TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment of backwater lake management strategies based on the diets of five riverine fishes
AU - Timmermann, Thomas R.
AU - Dolan, Chad R.
AU - Chick, John H.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank John Mabry and the staff at Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge, Walter Hill, John Epifanio, Pat Weatherhead and staff at the INHS, and Jim Lamer and staff at INHS Great Rivers Field Station. Funding for this study was provided by the US Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District. We also thank Southern Illinois University Carbondale for managing the distribution of funding. This is paper No. 35 in the Contribution Series of the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center.
PY - 2011/6
Y1 - 2011/6
N2 - Swan Lake, an Illinois River backwater, has been affected by sedimentation, altered hydrological patterns, and aquatic vegetation loss. This degradation led to a habitat rehabilitation and enhancement project where the lower portion of the lake was divided into two management units, with varying connectivity to the river and frequency of lake drawdowns to compact sediments. We assessed effects of these strategies on fish habitat by analyzing the diets of five riverine fishes in 2005 and 2006. Even though habitat improvement was in its early stages, diet analysis suggested that the frequent drawdowns of the middle unit created a better fish foraging habitat. During the summer, common carp and orangespotted sunfish consumed more prey items in the middle unit where frequent drawdowns occurred relative to the lower unit where only one drawdown was conducted. Additionally, caloric intake by common carp was greater in the middle unit during both summer and winter and for crappie during the winter. The single drawdown of the lower unit did not result in the desired sediment consolidation, which likely contributed to the poor foraging habitat.
AB - Swan Lake, an Illinois River backwater, has been affected by sedimentation, altered hydrological patterns, and aquatic vegetation loss. This degradation led to a habitat rehabilitation and enhancement project where the lower portion of the lake was divided into two management units, with varying connectivity to the river and frequency of lake drawdowns to compact sediments. We assessed effects of these strategies on fish habitat by analyzing the diets of five riverine fishes in 2005 and 2006. Even though habitat improvement was in its early stages, diet analysis suggested that the frequent drawdowns of the middle unit created a better fish foraging habitat. During the summer, common carp and orangespotted sunfish consumed more prey items in the middle unit where frequent drawdowns occurred relative to the lower unit where only one drawdown was conducted. Additionally, caloric intake by common carp was greater in the middle unit during both summer and winter and for crappie during the winter. The single drawdown of the lower unit did not result in the desired sediment consolidation, which likely contributed to the poor foraging habitat.
KW - Backwater lake management
KW - Fish diet
KW - Habitat rehabilitation and enhancement project
KW - Illinois River
KW - Moist soil units
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U2 - 10.1080/02705060.2011.555199
DO - 10.1080/02705060.2011.555199
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:83155192383
SN - 0270-5060
VL - 26
SP - 203
EP - 216
JO - Journal of Freshwater Ecology
JF - Journal of Freshwater Ecology
IS - 2
ER -