Grantee Research Project Results

2007 Progress Report: Ecosystem Thresholds and Alternate States In Great Plains Rivers and Streams: Cascading Effects of Anthropogenic Hydrologic Disturbance

EPA Grant Number: R832446
Title: Ecosystem Thresholds and Alternate States In Great Plains Rivers and Streams: Cascading Effects of Anthropogenic Hydrologic Disturbance
Investigators: Dodds, Walter , With, Kimberly A. , Koelliker, James , Gido, Keith
Institution: Kansas State University
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: April 1, 2005 through July 10, 2008
Project Period Covered by this Report: April 1, 2006 through April 1,2007
Project Amount: $299,566
RFA: Exploratory Research: Understanding Ecological Thresholds In Aquatic Systems Through Retrospective Analysis (2004) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Aquatic Ecosystems , Water

Objective:

We will document how a dramatic shift in the hydrologic state of Great Plains rivers and streams has produced a biotic state change in this system. This hydrologic change results from human alteration of surface water flow through agricultural diversion, groundwater pumping, construction of small impoundments, and changing cultivation techniques.

Approach:

We will utilize geomorphic (e.g., slope, geological characteristics), long-term hydrologic (40-100 years), and land-use data to construct hydrologic models to describe and predict the occurrence and duration of stream flows. We will also quantify presence of small impoundments, thus permitting quantification of the spatiotemporal connectivity of stream networks in the Kansas portion of the Great Plains. We will analyze a substantial, georeferenced fish database, and additional data on unionid mussels derived from collections taken over the last century, and link alterations in species distributions to the changes in hydrology that have occurred, particularly in the last 40 years. The hydrologic models will also form the basis for developing a general fish dispersal model for deriving functionally based definitions of stream connectivity and for explaining and predicting species distributions within and among stream networks.

Progress Summary:

Our postdoctoral research associate, Dr. Deb Walks, refined georeferenced database records of fish collections in Kansas to document critical periods that lead to fundamental and potentially irreversible, alterations in Great Plains river ecosystems. Regions of the Kansas River and Arkansas River Basins were delineated to focus on. Hydrologic records and GIS coverages of impoundments in these watersheds were obtained.

Dr. Koelliker recruited a doctoral student, Jonathon Aguilar, who is working on hydrologic simulation modeling of the effects of land use and agricultural conservation practices on streamflow in the Great Plains . Aguilar is working to separate out baseflow components of Western Kansas Stream flow, and applying indices of alteration to the hydrologic record in the region.

Expected Results:

Knowledge of the critical habitat requirements (with regard to hydrologic connectivity and in-stream flow) of species inhabiting Great Plains streams, and generation of information that will be necessary to protect the biotic integrity of these streams and rivers in the future will be key products of our research. The proposed research will develop new approaches for modeling network systems such as streams (an area explored by few landscape ecologists) and provide an approach to assess how disruption of connectivity of these networks can have biological effects.

Future Activities:

We will explore quantitative methods to extrapolate fish distributions from sporadic historic collections. We will link those distributions to thresholds of hydrologic change in Western Kansas Watersheds. We will write manuscripts for peer reviewed publication.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 20 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

Midwest, Great Plains, watersheds, stream connectivity, stream modeling, fish dispersal model, unionid mussels, sensitive populations, invasive species, habitat, regionalization,, RFA, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Aquatic Ecosystem, Aquatic Ecosystems & Estuarine Research, Ecological Risk Assessment, Ecology and Ecosystems, Environmental Monitoring, environmental history, biodiversity, water quality, species interaction, anthropogenic impact, estuarine research, ecological thresholds, Great Plains Rivers, ecosystem indicators, modeling ecosystem change, ecosystem stress, riverine ecosystems, ecosystem response, trophic interactions, aquatic ecosystems, anthropogenic stress

Relevant Websites:

http://www.k-state.edu/doddslab/

http://www.k-state.edu/fishecology/

http://www.k-state.edu/withlab/

http://www.k-state.edu/ksaquaticgap/

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.