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POPULATION MODELS FOR STREAM FISH RESPONSE TO HABITAT AND HYDROLOGIC ALTERATION: THE CVI WATERSHED TOOL
Citation:
Rashleigh, B, M C. Barber, M Cyterski, J M. Johnston, R S. Parmar, AND Y Mohamoud. POPULATION MODELS FOR STREAM FISH RESPONSE TO HABITAT AND HYDROLOGIC ALTERATION: THE CVI WATERSHED TOOL. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-04/190 (NTIS PB2005-101440), 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
The overall objective is to develop watershed modeling tools for the immediate client (CVI) and their stakeholders in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands. This research continues the contributions that REVA has made to the CVI toolset and adds modeling and decision support capabilities for more general use by managers. To facilitate the prediction and analysis of fish health issues by EPA Program and Regional Offices and other environmental agencies, process-based models that describe these processes will be implemented:
1. the expected trophic dynamics of the dominant fish species
2. the spawning and recruitment dynamics of the dominant fish species
3. the bioaccumulation of organic chemicals and metals in aquatic biota
4. how physical habitat and chemical water quality impact fish feeding, reproduction, survival, and migration
To facilitate the use and application of these models, graphical user interfaces (GUI), supporting databases, and libraries of management scenarios will also be developed. Models will be linkable to integrated water quality and hydrologic models that simulate habitat characteristics (e.g., water depth, current velocity, water temperature and sediment loadings) that determine the survival, reproduction, and recruitment of fish and aquatic invertebrates. Similar to what has been achieved in REVA, frameworks based on the biogeography of fish will be developed to apply these models spatially for regional assessments of important fish health issues.
Objectives of this task between FY03 and FY05:
To provide modeling and decision support capabilities for aquatic resources compatible with existing geographic information (GIS) frameworks to evaluate effectiveness (and ultimately cost-benefit) of restoration activities planned in Region 3, initially the Mid-Atlantic Highlands region. This includes the primary interests in evaluating riparian zone restoration (using Rosgen methods) and acid mine drainage remediation.
To develop methods that explicitly link process models and spatial analysis methods across spatial and temporal scales.
To identify knowledge and information gaps in the integration of REVA and process models that enable projections of future ecosystem state.
To create a new generation of quantitative environmental assessment tools that explicitly address issues of scale, are not restricted in extent of application, and enable efficient rescaling (both spatial and temporal).
This research supports long-term goals established in ORD's multi-year research plans for Both GPRA Goal 2 (Water Quality) and Goal 8.1.1 (Sound Science/Ecological Research). This research will provide the tools to assess and diagnose impairment in aquatic ecosystems and the sources of associated stressors and to forecast the ecological, economic and human health outcomes of alternative solutions. Central to this task (as described in Goal 8) is the development and demonstration of methods to the states, tribes and local managers to: (1) assess the condition of waterbodies in a scientifically-defensible and representative way while allowing for aggregation and assessment of trends at multiple scales, (2) diagnose cause and forecast future condition in a scientifically defensible fashion to more effectively protect and restore valued ecosystems, and (3) assess current and future ecological conditions, probable causes of impairments and management alternatives.
Description:
The Canaan Valley Institute (CVI) is dedicated to addressing the environmental problems in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands (MAH). Their goal is to develop and implement solutions to restore damaged areas and protect aquatic systems. In most wadeable streams of the Mid-Atlantic Highlands region of the eastern United States, habitat alteration resulting from agriculture and development is the primary stressor for fish communities. Sedimentation is the primary source of habitat degradation in Highlands streams, and productive, sustainable fisheries, i.e., trophy trout streams, are the valued aquatic endpoints. Planned restoration activities in the region include riparian zone restoration and stream channel design to mitigate near stream inputs and stabilize streambanks. Natural Stream Channel Design (NSCD) is also being investigated by CVI for further optimization of instream habitats for fish communities. Models that predict the responses of fish populations and communities to key habitat characteristics are necessary for CVI's watershed management goals, both for determining where to restore and how, as well as evaluating the most probable outcome of various alternatives. The USEPA National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) has developed a suite of modeling tools to be used for this purpose. The CVI Watershed Health Assessment Tool Investigating Fisheries, WHAT IF, contains four components: 1) a Hydrology Tool for predicting hydrologic characteristics of new streams of interest; 2) a Clustering Tool for assigning the most probable fish assemblages to unsampled Mid-Atlantic Highlands streams, 3) a Habitat Suitability Calculator, which evaluates habitat suitability of streams to support fish species and families, and 4) the Bioaccumulation and Aquatic System Simulator (BASS) model, a generalized aquatic ecosystem model that simulates fish community dynamics with time, which permits the evaluation of comparative risk regarding instream restoration combined with fisheries management. The USEPA Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) surface water dataset (available online, two index periods in the 1990's) is the basis of the habitat associations derived for fish species and communities. Additionally, a tutorial is provided for the user to examine existing scenarios for fish stocking, harvest and restoration combined. Stakeholders interact with the software interface to frame the problem by: selecting valued endpoints of concern and analytical methods, accessing data and models to establish the causal relationships between stream habitat characteristics and changes in endpoint status/trend, and performing multiple model executions and visualizations of projected outcomes to span the range of various management scenarios that might be taken so that associated costs and benefits can be evaluated.