Author : Daniel Adam Gillenwater
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (61 download)
Book Synopsis Modeling Walleye (Sander Vitreus) Spawning Habitat Suitability and Reproductive Success in the Sandusky River (Ohio, USA) by : Daniel Adam Gillenwater
Download or read book Modeling Walleye (Sander Vitreus) Spawning Habitat Suitability and Reproductive Success in the Sandusky River (Ohio, USA) written by Daniel Adam Gillenwater and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Dam removal is becoming an increasingly popular tool for river restoration throughout the United States. One of the most controversial dam removal proposals in the Lake Erie Watershed involves the Ballville Dam on the Sandusky River (Ohio). The Sandusky River is one of the major spawning tributaries for Lake Erie walleye (Sander vitreus). However, the dam located at river kilometer 29, blocks the fish from reaching upstream gravel beds and forces them to spawn below the Ballville Dam. It has been suggested that removing the dam will increase walleye reproductive success and thus the returning spawning population. This work is divided into two separate studies that focus on different aspects of the impacts the Ballville Dam has on the walleye population in the Sandusky River. An existing ecological model of walleye spawning and early life history stages in the Sandusky River is validated using in-situ egg deposition and larval drift data collected during the 2003 and 2004 spawning seasons. The results indicate that the model results agree with field observations for a spawning population of 2000 to 5000 females. However, this number of females is insufficient to saturate the below-dam spawning grounds, and therefore no increase in egg deposition or larval production is noted for without-dam simulations. A GIS-based habitat suitability model of an area of the currently available spawning grounds in the Sandusky River was also created and validated. The model was able to give a reasonable indication of habitat suitability dynamics in the current spawning grounds. However, there was difficulty resolving velocities in complex areas of the channel. The results indicate that floods with discharges exceeding 100 m3/s can reduce the area of suitable habitat to almost zero. Reproductive success in a given year may therefore rely heavily on the length of the spawning season and the discharge patterns. The results of the two models offer new insight into the removal of the Ballville Dam. However, coupling the two systems (an ecological model and a high resolution habitat suitability model) would give the most complete assessment of the potential impacts of the removal of the Ballville Dam on the walleye population in the Sandusky River.