1. 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

2. 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

3. Integrity of Silvery Minnow Habitat CHEMICAL VARIABLES BIOTIC FACTORS ENERGY SOURCE HABITAT STRUCTURE FLOW REGIME

4. Chemical Factors of RGSM Habitat Chemical Factors OxygenpHNutrients Sediment Quality Tissue Quality OrganicsTemperature

5. Flow Regime of RGSM Habitat Flow Regime High & Lows Ground Water inputs Drought Land Use Snowmelt & Runoff Velocity

6. Biotic Factors of RGSM Habitat Biotic Factors DiseaseFeedingPredatorsReproductionParasitesDeformities

7. Physical Features of RGSM Habitat Physical Habitat Substrate Channel morphology Riparian Vegetation Instream Cover Sinuosity Meso- habitat Depth

8. Chemical Factors of RGSM Habitat Energy Sources Primary Productivity Seasonal Cycles Organic Matter Inputs Sunlight Water Clarity TurbulenceNutrients

9. Integrity of Silvery Minnow Habitat CHEMICAL VARIABLES BIOTIC FACTORS ENERGY SOURCE HABITAT STRUCTURE FLOW REGIME

10. 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 2002-03.

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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 35211329 Score100 %60 %37 %83 %

15. 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 23112531 Score65 %31 %71 %89 %

16. 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 19212915 Score54 %60 %83 %43 %

17. RIOHs –Example Results of 4 Sites Criteria & (Rank) BarelasWWTPLos LunasBdANWR Index of Chemical Quality 35211329 Index of Physical Quality 23112531 Index of Biological Quality 19212915 RIOHs77536575 Score73 %50 %63 %71%

18. RIOHs Impact Analysis – Percent and Type of Impairment

19. 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.