R I O Hs - Rio Grande Silvery Minnow Index of Habitat Health Joel D. Lusk and Cyndie Abeyta U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bosque Hydrology Group Water Quality Summit Meeting October 25, 2004
Water Quality & the Silvery Minnow Water Quality – is the ecological quality of the Rio Grande necessary for the silvery minnow to survive: Chemical Factors Flow Regime Biotic Factors Physical Habitat Energy Sources
Integrity of Silvery Minnow Habitat CHEMICAL VARIABLES BIOTIC FACTORS ENERGY SOURCE HABITAT STRUCTURE FLOW REGIME
Chemical Factors of RGSM Habitat Chemical Factors OxygenpHNutrients Sediment Quality Tissue Quality OrganicsTemperature
Flow Regime of RGSM Habitat Flow Regime High & Lows Ground Water inputs Drought Land Use Snowmelt & Runoff Velocity
Biotic Factors of RGSM Habitat Biotic Factors DiseaseFeedingPredatorsReproductionParasitesDeformities
Physical Features of RGSM Habitat Physical Habitat Substrate Channel morphology Riparian Vegetation Instream Cover Sinuosity Meso- habitat Depth
Chemical Factors of RGSM Habitat Energy Sources Primary Productivity Seasonal Cycles Organic Matter Inputs Sunlight Water Clarity TurbulenceNutrients
Integrity of Silvery Minnow Habitat CHEMICAL VARIABLES BIOTIC FACTORS ENERGY SOURCE HABITAT STRUCTURE FLOW REGIME
Integrated Water Quality Study Our Water Quality Assessment worked with Fishery Resources, Water Resources, and others to measure these qualities of the Middle Rio Grande in
RIOHs - Ranking Chemical Quality Compare measured chemicals to: Water quality criteria Sediment quality criteria Tissue quality criteria Regional nutrient guidelines Temperature regimes Dissolved oxygen regimes Provide rank to all comparisons 5 = good, none exceed of criteria 3 = fair, few exceed of criteria 1 = poor, many exceed criteria
RIOHs - Ranking Physical Quality Riverscape Quality Riparian Width River Width Width to Depth Ratio Shoreline Complexity Index Silvery minnow habitat quality Depths < 20 cm Velocity < 30 cm/sec Nonfluvial Mesohabitats (pools, etc.) Provide “5-3-1” ranks to all comparisons
RIOHs - Ranking Biological Quality Fish Health Assessment Condition Factor Normality Index Severity Index Feeding Index Fish Community Metrics Presence of silvery minnow Number of native fish species Energy Sources Gross Primary Productivity
RIOHs – 4 Site Chemical Example Criteria & (Rank) BarelasWWTPLos LunasBdANWR > Acute___(5) > Chronic___(5)COD (3)BOD,COD (1)___(5) DO < 3 mg/L5.6 (5)2.2 (1)3.1 (3)6.2 (5) Temp > 30 C29.9 (5)29.2 (5)35.0 (1)30.9 (3) > Nutrients___(5)NO4 (3)NO3,NO4 (1)NO4 (3) > Sediment___(5)PAHs (3)PAHs,OCs (1)___(5) > Tissue___(5)OCs, Hg, Se, Zn (1) OCs, Al, Hg, Se, Zn (1) Cr (3) Index of Chemical Quality Score100 %60 %37 %83 %
RIOHs – 4 Site Physical Example Criteria & (Rank) BarelasWWTPLos LunasBdANWR Riparian (ft)1533 (3)384 (1)1928 (3)5495 (5) River Width(ft)441 (5)24 (1)504 (5)177 (3) Riparian/River3.4 (1)16 (3)3.8 (1)32 (5) Depth/Width0.3 (3)5.0 (1)0.2 (5)0.5 (3) Shoreline1.03 (3)1.00 (1)1.03 (3)1.16 (5) Depth <20 cm51% (5)28% (1)45% (3)51% (5) Velocity < 30cm/s 37% (3)43% (3)59% (5)56% (5) Index of Physical Quality Score65 %31 %71 %89 %
RIOHs – 4 Site Biological Example Criteria & (Rank) BarelasWWTPLos LunasBdANWR Condition0.84 (3)0.87 (3)0.91 (5)0.71 (1) Fat Reserves0.87 (5)0.99 (5)0.72 (3)0.12 (1) Feeding Index67.8 (5)68.9 (5)63.8 (3)47.4 (1) Severity Index9.17 (3)11.25 (1)5.74 (5)11.06 (1) RGSM ?1 (1)0 (1)4 (5)2 (3) CPUE0.4 (1)0.2 (1)9.5 (5)3.4 (3) # Predators82 (1)12 (5)29 (3)16 (5) IndexofBiolo gical Quality Score54 %60 %83 %43 %
RIOHs –Example Results of 4 Sites Criteria & (Rank) BarelasWWTPLos LunasBdANWR Index of Chemical Quality Index of Physical Quality Index of Biological Quality RIOHs Score73 %50 %63 %71%
RIOHs Impact Analysis – Percent and Type of Impairment
RIOHs – Rio Grande Silvery Minnow Index of Habitat Health RIOHs is an index to assess the ecological integrity of silvery minnow habitat RIOHs integrates landscape, habitat, fish health, productivity, and chemical factors – Can be expanded! (algae?). RIOHs identifies impaired sites and prioritizes how to restore them RIOHs = can help link Science, Management, and Outreach for Recovery.