportation resource, the MississippiRiver has been a major influence on devel-opment and settlement of the United States.

Over the past 200 years, the Missis-sippi River and its floodplain have been—and continue to be—seriously degraded bymassive water pollution, wetland drainage,deforestation, habitat destruction, water-flow modification, and floodplain develop-ment. Two of the most deleterious rivermodifications have been (1) the reduction(90%) in the amount of seasonally inun-dated floodplain due to levee constructionand (2) alignment and maintenance of thenavigation channel which traverses 85% ofthe river’s length. Altered hydrology andsedimentation patterns have progressed tothe point that geomorphic processes havebeen severely disrupted.

Continued fragmentation of manage-ment responsibilities among and withingovernment agencies hinders scientificallysound management of the river and flood-plain. Given current management practices,policies, and use, the ecological conditionof the river and its floodplain is expected toworsen.

Center Director Robert L. Delaneypresented, by invitation, the "Environmen-tal history of the Mississippi River flood-plain: Forecasting the future given cur-rent management practices and use" at theThird Princess Chulabhorn Science Con-gress, Water and Development: Water isLife, December 11-15, 1995, in Bangkok,Thailand. All expenses were paid by theKingdom of Thailand. r

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Information Sharing Bulletin - January 1996 3

During the development of ecosystem management strat-egies for the UMRS, we are identifying acceptable metricsand criteria for establishing ecosystem objectives. Several ofthe metrics necessary to track and evaluate river ecological

integrity are related to its hydrologic regime. The impor-tance of the flood pulse element of the annual

hydrograph has been emphasized in recent litera-ture, but other aspects of the annual hydrograph

require attention as well(Fig. 2). Long-termhydrologic eventssuch as droughts andc h a n n e l - f o r m i n gfloods are believed tocontribute to the eco-logical diversity andcharacter of a flood-plain river, and the dy-namic conditions cre-ated by these eventsneed to be incorpo-rated into river man-

Hydrologic attributes from page 1factors, and evaluations of management alternatives. Allthese categories are vital, and information must be coordi-nated among categories to successfully achieve managementobjectives.

Setting sys-tem objectivesand action lev-els requires aclear definitionof the systemand its bound-aries. Placingspatial boundson a floodplainriver ecosystemis especially dif-ficult given themany spatialscales over which river struc-tures and controlling factors operate. For ex-ample, UMRS macroinvertebrate community pat-terns are determined partly by the presence of point sourcepollution gradients (at the stream network scale), partly byimpounded conditions created by the dam system (reachscale), and partly by within-pool hydrologic patterns causedby the physical complexity of a site (habitat scale) (see Fig. 1).

Ironically, some management strategies designed to pro-vide biological benefits at single sites at the habitat scale maycompromise ecological values at larger scales. For instance,a traditional way of protecting selected fish, plants, or water-fowl has been to levee off a backwater and install a pump tocontrol water levels. We possess a considerable body ofknowledge on how to create benefits for selected species inthis way, and the method is a common tool. Ultimately,however, if the technique is repeated at many sites, theaquatic-terrestrial transition zone can shrink within the flood-plain and thus detract from ecological values (nutrient ex-change, expansion of fish and wading bird feeding areas)associated with the annual flood pulse at the pool or reachscale.

Unfortunately, we have little hard data to tell us howmuch of the “natural” floodplain of a river is required tosustain all of the river's important ecological processes andvalues. In particular, we are concerned that managing for siterather than system objectives leads to a progressive or some-times immediate inability to support migratory fishes andbirds. A critical experiment we could now begin to developwould seek to quantify the relationship between “natural”floodplain land use and the long-term survival of native plantsand animals, whether they be permanent residents or tempo-rary migrants.

agement objectives. When infrequent floods or droughts cannot be simulated at a particular location or time, other man-agement tools may have to be developed as necessary system-resetting devices.

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Figure 2. Different elements of the annual hydrograph can be thetarget of a management strategy. Preventing larval fishes frombeing stranded on the floodplain requires reducing the rate offall of the spring flood peak (2). Manipulating the elevation andduration of summer low flows (3, 4) and sometimes the fall rise(5) will maximize moist-soil plant production for migrating wa-terfowl.

Figure 1. Five spatial scales related to floodplain river manage-ment. Causal factors of natural resource problems can usuallybe associated with a certain spatial scale, and the solution to theproblem is often most effectively implemented at that samescale.

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Onalaska. These criteria may be used todetermine other locations of fingernailclams using FastTABS and bathymetrycoverages.

Changes in landscape structurealong the Mississippi River

Craig, M. R. 1995. Paper presented atthe Working in a World Dominated byHumans conference, Minneapolis, Min-nesota, April 23-26, 1995.

In many landscapes, especially cul-tural, landscape structure may changedramatically in a short period of time.Anthropogenic activities along andwithin stream and river channels haverapidly and substantially modified land-scape structure along the stream andriver corridors of North America. No-where is this phenomenon more appar-ent perhaps, than along the Upper Mis-sissippi River (UMR), where construc-tion of 29 locks and dams has createdlarge impoundments. In this paper, Ipresent an analysis of historical changesin landscape structure arising from theinstallation of navigation improvementstructures and flood control structuresalong the UMR. For the purposes ofthis analysis, I used FRAGSTATS tocompare landscape structure for 1890svintage and 1989 land cover data forfive river reaches (i.e., Pools 4, 8, 13,26, and an unimpounded stretch of “openriver”) along the UMR. Althoughchanges in landscape structure differ

among river reaches (i.e., in terms oflandscape dominance, relative evenness,landscape diversity, contagion, edgedensity, and patch dispersion), I findthat, in general, the areal extent of areasclassified as “woody terrestrial,” “sand/mud,” or “grasses/forbs” has decreasedsignificantly. The decrease in arealextent and patch size of these three landcover types documents the fragmenta-tion of terrestrial habitats. Not too sur-prisingly, the areal extent of areas clas-sified as “open water” or “marsh” hasincreased substantially, particularly inthe upper pools. This increase has beenassociated with a concomitant increasein the average patch size of areas classi-fied as “open water”; the average patchsize of areas classified as “marsh,” how-ever, has decreased.

Overview of the Upper MidwestGap Analysis Program

Fitzpatrick, D. 1995. Paper presentedat Liaison Committee Meeting, NationalWater Quality Assessment Program,Western Lake Michigan Drainages,Green Bay, Wisconsin, March 28-29,1995.

The conventional approach to main-taining biological diversity generallyhas been to proceed one species or onethreat at a time. Gap analysis is amethodology to identify gaps in therepresentation of biodiversity in areasmanaged exclusively or primarily for

UMRCC 52nd Annual Meeting, March5-7, 1996, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.For more information contact: UMRCC,4469 48th Avenue Court, Rock Island,IL 61201.

Symposium: The Mississippi Riverand Her People - March 14-16, 1996,Memphis, Tennessee. For more infor-mation contact Dr. Beverly Watkins,312/581-7816.

WATERSHED '96 - Moving Ahead To-gether, June 8-12, 1996, Baltimore,Maryland, Sponsored by a variety ofFederal agencies including the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. En-vironmental Protection Agency, the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S.Geological Survey. WATERSHED '96provides an interactive forum on theprogress and future of watershed man-agement. You are invited by the spon-sors of WATERSHED '96 to propose apaper or presentation to be presentedat WATERSHED '96. To receive com-plete proposal submission guidelinesand information, call the Water Environ-ment Federation at 1-800/666-0206.

Second International Airborne Re-mote Sensing Conference and Exhi-bition , San Francisco, California, June24-27, 1996. For more Information:ERIM/Airborne Conference, P.O. Box134001, Ann Arbor, MI 48113-4001,USA, Phone: 313/994-1200, ext. 323,Fax: 313/994-5123.

Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium An-nual Conference - September 25-27,1996, Sheraton Park Place Hotel, St.Louis Park, Minnesota - The MinnesotaGIS/LIS Consortium is a forum for com-municating information to, and improv-ing cooperation among, those interestedin Geographic Information Systems(GIS) and Land Information Systems(LIS) in the State of Minnesota. ForMore information contact GIS/LIS Con-sortium c/o LMIC, 330 Centennial Bldg.,St. Paul, MN 55155.

Eco-Informa ‘96 - Lake Buena Vista,Florida, USA. November 4-7, 1996. Thismajor international conference, orga-nized by leaders in the environmentalscience and policy communities, focuseson worldwide communications for envi-ronmental applications and addressesthe critical need to share informationthat promotes responsible decisionmaking in environmental problem solv-ing. For more information contact: ERIM/Eco-Informa, P.O. Box 134001, AnnArbor, MI USA 48113-4001, Telephone:313/994 1200, ext. 3234; Fax: 313/9945123.

Meetings of Interest

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the long-term maintenance of popula-tions of native species and natural eco-systems. Gap analysis is conducted byoverlaying vegetation and species rich-ness maps with public ownership andmanagement maps, so that gaps in themanagement of biodiversity can be iden-tified. These data layers are developed,displayed, and analyzed using geo-graphic information systems (GIS) tech-niques. The goal of gap analysis is toensure that all ecosystems and areasrich in species diversity are adequatelyrepresented in the planning and man-agement for biodiversity.

The Upper Midwest Gap AnalysisProgram (GAP) is in the initial stages ofimplementation. It is a partnership de-signed to avoid duplicating efforts whilemeeting the diverse information needsof the participating State and Federalcooperators. Cooperative agreementsare in place with the Departments ofNatural Resources of Michigan, Min-nesota, and Wisconsin to develop cur-rent vegetation maps and public owner-ship and management maps. This three-state effort is being coordinated by theEnvironmental Management TechnicalCenter (EMTC), National BiologicalService, Onalaska, Wisconsin.

Satellite imagery from the LandsatThematic Mapper is being received fromthe EROS Data Center of the U.S. Geo-logical Survey through the Multi-Reso-lution Land Characteristic Consortiumprogram. These scenes are being re-viewed and archived by the EMTC be-fore being forwarded to each state forcomputer-assisted processing and clas-sification. A proposed image process-ing protocol for the Upper MidwestGAP has been developed by Dr. TomLillesand, Director of the Environmen-tal Remote Sensing Center of the Uni-versity of Wisconsin, Madison, who isserving as the Upper Midwest GAPTechnical Coordinator. Among thetechnical approaches being evaluatedare (1) the use of multidate GIS-assistedstratification into urban and non-urbanand upland and lowland categories, (2)the use of an extendable classificationscheme which can be cross-walked into

other classification systems, (3) stratifi-cation into spectrally consistent geo-graphic units for classification based onecoregions, (4) the use of hybrid classi-fication techniques for non-urban up-lands, and (5) the use of geographicallystratified systematic sampling for col-lection of training and accuracy assess-ment data.

Upper Midwest GAP is a collabo-rative “bottom-up” approach that al-lows for creativity at the local level tomeet local needs. National standards

are, however, of enormous importanceif we are to provide ecologically mean-ingful information that is useful at theecoregion or multistate scale. That is,GIS information layers that are consis-tent across the entire range of a speciesor of a vegetation type’s occurrence areneeded. Toward that end, one of theobjectives of the national GAP is togenerate and distribute digital thematicmaps of existing land cover vegetationtypes and distributions of terrestrial ver-tebrates. These vector coverages willbe of uniform scale and format, meetingFederal Geographic Data Standards.They will be made publicly availableand distributed via the Internet. In ad-dition, Upper Midwest GAP plans tomake available the original satellite-derived raster coverages of current veg-etation at their full resolution.

As Upper Midwest GAP evolvesand moves into the species range mod-eling and gap analysis phases, steeringcommittees comprised of cooperatingagency and organization staff will beintegral to advancing a program thatsuccessfully meets cooperator needs.The EMTC is committed to facilitatingthat process and encourages the partici-pation of additional partners.

Recreational use survey on Up-per Mississippi River Pool 13

Gent, R. 1995. Poster presented at theUpper Mississippi River ConservationCommittee meeting, Dubuque, Iowa,March 13-15, 1995.

Recreational use on Pool 13 of theUpper Mississippi River was estimatedfor a 12-month period, March 1991through February 1992, using access-based non-uniform probability samplingand data extrapolation techniques. Dur-ing the study, 18,950 individuals wereinterviewed, yielding an estimated237,896 recreational visits totaling2,094,244 hours. Twenty-two recre-ational activities were identified in thesample taken. Open water fishing wasthe primary activity, with an estimated104,278 trips and 44% of all visits.Recreational boating and ice fishingranked second and third, with 27,625

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an authorized publication of the U.S.Department of the Interior, publishedperiodically by the EnvironmentalManagement Technical Center.

River Almanac's purpose is toprovide an ongoing exchange of in-formation between the EMTC andother Long Term Resource Monitor-ing Program participants and the gen-eral public.

Robert L. DelaneyCenter Director

Norman W. HildrumAlmanac Coordinator

Terry D'Erchia Editor

Madelon WiseAssistant Editor

Questions or comments may bedirected to the EMTC, Almanac Staff,575 Lester Avenue, Onalaska, WI54650-8552.

Telephone: 608/783-7550Fax: 608/783-8058

Opinions expressed in this bulle-tin do not necessarily reflect the posi-tion of the U.S. Department of theInterior or any LTRMP participant.

Mention of trade names or com-mercial products does not constituteendorsement or recommendation foruse by the Department of the Interior.

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and 25,282 estimated trips. Camping,open water fishing, and recreationalboating accounted for most hours spentby activity, with 1,255,069, 423,265,and 168,481 hours. Sport anglers caughtan estimated 757,319 fish, for a meancatch rate of 1.35 fish/hour but releasednearly half of the catch, harvesting anestimated 346,024 fish, with a meanharvest rate of 0.62 fish/hour. Bluegill,black crappie, and channel catfish ac-counted for 56%, 10%, and 10% of theharvest. Waterfowl accounted for 95%of wildlife harvested, with an estimated10,978 birds taken. Recreationists sur-veyed traveled an average of 60 miles toreach Pool 13, with a mean trip durationof 8.8 hours, ranging from 0.7 hours forsightseeing to 67.2 hours for camping.A subsample of 1,021 recreationistswere surveyed to estimate trip expendi-tures and durable goods purchased.Mean trip expense was $22.32, for atotal annual expenditure of $5,310,368.Mean annual expenditure for durablegoods relating to recreation activitieswas $1,388 per person.

The taxonomic and distributionalstatus of Notropis volucellus andNotropis wickliffi in the UpperMississippi River

Hrabik, R. A. 1995. Paper presented atthe Missouri Forest, Fish, and WildlifeConference, Lake Ozark, Missouri, Feb-ruary 1-3, 1995.

Robbins et al. (1991) recently rec-ognized Notropis wickliffi (channelshiner) as a full species, elevating itfrom a subspecies of Notropis volu-cellus (mimic shiner). Trautman (1981)originally described the channel shinerfrom the Ohio River and recommendedthat it be given full specific status at thattime. Several icthyologists, includingT. M. Cavender, D. A. Ethnier, and C.R. Gilbert, have expressed confidencethat these taxa are full species and some-times are sympatric (Robbins et al.1991).

Both species occur in the UpperMississippi River. Biologists with theLong Term Resource Monitoring Pro-gram have collected numerous speci-

mens that, until recently, were all as-signed to N. volucellus. In 1991, Ibegan to examine voucher specimensretained by the six field stations in theProgram. I determined that all recordsfrom the open river listed as N.volucellus were actually N. wickliffi.By 1992, I concluded that N. wickliffiwas the dominant form in the UpperMississippi River from Pool 13 to theOhio River. However, cursory separa-tion of N. wickliffi from N. volucellusbecomes increasingly difficult in areasabove Pool 13. Specimens I examinedfrom Pool 8 were mostly N. wickliffi,but several appeared to be intergrades.Characters that seemed to work well indistinguishing each species from down-stream portions of the river were notreliable for Pool 8 populations.

A study will be conducted to assessthe meristic, morphometric, and geneticvariation of these two species, particu-larly in the Upper Mississippi Riverdrainage.

Plant colonization of flood-createdland on the Upper MississippiRiver

Kruse, K. M., and W. Barnes. 1995.Poster presented at the Twenty-SeventhAnnual Meeting of the Mississippi RiverResearch Consortium, La Crosse, Wis-consin, April 27-28, 1995.

Deposition by the 1993 flood onthe Upper Mississippi River resulted inthe emergence of numerous parcels ofland to elevations sufficient to supportterrestrial vegetation. Plants colonizedthese sandbars immediately upon re-cession of the 1994 spring floodwaters.In August and September of that year,we quantitatively surveyed 17 sandbarcommunities. Sites are distributed fromriver mile 801 near Red Wing, Minne-sota, to river mile 744 near BuffaloCity, Wisconsin. Their sizes range from348 to 10,426 m2, their substrates arecomposed of greater than 85% sand,and they each contain from 17 to 57species. A total of 114 species wereencountered on the 17 sites. Meanelevations are at less than 0.70 m abovesummer water surface levels at all sites.

Seven species that occurred with mod-erate to high frequency at nearly allsites are cottonwood (Populusdeltoides), peach-leaved willow (Salixamygdaloides), silver maple (Acersaccharinum), black willow (S. nigra),sandbar willow (S. exigua), and twospecies of flatsedge (Cyperus odoratusand C. squarrosus). In order to gener-ate hypotheses concerning factors re-sponsible for differences in composi-tion among the 17 sites, frequencies ofoccurrence of 20 common species wereused to ordinate the sandbar communi-ties based on their dissimilarity (Bray-Curtis). Species richness, percent sand,sampling date (phenology), and geo-graphical position do not appear to becorrelated to site arrangement alongeither axis. However, composition doesappear to be influenced by a site’s posi-tion within a navigation pool. Commu-nities clustered in the upper right quad-rant of the ordination are found in theimpounded/downstream portion of anavigation pool, while those outsidethat quadrant are tailwater/upstreamcommunities.Locally, micro-topo-graphical differences as small as 3 cmmay influence community composition.Rice-cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides)clearly decreases, and peach-leavedwillow (S. amygdaloides) increases withincreasing elevation. These trends oc-cur within an elevation range of lessthan 0.30 m.

Long-term trends (1959-1994) infish populations of the IllinoisRiver with emphasis on upstream-to-downstream differences

Lerczak, T. V., R. E. Sparks, and K. D.Blodgett. 1995. Poster presented at theTwenty-Seventh Annual Meeting of theMississippi River Research Consortium,La Crosse, Wisconsin, April 27-28,1995.

Twenty-six stations were electro-fished during late summer-early autumnfor most years since 1959. Three riversegments were recognized: the upper80 km near Chicago; the next 242 km(middle river); and the final 128 km(lower river). The upper segment has

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been the most impacted by industrialwastes and sewage, while the lower/middle segments have been more de-graded by excessive siltation. Catchrates (number collected per hour) forindicator species with different toler-ances to pollution and data on externalabnormalities for all species were ana-lyzed for trends. Common carp andgoldfish were considered tolerant oflow dissolved oxygen (DO) and toxi-cants. Centrarchids, treated as a groupbecause of similar interspecific habitatneeds, were considered pollution-intol-erant relative to carp or goldfish. Greensunfish data were not included withother centrarchid data because of greensunfish tolerance to degraded condi-tions.

From 1962 to 1994, carp catchesdecreased for all river segments, andcentrarchid catches increased on thelower and upper river; goldfish de-creased in upper river catches and wereabsent or collected in small numberselsewhere. The number of species mak-ing up 95% of the total catch for themiddle and upper river was greater inrecent years compared with the 1960s.In 1963, for example, the 95% list con-sisted of 10 species on the middle riverand just four species on the upper. In1994, the 95% list consisted of 15 spe-cies on the middle river and 16 speciesplus one hybrid on the upper. Thenumber of species on the 95% lists forthe lower river were similar in 1963(11) and 1994 (10); carp ranked first in1963 (comprising 34% of the totalcatch), while bluegill were consistentlyfirst since 1991, ranging from 25% to40% of the total catch. Increases incatches of centrarchids are probablyrelated to increases in DO and decreasesin ammonia concentrations since the1960s. Declines in carp and goldfishmay be due in part to higher predationon young-of-the-year by some cen-trarchids. Centrarchid numbers maynot have changed in the middle riverbecause increased production in someareas may have been offset by decreasesin other areas that had more extensivelosses of spawning habitat from silt-ation.

Benthic fishes (e.g., carp) hadhigher incidences of external abnor-malities than pelagic fishes (e.g., blue-gill) for all years in the upper river, andfor most years in other reaches. Per-centages of benthic fishes with abnor-malities increased in the upstream di-rection, and concentrations of toxicantsin sediments of the upper river werehigher than in other reaches, which sug-gests abnormalities on benthic fishesare related to contact with contami-nated sediments. The percentage ofpelagic fishes with abnormalities de-creased from 1959 to 1994 in all riversegments, possibly reflecting betterwater quality.

Electron transport system enzymeactivity and oxygen consumptionin zebra mussels: Potential appli-cations to in-situ determinationsof metabolic rate

Madon, S. P., D. W. Schneider, J. A.Stoeckel, and R. E. Sparks. 1995. Pa-per presented at the Fifth InternationalZebra Mussel and Other Aquatic Nui-sance Organisms Conference 1995,Toronto, Ontario, Canada, February21-24, 1995.

Measurements of metabolic rate arevital to studies on energetics and func-tional responses of zebra mussels toenvironmental variables. However, dueto artificial and often simplified condi-tions in the laboratory, estimates of meta-bolic rate often fail to reflect metaboliccosts in natural systems. The electrontransport system (ETS) enzyme assayprovides an alternative method for de-riving in-situ estimates of metabolicrates in zebra mussels. The ETS assayrelies on the fact that the process ofoxygen consumption in organisms isaccomplished via the electron transportsystem; therefore, ETS enzyme activityis strongly correlated with oxygen con-sumption. In-situ metabolic rates canbe predicted from the ETS-oxygen con-sumption relationship if ETS levels aremeasured in organisms collected fromnatural systems. The ETS assay is par-ticularly advantageous because it is in-sensitive to immediate stress associatedwith capture and collection of organ-

isms from natural systems. Evidencefrom other ETS studies in marine sys-tems suggests that the nature of theETS-oxygen consumption relationshipvaries from species to species.

We are currently conducting ex-periments to calibrate the relationshipbetween ETS activity and oxygen con-sumption in zebra mussels of varioussize classes (10 to 12 mm, 15 to 18 mm,and 25 to 28 mm). Zebra mussels werecollected from the Illinois River and arebeing maintained in the laboratory on acommercially prepared diet of preserveddiatoms. Previous experiments suggestthat metabolic rates of zebra musselsvary with ration and temperature. Wewill therefore use various ration andtemperature levels to generate a widerange of oxygen consumption and cor-responding ETS enzyme levels for eachsize class of zebra mussels. ETS en-zyme activity was measured using aprocedure adapted from Owens andKing. Initial experiments show enzymekinetics to be comparable to ETS stud-ies in other species, suggesting its util-ity in measuring zebra mussel respira-tion. Oxygen consumption will be mea-sured via the Winkler method. We willuse the ETS-oxygen consumption cali-brations to predict differential meta-bolic rates of individual zebra musselsat various positions (on the surface andtoward the core) in typical clump-likeaggregations found in the Illinois River.

River modifications and their in-fluence on the forest of the UpperMississippi River floodplain in Il-linois

Nelson, J. C., and Y. Yin. 1995. TheIllinois Renewable Natural ResourcesConference, Springfield, Illinois, March29-31, 1995.

Large river-floodplain systems areamong the most highly productive eco-systems worldwide. Many ecologistsattribute this high productivity to an-nual variations in river stage or theflood pulse. The relationship between alarge river and its floodplain can bedescribed as one of interdependencyand interaction generated by flood

River Almanac


used to visualize the ellipse’s shape andorientation. It contains about 40% ofthe sample, is not dependent on thesample size, and cannot be used forstatistical inference. The other two el-lipses have identical shapes and orien-tation but different major and minoraxes. The confidence ellipse is an esti-mate of accuracy; the sample mean is oris not significantly different from thesurvey locations at a given α. Thetolerance ellipse is an estimate of preci-sion; a given percentage of the popula-tion sampled is enclosed in the toler-ance ellipse at a given α.

Thirty-six locations were measuredand compared to surveyed loca-tions. The average offset was -1.05m in the northing (Y) direction and0.74 m in the easting (X) direction.Hotelling’s one sample test deter-mined that H

o (no significant de-

parture from the survey locationsexists) was rejected at the 0.05 level,which indicates there was a sys-tematic error in the sample. Thesample mean was offset in the southand east directions. Ninety-fivepercent of the population sampled(at the 0.05 level) was contained inan ellipse that was centered on (0.74,-1.05), had a major axis of 9.06 m

and a minor axis of 6.83 m, with anangle of 31.68o. Thus, if an additionalpoint were taken, we are 95% confidentthat it would fall within this ellipse.

Characteristics of suspended ma-terial in the Upper MississippiRiver System

Soballe, D. M. 1995. Paper presentedat the Twenty-Seventh Annual Meetingof the Mississippi River Research Con-sortium, La Crosse, Wisconsin, April27-28, 1995.

Suspended particulate materialplays a significant role in the ecologicalstructure and functioning of the UpperMississippi River System (UMRS). Forexample, suspended particulate organicmatter (POM) is the primary food re-source utilized by filter-feeding organ-isms (including mussels, other inverte-brates, and several fish species). Many

pulses. The annual hydrograph of thenatural or undisturbed Upper Missis-sippi River System (UMRS) is charac-terized by seasonal flood pulses. Nor-mally, spring and autumn flooding ex-pands main river channels into backwa-ter and floodplain habitats. Today, natu-ral hydrologic patterns are significantlyaltered by navigation dams, streamchannelization, and levee systems.Despite human alterations to the UMRS,species adaptations to the flood pulsestill dictate plant assemblages on thefloodplain. For this reason, it is likelythat hydrologic alterations are a keyfactor in understanding past andpresent vegetation patterns through-out the UMRS. Like many largerivers worldwide, the UMRS hasbeen extensively modified by agri-cultural land conversion, urban de-velopment, and navigation projects.All of these modifications have hadwide-ranging effects on the naturalprocesses, particularly hydrology,that drive and maintain the flood-plain ecosystem. Because theUMRS has been so extensivelymodified, it is difficult to imaginenatural or presettlement floodplainlandscapes. Fortunately, there is areliable source of information thatcan help us reconstruct presettlementfloodplain landscapes of the UMRS.The Government Land Office (GLO)surveyors’ field notes contain a recordof the presettlement environment andare the basis for many presettlementforest reconstructions. In conjunctionwith modern forest sampling, the GLOrecords provide a means of evaluatingforest change. Our intention is to sum-marize some of those changes with spe-cial emphasis on hydrology and flood-plain forests in Illinois.

A method for measuring the spa-tial accuracy of coordinates col-lected using the Global Position-ing System

Owens, T. W., and D. M. McConville.1995. Poster presented at the Twenty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the Missis-sippi River Research Consortium, LaCrosse, Wisconsin, April 27-28, 1995.

Evaluating locational accuracy ofspatial data is important to determinethe appropriate use of these data. How-ever, a good method has not been docu-mented to measure locational accuracy.We have found that the Global Posi-tioning System (GPS) ameliorates thedifficulty of measuring the location ofobjects and enables non-surveyors todetermine their location with relativeease and accuracy. This study deviseda straightforward, repeatable, and sta-tistically sound method of estimatingthe horizontal accuracy of GPS-derivedlocational data. We concentrated on the

spatial accuracy of points because pointsrepresent simple locations and not car-tographic abstractions such as lines orpolygons.

When GPS coordinates are taken atsurveyed locations, the quantity of in-terest is the difference from the sur-veyed (assumed true) coordinates. Thisdifference in coordinates is a bivariatequantity and the probability distribu-tion function (PDF) can be described byan ellipse with the center at X and Y. Anellipse is an appropriate shape for aPDF; it has two dimensions but is notrectangular because the joint probabil-ity of points occurring in the corners isvery small, and it is generally not circu-lar because X and Y are not necessarilythe same. There are three ellipses ofinterest: the standard ellipse, the confi-dence ellipse, and the tolerance ellipse.The standard ellipse is a descriptive tool

River Almanac


contaminants absorb readily to particles; thus, the transport anddeposition of contaminants is tied closely to particle movement.

Since 1991, the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program(LTRMP) has monitored the levels of total suspended particulatematerial (TSS), organic suspended particulate material (POM), andplanktonic chlorophyll in five sections of the UMR and in La GrangePool of the Illinois River. These data show that the concentration oftotal suspended material (TSS) increased in a downstream directionand that the concentration of TSS in backwaters was generally lowerthan in the main channel. The data also indicate that the contributionof organic particulate (POM) to the total suspended load declined byabout half (from 15% to 7%) from upstream (Pools 4, 8, and 13) todownstream (Pool 26 and Open River). Phytoplankton (estimatedby chlorophyll) appeared to be a significant portion of POM inbackwaters (on the order of 50% by weight), but organic materialother than phytoplankton appeared to dominate the POM of themain channel. The contribution of phytoplankton to POM varied

among study areas. Chlorophyll and POM were both maximal in theIllinois River. In the mainstem of the Mississippi River, averagechlorophyll and POM concentrations were highest in Pool 8 andgenerally declined in the downstream direction. Although the totalquantity of TSS increased downstream in the UMRS, its nutritivevalue to filter feeders (as suggested by chlorophyll and POMfractions) appeared to decrease.

Water quality monitoring: Program design and limits todata interpretation

Soballe, D. M. 1995. Paper presented at the Symposium on StreamFlow and Water Quality Monitoring in Wisconsin, Madison, Wis-consin, June 7, 1995.

Monitoring is invaluable as a means to detectchanges, patterns, or trends in limnological parameters(e.g., water quality) but is only useful to managers if itproduces good information. Data (raw numbers) areconverted into information (answers) by analysis andinterpretation. Analysis and interpretation of monitor-ing data relies upon a good understanding of (1) the datacollection effort (methods and sampling design), (2) thesystem being monitored, (3) appropriate spatial andtemporal time scales, and (4) the rules of scientificinference. Examples are presented here to demonstratethe consequences of ignoring these factors when com-piling and interpreting monitoring data.

Because large volumes of monitoring data havebeen amassed (at considerable expense), there is strongmotivation to maximize the use of these existing dataand to ensure that future monitoring data are “compat-ible” with them. To this end, emphasis has been placedupon standardization of collection and analytical meth-ods. Standardization of methods is important, but datacompatibility is not determined by analytical methodsalone. The intent of a sampling program determineswhat use can be made of the resulting data, and dataproperly collected to answer one set of questions maybe wholly inappropriate for others, irrespective of ana-lytical technique. Although generality of samplingdesign is desirable to ensure the long-term value and“compatibility” of monitoring data, focus is also re-quired to ensure that defined goals are achieved withavailable resources. As a result, incompatibility indesign is sometimes unavoidable and cannot be evalu-ated without detailed documentation of sampling de-sign. Coordination among monitoring programs andthe advent of “metadata” (data about data) can helpalleviate this situation but cannot eliminate it.

Fluctuations in zebra mussel ( Dreissenapolymorpha ) demographics in the middle andlower Illinois River, 1993 to 1994

Whitney, S. D., K. D. Blodgett, and R. E. Sparks. 1995.Poster presented at the Fifth International Zebra Mus-sel and Other Aquatic Nuisance Organisms Conference1995, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, February 21-24, 1995.

Since 1993, we have quantitatively assessed thedemographics of newly established zebra mussel(Dreissena polymorpha) populations in the lower andmiddle Illinois River. This research is designed toprovide a better understanding of their impacts onspecific riverine species and on the riverine ecosystemas a whole. Zebra mussel populations exploded in thelower Illinois River during summer 1993, only 2 yearsafter their initial discovery in this waterway. By Au-gust, the 1993 Flood had carried veligers from upriverpopulations to the lower Illinois River, where newly

River Almanac


station biologists collected a series of common carp specimens from the Mis-sissippi River, just below the confluence with the Illinois near Grafton, Illi-nois. This collection site has been monitored for zebra mussels since 1992and is known to be heavily colonized by them.

Thirty-one common carp werecollected at River Mile 217;twenty-six contained from 1 to 204zebra mussels. With few excep-tions, the shells were crushed andwell fragmented, but the beaks (thepointed end of the mussel that at-taches to rocks) were intact.Tucker reports that the field stationhas saved the beaks for future mea-surement. “Because there is astraight-line relationship betweenthe length of the beak and thelength of the zebra mussel itself,we will be able to determine thesize of the zebra mussels each carphad eaten.”

Some scientists propose im-porting potential zebra musselpredators in an attempt to controlthe exotic mussels, a conceptwhich concerns Tucker. “Twocommon Upper Mississippi RiverSystem species have already been found to eat zebra mussels—freshwaterdrum and now the common carp. The ability of these species as controlagents should be investigated before other exotics are imported.”

Tucker believes that because the common carp is both widespread andnumerous, its potential impact on zebra mussel populations is worth investi-gating. Dr. Steve Gutreuter, who directs monitoring and research at the EMTC,agrees that further investigation appears warranted, cautioning that "It is fartoo soon to tell whether carp might help control zebra mussel populations.The fact that zebra mussels and carp are both abundant in some areas of theUpper Mississippi River suggests that carp are unlikely to be controlling thedensities of zebra mussels. However, in areas where zebra mussels mayalready be limited by lack of suitable conditions, the additional mortalityfrom carp predation might be important.” r

Carp from page 1settled zebra mussels averaged 10,905 and60,956/m2 at river miles (RM) 66.8 and 5.5,respectively. These downriver populationsconsisted almost entirely (>99%) of similarlysmall (<15 mm in length) zebra mussels re-sulting from the first settlement of 1993. ByOctober 1993, zebra mussels had experiencedsignificant mortality, averaging 47.6% at RM66.8 and 21.9% at RM 5.5. By August 1994,98.1% of the zebra mussels we collected atRM 66.8 and 51.4% at RM 5.5 were dead; livezebra mussel densities were 420/m2 at RM66.8 and 3,883/m2 at RM 5.5, indicating mor-tality may have been underestimated at RM5.5 due to displacement of dead mussels.Length frequency distributions and settlingblock data collected in June 1994 indicate verypoor settlement of young zebra mussels atboth lower Illinois River sites. Conversely,successful settlement occurred at MississippiRiver RM 217, which is only 1.5 river milesbelow the confluence with the Illinois River.Dissolved oxygen concentrations as low as 1.7ppm and temperatures as high as 31.2 °C wererecorded near the bottom of the main channelat RM 5.5 during sampling in late June 1994.Low dissolved oxygen, high water tempera-tures, and low water levels persisted through-out most of July 1994 and may explain thepoor settlement and increased mortality of thelower Illinois River populations.

Further upstream on the middle river, livezebra mussel densities at RM 162.3 increasedfrom 1,793/m2 in August 1993 to 6,998/m2 inOctober 1993 and have remained relativelystable through August 1994 (5,836/m2). Mor-tality remained low from July 1993 throughJune 1994, averaging between 0% and 2.1%.However, demographics indicate that over-population in 1993 and poor environmentalconditions in 1994 combined to cause a crashin lower Illinois River populations. Dramaticfluctuations in flow and water quality factorsin the Illinois River are expected to producesignificant fluctuations in zebra mussel popu-lations. However, zebra mussel densities from3,000 to 7,000/m2 appear to be sustainableover the wide range of environmental condi-tions experienced during the past 2 years. r

Finally, managers responsible for decisions about future water levelregulation will need to recognize that a single set of rules and regulations maynot be appropriate to help sustain a system that is characterized and defined byboth small- and large-scale spatial dynamics. In order to maintain the overallphysical and structural diversity of a floodplain river, a dynamic hydrographneeds to be viewed as a long-term tool to ensure the optimal survival of somespecies in one year and different species in the next. With this philosophy inmind, managers can work more effectively with the year-to-year flow varia-tions created by climatic processes rather than against them. r

Hydrologic attributes from page 3

Future scientist Moynell M. Tucker

River Almanac


Field stations to retrieve and download LTRMP datathrough "remote connectivity"

by Madelon Wise

The EMTC collects component data for fisheries,water quality, vegetation, and invertebrates, and storesthese data in a relational databasemanagement system. While thegeographic locations of these dataare also collected and stored, therewere no tools available to auto-mate the integration of these datawith other spatial data. In responseto this need, a new Unix-basedapplication has been developed atthe EMTC.

The LTRMP Component Da-tabase Spatial Query Tool is anARC Macro Language applicationthat uses the ARC/INFO geo-graphic information system (GIS)to facilitate visualization and spa-tial querying of component data. The application includesdata for fisheries, water quality, and invertebrates for all sixkey pools (Pools 4, 8, 13, and 26, the open river, and LaGrange Pool). The application provides a graphical user

interface which requires no prior GIS knowledge to oper-ate. The user can select a pool and component, zoom to the

area of interest, then create a spatialsubset of sampling sites by graphicallydefining a bounding box or polygon.Next, the user can construct a queryand apply it to the spatial subset ofsites. Output options include graphicalscreen display, hardcopy map, and/orcomma-delimited ASCII file.

Upgrades planned for the comingyear include enhancements based onuser feedback and possibly porting theapplication to the PC platform. Untilthis application is available for PC-based platforms, use is limited to thosestaff members with Unix systems run-ning ARC/INFO GIS software. How-

ever, any Program partner wishing to test this applicationmay submit a request to the EMTC. For more informationabout this interface, contact the Geospatial ApplicationsDivision at the EMTC. r

LTRMP component database spatial query tool by Douglas A. Olsen

lyzing special projects and for qualityassurance of the data. This totallyinteractive, menu-driven software iseasy to use. The EMTC has the capa-bility to satisfy and send a special re-quest, a year’s worth of data, severalyears of data, or whatever combinationis desired using an automated method.”

When field stations requested datapreviously, Hagedorn had to send thedata by E-mail after an ASCII file con-taining the data was generated. Asrevisions were made to the database,the ASCII files would become out-dated. “With the new software,” ex-plains Hagedorn, “the field stationsare connected directly to the onlinedatabase, so the data they retrieve is in

As of January 1996, all field sta-tions will have the capability to re-trieve and download the LTRMP datathey have been collecting for the last 7years. Accessed through a modem,data can be retrieved at any time. Withsoftware on a Unix system, users canselect data inquires by such fields ascomponent, field station, pool, or vari-ous analytical fields and can parse thequery down to specific data.

According to Computer SpecialistSteve Hagedorn, “With this connectiv-ity, field station staff members cangenerate their own queries and canlater use the data in a SAS applicationor in Lotus. This capability enables thefield stations to create datasets for ana-

real time, plus they can do it them-selves, and they don’t have to rely onme or anyone else to retrieve the datafor them.”

In addition to the capability toserve LTRMP data to the field stations,Hagedorn and EMTC Computer Spe-cialist Dave Bergstedt are developingthe capablity to serve LTRMP dataover the Internet. This new applicationalso allows users to create queries spe-cific to their needs. It works much thesame way as the field station software,except that this application uses point-and-click software that is accessedthrough the Internet via the EMTCHome Page. r

River Almanac


Biology professor on sabbatical at EMTCDr. Rob Tyser, a member of the Biology and Microbiology Department at

the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, is spending a year’s sabbatical at theEMTC. During his sabbatical, Tyser is performing research on temporalchanges in aquatic vegetation in selected areas of Upper Mississippi RiverSystem (UMRS) Pool 8. Tyser earnedhis Ph.D. in ecology in 1978 from theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison.Since graduation, he has taught at theUniversity of Wisconsin-La Crosse.For the past 10 years, he has beenstudying exotic plants invading Gla-cier National Park and has publishedseveral research articles on this topic.

Tyser will analyze several yearsof data to determine what changes areoccurring in the Pool 8 vegetation andthe causal factors for those changes.His research, which uses geographicinformation systems (GIS) technol-ogy and spatial statistics, will focuson short-term or annual changes invegetation, rather than long-term changes that may be due to gradual processessuch as sedimentation or succession. Once the vegetation community changesare quantified and described, the role of disturbance on community structure willbe defined.

The data Tyser is using were created by the EMTC's Cartographic ServicesGroup, Geospatial Applications Division, using the Stereo Zoom TransferScope (SZTS). GIS coverages of land cover use have been created for the years1991-1995. Operated by a skilled interpreter using photogrammetric principles,the SZTS can create accurate land cover databases from interpreted 1:15,000-

Dr. Rob Tyser, professor of Biology andMicrobiology at the University of Wis-consin-La Crosse. (Photo by Madelon Wise)

Examples from Tyser's study of GIS coverages derived from the Stereo ZoomTransfer Scope.

scale color-infrared aerial photos. Thespatial accuracy of features in thedatabases are within 5 meters of theiractual location. Tyser anticipates us-ing several analytical approaches forhis project, including the calculationof “transition matrices.”

Transition matrices track the pro-portion of a land cover type thatchanges to another land cover type ortypes in following years. This analy-sis should indicate the magnitude ofyearly variation as well as overall di-rections of change; for example: Areopen water areas declining? Is emer-gent vegetation increasing? The in-clusion of four study sites will permitan among-site analysis of variance.

“I am very excited about thisproject,” Tyser states. “Contrary topopular opinion, it will be possible toteach an old dog some new GIS tricks.”He notes that his research is verymuch a team project, drawing uponthe active collaboration of EMTC staff,including SZTS interpreter LarryRobinson; Tom Owens, who is pro-viding GIS support; and Sara Rogers,who is providing ecological guidance.Tyser intends to build upon his expe-rience at the EMTC when his sabbati-cal ends. “I will initiate a GIS coursein the Biology and Microbiology De-partment, with the UMRS as a focus,”he says.

This project is an excellent ex-ample of cooperation between theEMTC and the river community. TheEMTC is providing the computingfacility, data, and technical expertise;Tyser is providing his scientific ex-pertise in applying the data to solve aspecific problem and will facilitatethe transfer of GIS technology to theuniversity classroom.r

by Tom Owens

River Almanac


What a catch! - A day of electrofishing

One of many field sampling activities conducted by theLong Term Resource Monitoring Program is electrofishing.During the summer and fall months, LTRMP field station staffcan be seen plying Upper Mississippi River backwaters inelectrofishing craft such as the one in the photograph below.

Electrofishing is used to collect a large number of fish atone time in a relatively small area. At the front of the boat arerings with dangling metal rods, which are lowered into the

water during the electrofishing process.These rods deliver an electrical currentto the water, harmlessly stunning thefish, which can then be scooped up innets (above, right).

Once collected and put into a hold-ing tank aboard the boat, the fish aremeasured (top left) weighed, or both,depending on size class and species.Scale samples may also be taken forlater analysis. Fish are then released,unharmed.

The process often brings up fishthat would make any angler proud, in-cluding the handsome black crappieabove. (Text and photos by Mi Ae Lipe-Butterbrodt.) r

River Almanac


Linda Leake approaches her career with a firm belief in customer service. “Youmust approach your work with a nucleus of providing service and you must do it witha smile.” The multiple-award-winning employee sees herself as “a resource ratherthan an expert” and describes her role as that of “a coordinator, team leader, ideasperson, trouble-shooter, guider, and promoter."

Although Leake has over 13 years of service in the Federal Government, mostof her career has been in the private sector, where her expertise in automation began.

She became interested in computers 12years ago, when she used one for statis-tical analysis of industrial scrap rates.

A member of a military family, Leakemoved to and from many locations andneeded to keep her employment optionsflexible. At Fort Richardson, Alaska,Leake was the only computer operatorin her division and witnessed the earlyinroads of PCs into the Federal Govern-ment. At a time when PCs were not thenorm on everyone’s desk, Leake waspromoted to computer specialist at FortRichardson, which supported the Finan-cial Management Divisions for all threearmy installations in Alaska. Her jobwas twofold: to introduce the user com-munity to PCs and to design a networkin PC configuration.

At the Sacramento, California, Army Depot, Leake worked with the automationsupport team, which began “grassroots automation support” for 2,000 people.Leake’s team set up PCs, implemented Unix management, and was the first "self-directed" working team the Depot had, experimenting with team review, teamsupervision, and team performance appraisals. Teamwork has remained a centraltheme in Leake’s management style.

During this period, Leake also continued her “nontraditional approach toeducation” by taking college courses to provide skills needed in her current job. Inher quest to remain marketable no matter her location, she has attended communitycolleges, universities, the Department of Defense Engineering College, and schoolsin Europe.

Leake believes a job needs to “keep the fun in” to remain exciting andchallenging. “Keep an open mind and an open outlook. You must be up to thechallenge,” she asserts. When Leake’s facility in Sacramento became targeted forclosure, she began to search for a new position that would provide her the challengeshe demands. After discussions with EMTC Information and Technology ServicesDirector Norman Hildrum, Leake believed that the EMTC would meet her criteria.

Leake has seen remarkable changes in the four years she has worked at theEMTC, as the Center moved from a PC and stand-alone DOS software environment

to a networked high-tech data servingcenter. The biggest job Leake’s grouphad to undertake was "organizing andloading component data into a masterdatabase process to review, update, andmake data available.” As the groupmoved to a Unix environment, the goalof creating a network was to share infor-mation in a cost-effective manner. “Wenow have six Unix servers configured ina distributed system; if one server goesdown, the software is either distributedin such a way that everyone keeps work-ing or it can be loaded on another systemif needed.”

Leake is very encouraged and ex-cited about the “team spirit amongEMTC and field station staff members.By working together as a team, we canbe more proactive than reactive.” Shestates that the EMTC has a “highly tech-nically competent staff” she calls the“cream of the crop.”

“That’s why we can produce andare producing. The facilities, staff, andresources are above average, and thestaff has the technical ability and apti-tude to make things happen. The suc-cesses of the information managementgroup would not happen without thistalent. Without their dedication andhard work, we would be years behindwhere we are now.”

Leake sees the Internet as a self-help tool with which “anyone who wantsdata can get it. Having our data avail-able on the Internet has resulted in a realboost in data availability, as well as inmore people asking more questions. Theold way of thinking was that ‘only acomputer jockey can do those things.’That is not the way business is donetoday. Now the computer group is hereto provide services and tools to staffmembers and the community.”

One accomplishment Leake is es-pecially proud of is her work with West-ern Wisconsin Technical College. In1993, she started discussions withWWTC and subsequently a cooperativeagreement was implemented with thecollege to employ their students at theEMTC. “This is a wonderful opportu-

by Madelon Wise

Personality ProfilesA closer look at the people who make the LTRMP a success

Information Management and Technol-ogy Support Manager, Linda Leake (Photoby Mi Ae Lipe-Butterbrodt)

River Almanac


See New Tools on page 16

New tools for an old problemby Beverly Friesen

The Environmental Management Technical Center hosts a World Wide Website to provide free access to a wide variety of biological, physical, spatial,graphic, and written information relating to the Upper Mississippi River System(UMRS) and adjoining geographic areas. One application that has proven usefulto our Partners is the ability to view and download aerial photographs. Throughan interactive map, photos of the UMRS can be accessed at the EMTC’s HomePage by graphically pointing and clicking on an area of interest.

Recently, Steve Lee of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was calledout to an oil spill when the St. Paul Coast Guard detachment reported a strongdiesel fuel odor and an oil sheen 3 miles long north of Lock and Dam # 8.Following this call, Lee was incontact with the EMTC and noted:

“We are learning to use new toolsfor an old problem—responding tospills and the illegal disposal of oilinto our waters. A couple of the toolswe are very excited about are thesensitive area database and relatedmapping being done by the EMTCand Upper Mississippi River BasinAssociation in support of the Environ-mental Protection Agency’s efforts todevelop oil spill preparedness plansunder the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.These tools will allow us to preparefor spills before they happen and willgreatly improve the decision makingprocesses during response to spills.”

Lee continues, “Recently, oilshowed up at Lock and Dam 8.Wisconsin and Minnesota Departmentof Natural Resources game wardensand the Coast Guard began field efforts to locate the source of the oil. While wewere in contact with them, we connected to the EMTC Home Page via theInternet and downloaded several aerial photographs of the area. These photo-graphs helped us to better interpret the more traditional maps and charts we havebeen using. Had this been a major spill, the sensitive area data, maps, and aerialphotographs would be invaluable. We’re looking forward to completion of themapping and photo projects and their distribution to spill planners and respond-ers.”

In January, a link will be added to serve Environmental Protection Agencydigital data and files for the Inland Waterways Mapping Project, a specialinteragency project between EPA Region 5 and the EMTC to provide commu-nity planners and oil spill responders with graphical information on the re-sources at risk during a spill. The Center serves as the central repository site forall data for this project, including databases for water intakes, marinas/ramps,potential spill sources, locks and dams, and tribal lands, plus scanned 1:24,000-scale and 1:100,000-scale USGS quadrangles for the six states within EPA

Interactive map from the EMTC HomePage. Users can point and click on areasof interest to download aerial photo-graphs.

nity for students to obtain real worldskills. As a result of their experienceshere, they become very marketable jobseekers. By developing a student base,we also reap benefits. The cooperativeagreement has been rewarding to watchgrow through the years.”

By working together

as a team, we can

be more proactive

than reactive.

In addition to serving as a resourcefor local schools and other Federal fa-cilities, Leake also serves on the WWTCComputer Advisory Committee. In hersecond year as the only representativefrom the Federal or State sector, Leakeserves with computer experts from thearea’s major private corporations suchas Trane, Heileman, and DairylandPower. The Committee meets semi-annually to review the curriculum andmake recommendations to the college.

Leake states that her participationin the 1993 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-vice Management Training Program wasinstrumental in developing her manage-ment philosophy. She rates this trainingas an A plus. The training “gave me abag of tools and helped me learn moreabout teamwork.”

Teamwork is paramount in Leake’sgroup, where the workload is heavy.She promotes empowerment of her staff,and staff members manage the day-to-day operations. Leake believes in in-formed group decisions and cross-train-ing. “I’m here to help them hurdleproblems.”

“I like to afford my staff opportu-nities to see the bigger picture of theLTRMP; for example, having them workon the Annual Work Plan, give tours, goto a meeting for me, or act in my place.”She reminds her team, “We’re here be-cause of the Program.” r

River Almanac


New Reports

United StatesDepartment of the Interior

Environmental Management Technical Center575 Lester Avenue

Onalaska, WI 54650

OFFICIAL BUSINESSPENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300

BULK RATEPostage and Fees Paid

National Biological Service

Permit No. G-790

The following reports were recentlycompleted and have been distributed to Pro-gram partners. LTRMP reports are avail-able through the National Technical Infor-mation Service, 5285 Port Royal Road,Springfield, Virginia 22161 (800/553-6847 or 703/487-4650).

Hill, L. 1995. Geospatial Applica-tion: Refuge expansion acreage analysis.National Biological Service, EnvironmentalManagement Technical Center, Onalaska,Wisconsin, August 1995. LTRMP 95-P005.

13 pp. + Appendixes A-C.

Joria, P. E. 1995.Geospatial Application:

Assessment of merged LandsatTM and SPOT panchromatic data

for Pool 26, Upper Mississippi RiverSystem. National Biological Service,Environmental ManagementTechnical Center, Onalaska,Wisconsin, September 1995.LTRMP 95-P010. 21 pp. +Appendix A.

Nelson, J. C., A. Redmond, and R. E.Sparks. 1995. Impacts of settlement onfloodplain vegetation at the confluence ofthe Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Re-printed by the National Biological Service,Environmental Management Technical Cen-ter, Onalaska, Wisconsin, July 1995.LTRMP 95-R004. 17 pp.

Olsen, D. A. 1995. Geospatial appli-cation: Aquatic habitat analysis and visu-alization tool. National Biological Service,Environmental Management Technical Cen-ter, Onalaska, Wisconsin. May 1995.LTRMP 95-P006. 5 pp.

Owens, T., and K. D. Hop. 1995.Long Term Resource Monitoring Programstandard operating procedures: Fieldstation photointerpretation. NationalBiological Service, EnvironmentalManagement Technical Center, Onalaska,Wisconsin, August 1995. LTRMP 95-

Admiraal, D., and M.Demissie. 1995. Velocity anddischarge measurements atselected locations on theMississippi River during theGreat Flood of 1993 usingan Acoustic Doppler Cur-rent Profiler. Pages 222-234 in the Proceedings of the InternationalJoint Seminar on Reduction of Natural andEnvironmental Disasters in Water Environ-ment, Seoul National University, Seoul,Korea, July 18-21, 1995. Reprinted by theNational Biological Service, Environmen-tal Management Technical Center,Onalaska, Wisconsin, August 1995.LTRMP 95-R007. 13 pp.

Arndt, L., and D. Olsen. 1995. LongTerm Resource Monitoring Program stan-dard operating procedures: ProductionARCEDIT digitizing. National BiologicalService, Environmental Management Tech-nical Center, Onalaska, Wisconsin, August1995. LTRMP 95-P008-3. 12 pp. + Appen-dixes A-K.

Bhowmik, N. O. 1995. Impacts of1993 floods on the Upper Mississippi andMissouri River Basins in the USA. Pages127-154 in the Proceedings of the Interna-tional Joint Seminar on Reduction of Natu-ral and Environmental Disasters in WaterEnvironment, Seoul National University,Seoul, Korea, July 18-21, 1995. Reprintedby the National Biological Service, Envi-ronmental Management Technical Center,Onalaska, Wisconsin, August 1995.LTRMP 95-R005. 28 pp.

Demissie, M. 1995. Sediment loadduring flood events for Illinois streams.Pages 341-357 in the Proceedings of theInternational Joint Seminar on Reductionof Natural and Environmental Disasters inWater Environment, Seoul National Uni-versity, Seoul, Korea, July 18-21, 1995.Reprinted by the National Biological Ser-vice, Environmental Management Techni-cal Center, Onalaska, Wisconsin, August1995. LTRMP 95-R006. 17 pp.

P008-2. 13 pp. + Appendixes A-E. (NTIS#PB95-114715)

Owens, T., and K. D. Hop. 1995.Long Term Resource Monitoring Programstandard operating procedures:Photointerpretation. National BiologicalService, Environmental Management Tech-nical Center, Onalaska, Wisconsin, July1995. LTRMP 95-P008-1. 7 pp + Appen-dixes A and B.

Robinson, L. 1995. Long TermResource Monitoring Program standardoperating procedures: Automated StereoZoom Transfer Scope. National BiologicalService, Environmental ManagementTechnical Center, Onalaska, Wisconsin,November 1995. LTRMP 95-P008-4. 16pp.

Wlosinski, J. H., D. E. Hansen, andS. R. Hagedorn. 1995. Long TermResource Monitoring Program proce-dures: Water surface elevation anddischarge. National Biological Service,Environmental Management TechnicalCenter, Onalaska, Wisconsin, August1995. LTRMP 95-P002-4. 9 pp. +Appendixes A-O. r

Region 5 (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan,Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin).Locations of pertinent documents andadditional sources of information alsowill be provided through links toother web sites and Home Pages onthe Internet.r

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River Almanac - Upper Midwest · River Almanac An Information Sharing Bulletin of the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program U.S. Department of the Interior Common carp may find zebra

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