The waters considered in this investigation are shallow pools in the floodplain of the Kaskaskia River that connect with the river during periods of high stream flow. The objectives were to determine the chemical and biological relationships between floodplain pools and the river, to ascertain what river fishes depend on the floodplain pools for spawning sites and their food supplies, to establish useful techniques for sampling fish, benthos, and plankton, and to explore possibilities of managing both natural and artificial floodplain pools for fish and fish food production.