CHARACTERISTICS of FISH ASSEMBLAGES and RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES for STREAMS of the UPPER SNAKE RIVER BASIN, IDAHO and WESTERN WYOMING, 1993-95 by Terry R
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CHARACTERISTICS OF FISH ASSEMBLAGES AND RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES FOR STREAMS OF THE UPPER SNAKE RIVER BASIN, IDAHO AND WESTERN WYOMING, 1993-95 By Terry R. Maret U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations Report 97-4087 Boise, Idaho 1997 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Gordon P. Eaton, Director The use of firm, trade, and brand names in this report is for identification purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. For additional information write to: Copies of this report can be purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey Information Services 230 Collins Road Box 25286 Boise, ID 83702-4520 Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 Information regarding the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program is available on the Internet via the World Wide Web. You may connect to the NAWQA home pages using the universal resource locator (URL) at: http://wwwrvares.er.usgs.gov/nawqa/nawqa_home.html or http://wwwidaho.wr.usgs. gov/nawqa/usnk_home.html FOREWORD The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey Describe current water-quality conditions for a (USGS) is to assess the quantity and quality of the large part of the Nation's freshwater streams, rivers, earth resources of the Nation and to provide informa and aquifers. tion that will assist resource managers and policymak- Describe how water quality is changing over time. ers at Federal, State, and local levels in making sound decisions. Assessment of water-quality conditions and Improve understanding of the primary natural and trends is an important part of this overall mission. human factors that affect water-quality conditions. One of the greatest challenges faced by water- This information will help support the develop resources scientists is acquiring reliable information ment and evaluation of management, regulatory, and that will guide the use and protection of the Nation's monitoring decisions by other Federal, State, and local water resources. That challenge is being addressed by agencies to protect, use, and enhance water resources. Federal, State, interstate, and local water-resource The goals of the NAWQA Program are being agencies and by many academic institutions. These achieved through ongoing and proposed investigations organizations are collecting water-quality data for a of 60 of the Nation's most important river basins and host of purposes that include: compliance with permits aquifer systems, which are referred to as study units. and water-supply standards; development of remedia These study units are distributed throughout the Nation tion plans for a specific contamination problem; opera and cover a diversity of hydrogeologic settings. More tional decisions on industrial, wastewater, or water- than two-thirds of the Nation's freshwater use occurs supply facilities; and research on factors that affect within the 60 study units and more than two-thirds of water quality. An additional need for water-quality the people served by public water-supply systems live information is to provide a basis on which regional and within their boundaries. national-level policy decisions can be based. Wise deci National synthesis of data analysis, based on sions must be based on sound information. As a society aggregation of comparable information obtained from we need to know whether certain types of water-quality the study units, is a major component of the program. problems are isolated or ubiquitous, whether there are This effort focuses on selected water-quality topics significant differences in conditions among regions, using nationally consistent information. Comparative whether the conditions are changing over time, and studies will explain differences and similarities in why these conditions change from place to place and observed water-quality conditions among study areas over time. The information can be used to help deter and will identify changes and trends and their causes. mine the efficacy of existing water-quality policies and The first topics addressed by the national synthesis are to help analysts determine the need for and likely con pesticides, nutrients, volatile organic compounds, and sequence of new policies. aquatic biology. Discussions on these and other water- To address these needs, the Congress appropriated quality topics will be published in periodic summaries funds in 1986 for the USGS to begin a pilot program in of the quality of the Nation's ground and surface water seven project areas to develop and refine the National as the information becomes available. Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. In This report is an element of the comprehensive 1991, the USGS began full implementation of the pro body of information developed as part of the NAWQA gram. The NAWQA Program builds upon an existing Program. The program depends heavily on the advice, base of water-quality studies of the USGS, as well as cooperation, and information from many Federal, those of other Federal, State, and local agencies. The State, interstate, Tribal, and local agencies and the pub objectives of the NAWQA Program are to: lic. The assistance and suggestions of all are greatly appreciated. Robert M. Hirsch Chief Hydrologist Foreword CONTENTS Foreword................................................................................................................................................................................ iii Abstract.................................................................................................................................^ 1 Introduction......................................................»^ 1 Purpose and scope....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Previous studies........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................................................... 5 Environmental setting............................................................................................................................................................ 5 Data collection methods........................................................................................................................................................ 9 Fish collections............................................................................................................^ 12 Environmental variables.............................................................................................................................................. 12 Analytical methods................................................................................................................................................................ 13 General approach......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Fish species and spatial patterns.................................................................................................................................. 13 Multivariate analyses................................................................................................................................................... 14 Cluster analysis ................................................................................................................................................. 15 Principal components analysis .......................................................................................................................... 15 Detrended correspondence analysis .................................................................................................................. 15 Canonical correspondence analysis................................................................................................................... 15 Environmental variables and fish metrics.................................................................................................................... 16 Results offish species collected and geographic patterns..................................................................................................... 16 Comparison of fish assemblages among multiple-year and multiple-reach sites........................................................ 19 Results of multivariate analyses............................................................................................................................................ 20 Cluster analysis ........................................................................................................................................................... 20 Principal components analysis .................................................................................................................................... 20 Detrended correspondence analysis ............................................................................................................................ 20 Canonical correspondence analysis............................................................................................................................. 24 Analyses of selected environmental variables......................................................................................................................