R I O Hs - Rio Grande Silvery Minnow Index of Habitat Health

Joel D. Lusk and Cyndie AbeytaU.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

CHEMICALVARIABLES

BIOTICFACTORS

ENERGYSOURCE

HABITATSTRUCTURE

FLOWREGIME

Chemical Factors of RGSM Habitat

OxygenOxygen

pHpH

NutrientsNutrients

SedimentQuality

SedimentQuality

Tissue Quality

Tissue Quality

OrganicsOrganics

TemperatureTemperature

Chemical Factors

Chemical Factors

Flow Regime of RGSM Habitat

High &Lows

High &Lows

Ground Waterinputs

Ground Waterinputs

DroughtDrought

Land Use

Land Use

Snowmelt& Runoff

Snowmelt& Runoff

VelocityVelocity

Flow Regime

Flow Regime

Biotic Factors of RGSM Habitat

DiseaseDisease

FeedingFeeding

PredatorsPredators

ReproductionReproduction

ParasitesParasites

DeformitiesDeformities

Biotic Factors

Biotic Factors

Physical Features of RGSM Habitat

SubstrateSubstrate

Channel morphology

Channel morphology

Riparian Vegetation

Riparian Vegetation

Instream Cover

Instream Cover

SinuositySinuosity

Meso-habitat

Meso-habitat

DepthDepth

PhysicalHabitat

PhysicalHabitat

Chemical Factors of RGSM Habitat

Primary Productivity

Primary Productivity

Seasonal Cycles

Seasonal Cycles

Organic Matter Inputs

Organic Matter Inputs

SunlightSunlightWater Clarity

Water Clarity

TurbulenceTurbulence

NutrientsNutrients

Energy Sources

Energy Sources

Integrity of Silvery Minnow Habitat

CHEMICALVARIABLES

BIOTICFACTORS

ENERGYSOURCE

HABITATSTRUCTURE

FLOWREGIME

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.

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 comparisons5 = good, none exceed of criteria

3 = fair, few exceed of criteria

1 = poor, many exceed criteria

RIOHs - Ranking Physical QualityRiverscape Quality

Riparian WidthRiver WidthWidth to Depth RatioShoreline Complexity Index

Silvery minnow habitat quality

Depths < 20 cmVelocity < 30 cm/secNonfluvial Mesohabitats (pools, etc.)

Provide “5-3-1” ranks to all comparisons

RIOHs - Ranking Biological Quality

Fish Health AssessmentCondition Factor

Normality Index

Severity Index

Feeding Index

Fish Community MetricsPresence of silvery minnow

Number of native fish species

Energy SourcesGross Primary Productivity

RIOHs – 4 Site Chemical Example

Criteria & (Rank)

Barelas WWTP Los Lunas BdANWR

> Acute ___(5) ___(5) ___(5) ___(5)

> Chronic ___(5) COD (3) BOD,COD (1) ___(5)

DO < 3 mg/L 5.6 (5) 2.2 (1) 3.1 (3) 6.2 (5)

Temp > 30 C 29.9 (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

35 21 13 29

Score 100 % 60 % 37 % 83 %

RIOHs – 4 Site Physical ExampleCriteria & (Rank)

Barelas WWTP Los Lunas BdANWR

Riparian (ft) 1533 (3) 384 (1) 1928 (3) 5495 (5)

River Width(ft) 441 (5) 24 (1) 504 (5) 177 (3)

Riparian/River 3.4 (1) 16 (3) 3.8 (1) 32 (5)

Depth/Width 0.3 (3) 5.0 (1) 0.2 (5) 0.5 (3)

Shoreline 1.03 (3) 1.00 (1) 1.03 (3) 1.16 (5)

Depth <20 cm 51% (5) 28% (1) 45% (3) 51% (5)

Velocity < 30cm/s

37% (3) 43% (3) 59% (5) 56% (5)

Index of Physical Quality

23 11 25 31

Score 65 % 31 % 71 % 89 %

RIOHs – 4 Site Biological Example

Criteria & (Rank)

Barelas WWTP Los Lunas BdANWR

Condition 0.84 (3) 0.87 (3) 0.91 (5) 0.71 (1)

Fat Reserves 0.87 (5) 0.99 (5) 0.72 (3) 0.12 (1)

Feeding Index 67.8 (5) 68.9 (5) 63.8 (3) 47.4 (1)

Severity Index 9.17 (3) 11.25 (1) 5.74 (5) 11.06 (1)

RGSM ? 1 (1) 0 (1) 4 (5) 2 (3)

CPUE 0.4 (1) 0.2 (1) 9.5 (5) 3.4 (3)

# Predators 82 (1) 12 (5) 29 (3) 16 (5)

IndexofBiological Quality

19 21 29 15

Score 54 % 60 % 83 % 43 %

RIOHs –Example Results of 4 Sites

Criteria & (Rank)

Barelas WWTP Los Lunas BdANWR

Index of Chemical Quality

35 21 13 29

Index of Physical Quality

23 11 25 31

Index of Biological Quality

19 21 29 15

RIOHs 77 53 65 75

Score 73 % 50 % 63 % 71%

RIOHs Impact Analysis – Percent and Type of Impairment

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Chemical

Physical

Biological

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.