Aquatic Habitat Mapping Within the Obed Wild and Scenic River for Threatened and Endangered Species Habitat Delineation
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 5-2010 Aquatic Habitat Mapping within the Obed Wild and Scenic River for Threatened and Endangered Species Habitat Delineation Joseph Ross Candlish [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Fresh Water Studies Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons, and the Sustainability Commons Recommended Citation Candlish, Joseph Ross, "Aquatic Habitat Mapping within the Obed Wild and Scenic River for Threatened and Endangered Species Habitat Delineation. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2010. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/608 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Joseph Ross Candlish entitled "Aquatic Habitat Mapping within the Obed Wild and Scenic River for Threatened and Endangered Species Habitat Delineation." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Biosystems Engineering Technology. Paul Ayers, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Joanne Jogan, Larry Wilson Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Joseph Ross Candlish entitled ―Aquatic Habitat Mapping within the Obed Wild and Scenic River (OBRI) for Threatened and Endangered Species Habitat Delineation.‖ I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Biosystems Engineering Technology. Paul Ayers, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Joanne Logan Larry Wilson Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official records.) Aquatic Habitat Mapping of the Obed Wild and Scenic River (OBRI) for Threatened and Endangered Species Habitat Delineation A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Joseph R. Candlish May 2010 ii ABSTRACT There is a need to define a more efficient and accurate approach to aquatic habitat mapping. Traditional approaches have focused on intense biological/non- biological sampling and observation analysis within specific and restrained scales. Therefore, an underwater video mapping system (UVMS) has been developed in efforts to identify federally protected aquatic species‘ habitats within the Obed Wild and Scenic River (OBRI). The UVMS kayak apparatus provides georeferenced video footage correlated with GPS (global positioning systems) for GIS (geographic information systems) mapping applications. Based on its fluvial and geomorphological trends, OBRI was dissected quantitatively and integrated into databases for species-specific GIS habitat queries. Substrate type, depth, above water river characteristics (pool/riffle/run), and substrate embeddedness were extracted to access specific habitats. To better pinpoint optimal microhabitat locations, a physical habitat suitability model was developed to rank preferred habitat locales. Rankings were sequentially broken into five categories: optimal, sub-optimal, marginal, sub-marginal, and poor habitat criteria. Habitat suitability findings for the interested species habitats varied tremendously, favoring fish species. Spotfin chub, Erimonax monacha, optimal habitat was found to cover 22.14 km of river length within OBRI (30 % of OBRI‘s spatial extent). The blackside dace, Phoxinus cumberlandensis, (38.9 km) and the duskytail darter, Etheostoma percnurum, (50.9 km) met optimal habitat conditions that yielded 51% and 69% of OBRI‘s spatial extent, respectively. i In general, optimal habitats for the six mussels were sporadically distributed and had low occurrences. Primarily, these mussel species prefer highly embedded areas with very specific depths and pool/riffle/run conditions. Cumberland elktoe, Alasmidonta atropurea, optimal habitat ranges spanned across 4.32 km (6% of OBRI‘s spatial extent) with most of the habitat characteristics in OBRI being marginal. The purple bean, Villosa perpurpurea, optimal habitat was identified within 2.61 km of OBRI (3.5% of OBRI‘s spatial extent). Most of the physical conditions of OBRI supplied poor to sub-marginal habitat for the purple bean, at least from a thalweg perspective. Only 385 m coincided with optimal habitat for the cumberland bean, Villosa trabalis, (0.5% of OBRI‘s spatial extent) with most habitats in long sub-marginal reaches. Optimal habitats for the cumberlandian combshell, Epioblasma brevidens, the tan riffleshell, Epioblasma florentina walkeri, and the littlewing pearlymussel, Pegias fibula, were deficient, only occurring in 484 m, 276 m, and 252 m of OBRI, respectively (0.7%, 0.4%, and 0.3% of OBRI‘s spatial extent). Marginal to sub-marginal habitats dominated the park for these three mussel species. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many individuals that need recognition over the tenure of this project. I would like to thank my academic advisor, Dr. Paul Ayers, for his exceptional mentorship and guidance over the past two years. Thanks to my committee members Larry Wilson and Joanne Logan for their detailed critiques and recommendations for thesis material. Steven Bakaletz, Jeff Hughes, Rebecca Schapansky, and Matt Hudson provided their exquisite knowledge and support on advocating the ethics of the UVMS concept. Special thanks goes to Bryan McConky for his kayaking expertise, and Ken Swinson, Kun Liu, James Kane, Alex McLemore, Adam Duncan, and Matt Gloe for their hard work in the field and post processing efforts. I credit my academic success and ambition to my mother and father, Kathy and Joe, for their unconditional support, guidance, and love. And finally, I would like to recognize Jim Habera of the TWRA for exposing me to the importance and appreciation for aquatic conservation. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................... 14 2.1 The Obed Wild and Scenic River ............................................................................ 14 2.2 Hydrological Setting ............................................................................................... 15 2.2.1 Physiographic Setting & Geology of the Area .................................................. 15 2.2.2 Vegetation ....................................................................................................... 17 2.3 Introduction to Freshwater Fishes ........................................................................ 22 2.3.1 The Chubs, Genus (Cyprinella) Erimonax ...................................................... 22 2.3.2 The Redbelly Daces, Genus Phoxinus ............................................................ 23 2.3.3 The Darters, Genus Etheostoma .................................................................... 23 2.4 Threatened and Endangered Fish of Interest ........................................................ 24 2.4.1 Spotfin chub, Erimonax monacha .................................................................. 24 2.4.2 Blackside Dace, Phoxinus cumberlandensis .................................................. 27 2.4.3 Duskytail Darter, Etheostoma percnurum..................................................... 30 2.5 Introduction to Freshwater Mussels ...................................................................... 33 2.5.1 Reasons for Decline in Populations .............................................................. 34 2.6 The Endangered Freshwater Mussels of Interest .................................................. 35 2.6.1 Cumberland Elktoe, Alasmidonta atropurpurea ............................................ 35 2.6.2 Purple Bean, Villosa perpurpurea .................................................................. 35 2.6.3 Cumberland Bean, Villosa trabalis ................................................................. 36 2.6.4 Cumberlandian Combshell, Epioblasma brevidens ....................................... 38 2.6.5 Tan Riffleshell, Epioblasma florentina walkeri .............................................. 39 2.6.6 Littlewing Pearlymussel, Pegias fibula .......................................................... 40 2.7 Habitat Assessment Techniques ............................................................................. 41 2.7.1 Hierarchy of Streams ...................................................................................... 43 2.7.2 ‗Top Down‘ Vs. ‗Bottom Up‘ Approaches ......................................................