Pacific salmon populations in Johnson Creek, Portland, Oregon have been adversely impacted by urbanization, and by residential and agricultural land development. f Ecological impacts include loss or depletion of riparian vegetation features which directly influence stream and associated salmonid ecology. This research examines the nearstream riparian zone's contribution to instream habitat complexity for anadromous salmonids in Johnson Creek. Visual surveys were conducted on over half the stream length. Five features were assessed to determine the extent of riparian influenced stream habitat including, overhead enclosure, overhanging vegetation, undercut banks, and large and small woody debris and root wads. The stream survey showed that areas of riparian-influenced habitat are spatially intermittent and present in areas of the least stream disturbance. Suitable riparian habitat is limited to locations where there is minimal riparian disturbance, property management, and channelization. I Although salmonid populations have been reduced, insufficient riparian influenced salmonid habitat features are not the primary limiting factor on salmon populations. Other factors such as pollution, sedimentation, hatchery fish introduction, low flows, inadequate food supplies, high stream temperatures, repress wild salmon populations.

Initially, components of an aquatic food web were examined to study impacts of recreational use on the aquatic ecology of Quartzville Creek, Oregon in 1995 and 1996. Measurements of the food web components consisted of observations of harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus), visual counts of the larval caddisfly Dicosmoecus gilvipes, benthic macroinvertebrate samples, and chlorophyll a biomass of epiphytic algae. In February 1996, a major flood forced closure of the study area to the general public throughout the 1996 season, providing a "natural experiment" situation. The difficulty was how to distinguish between effects of flood damage and effects of the presence/absence of humans. By accounting for various measured abiotic and biotic factors using multiple regression, distinctions between disturbance effects were made with regard to abundances of D. gilvipes and benthic invertebrates. Regression analysis also was used to account for annual site differences in average depth, habitat types and substrates. Generally, recreational impacts were apparent at more localized spatial and temporal scales than were effects from extensive flooding. However, scales at which these disturbances affected components of the food web varied. Impacts of the flood included an 81% reduction in overall D. gilvipes densities, a 37% decrease in benthic abundance, reduced chlorophyll a biomass, fewer numbers of ducks and changes in site substrates and habitats. These impacts occurred across all study sites and throughout the 1996 season, except for the recovery of benthic abundance to 1995 levels by July 1996. Recreational impacts were apparent at the site scale and appeared to be seasonal in duration. In 1995, sites without human use had significantly higher densities of D. gilvipes than those sites impacted by recreation. In 1996, no significant differences in D. gilvipes densities among sites were observed after accounting for flood effects and site differences. There were no direct significant relationships to human use among sites with regard to total benthic invertebrates, chlorophyll a biomass or H. histrionicus. Despite the lack of a direct spatial relationship between H. histrionicus and D. gilvipes at the local scale of this study, there were strong temporal correlations between harlequin brood development and D. gilvipes maturation. / Graduation date: 1997

Responses of juvenile steelhead trout to changes in stream habitat resulting from an instream habitat rehabilitation project in Meadow Creek, Oregon were measured from 1991 through 1992 and compared to pre-treatment data from 1987 through 1990. Sixty nine pool-forming, and 59 channel-stabilizing log structures were constructed by the U.S. Forest Service in a 3.7 km reach in 1990. A 20-year flood caused extensive modifications to the instream structures in May 1991. Pool habitat and large wood volume increased in the treatment and the two reference reaches but pool development was greater in the treatment reach compared to the two reference reaches. Summer rearing densities of juvenile steelhead were similar for the treatment and the two reference reaches at the reach scale. Summer rearing densities were lower in the post-treatment period compared to the pre-treatment period for the treatment and two reference reaches. Mean density of juvenile steelhead was higher in complex pools compared to non-complex pools throughout the study area. Mean density of juvenile steelhead was higher in pools associated with large wood from washed-out structures compared to pools associated with intact structures in the treatment reach. Changes in smolt production from the treatment reach following the rehabilitation project could not be determined due to trapping difficulties. Only three percent of the smolts emigrating from the basin overwintered in the treatment reach in 1992. Four life history patterns of juvenile steelhead were identified. Only one of the four life history patterns rears in the Meadow Creek basin until smolting. From these findings I conclude that the instream habitat rehabilitation project did not increase the abundance of juvenile steelhead or smolt production during the first two years after treatment. An extended drought and a 20-year flood may have been the dominant factors controlling abundance of juvenile steelhead over the study period. The Meadow Creek rehabilitation project may have limited success at increasing smolt production because it influences only one of four life history patterns of juvenile steelhead during the entire freshwater rearing phase. / Graduation date: 1997

The purposes of this study were: 1) to review the land use history of Oak Creek watershed since European settlement. And 2) to consider the human-caused impacts and their effects associated with different land uses. The study area was classified into three land use patterns: residential, agricultural, and forested areas. Since the European settlement in the mid 1840's, the Oak Creek watershed has experienced changes of land use simultaneous with the development of the city of Corvallis and its vicinity. Associated with this, different impacts have occurred on riparian areas. By and large, these impacts were inherent to each land use. / Graduation date: 1993

Microhabitat use by adult speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus), adult longnose dace (R. cataractae), and juvenile dace (R. spp.) was investigated during the summer of 1992 in an Oregon Cascades stream. Selected areas were snorkeled day and night in order to evaluate differential use of habitat resources both temporally and spatially. Speckled dace were active both day and night but longnose dace were only observed at night when they were found primarily in fast flowing midstream areas. Small speckled dace (<8 cm TL) shifted from relatively fast flowing midstream daytime habitats to slower inshore areas at night. Large speckled dace (8-14 cm TL) used slower areas during the day and faster water at night. Potential competition between large speckled dace and longnose dace (8-20 cm TL) at night may be deflected by spatial microhabitat segregation. Within the fast water habitat at night, longnose dace used the fastest, shallowest areas with large substrates and were usually on the bottom. Large speckled dace used relatively slower, deeper water with smaller substrates and were near, but not on, the bottom. / Graduation date: 1994

No description available.

The objective of this study was to determine the impacts of irrigation tailwater and sewage lagoon discharge on the water quality of Crowfoot Creek, Alberta, Canada. The monitored irrigation tailwater accounted for more than 55% of the water flow in the basin. With the exception of the early part of the 1997 irrigation season the irrigation tailwater only impacted the phosphate and total phosphorus levels in the creek. High values for all parameters were recorded in the early part of the 1997 irrigation season, due to irrigation source water quality or deposition of contaminants into the irrigation canals during the 1997 spring runoff. The impact of the sewage lagoon effluent on the water quality of the creek was minimal to insignificant. The primary sources of contamination in the watershed are thought to be direct cattle access to the creek, soil erosion and surface runoff.

This research was conducted to provide baseline data on the population dynamics of microcrustacean zooplankton at Prairie Creek Reservoir in Delaware County, Indiana from 24 January 1996 to 30 December 1996. This lake is a shallow lake (average depth <8m) used for recreational fishing and water supply for the local community. No published studies of zooplankton have previously been conducted at this location. I intended to test the hypothesis that Prairie Creek Reservoir has the same microcrustacean populations of shallow lakes in this region. The findings were compared to other studies in several North American lakes and reservoirs. Biotic and abiotic factors were considered as related to the population dynamics of zooplankton. Zooplankton serve as a critical forage base for many fish species, including several of economic importance. Increases and changes in species composition of zooplankton organisms associated with eutrophic conditions may also be an indication of deteriorating water quality (Gannon 1972). The data from this research suggest that Prairie Creek Reservoir has the typical zooplankton populations of a shallow, eutrophic North American lake. The presence of relatively high numbers of organisms generally associated with eutrophic environments, such as Bosmina longirostris, Leptodiaptomus siciloides, Acanthocyclops vernalis, and others supports this idea. The data from this study will be helpful to fisheries and environmental managers and will provide a baseline for future studies. / Department of Biology

Agricultural practices may influence stream biological communities by removing riparian vegetation and modifying stream channel morphology, both which may reduce water retention time. I collected benthic invertebrates and fishes in seven headwater agriculturally-influenced streams in central Indiana, to quantify controls on invertebrate and fish community assemblage variation. Invertebrates were collected at 14 sites and fish were collected at 12 sites in Buck Creek watershed. The abundances of invertebrates and fishes were analyzed in Detrended Correspondence Analyses (DCA) in PC-ORD software and correlated with abiotic and biotic factors. The sites located in close proximity to Buck Creek have increased stability of biotic (fish assemblages) and abiotic (flow and water depth) factors. Abundances of invertebrates of headwater streams in east-central Indiana agricultural landscapes are influenced by distance between sites, distance to Buck Creek, and presence of fish species. Abundances of fishes were correlated with water quality and distance to Buck Creek. / Department of Biology

Thesis (M.L.S.)--Eastern Michigan University, 2000. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-40).