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| A | 2996 | 165 | Produce Environmental Compliance Documentation | Environmental Compliance for Collect Data | Produce a report covering the previous 12 months efforts. Identifying proposed actions, accomplishments, and lessons learned. Additionally, for the previous 3 months, a similar format will be expected. The fourth 3-month report will be replaced by the Annual Report. | $0 | 0.00% | | 10/01/2004 |
| B | 2999 | 119 | Manage and Administer Projects | Project Managment | Revise and amend statement of work, project budget, and budget justification for subsequent fiscal years.
Provide BPA and Chris Jordan with spending plans; provide BPA with accrual estimates as requested | $0 | 0.00% | 11/01/2004 | 09/30/2005 |
| C | 2994 | 156 | Develop RM&E Methods and Designs | Development of methods for monitoring low order drainages | Develop and test methods for monitoring subcatchment and stream condition of low-order drainages.
The productivity of a stream is a reflection of the health and condition of the watershed it drains. By measuring detritus and invertebrate transport from headwaters (surrogates of headwater production) at a point along the length of a stream, we can assess the level of productivity, and therefore health and condition of a headwater subcatchment upstream of the sampling site. We intend to test methods in the Wenatchee River Basin for monitoring headwater subcatchment condition that were developed by Wipfli and Gregovich (2002) for southeastern Alaska streams. Data suggest this technique holds promise as a surrogate of headwater subcatchment productivity, can serve as a tool for assessing the cumulative impacts of multiple stressors in subcatchments, and can be used as an indicator of watershed condition and health.
Phase 1 - Sample Collection:
Selected sites will be sampled during FY 05 and FY 06. Sampling of biotic and abiotic response variables (i.e., detritus, biofilm, invertebrates, fishes) will be completed approximately every other month (6X per year), with all sites visited, beginning in April or May (depending on snowmelt) and continue through September. Additional sampling will include stream and riparian habitat characterization, riparian cover species and crown cover, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), which are all independent variables that will be used in multiple regression analyses against dependent variables - which include water chemistry (conductivity, pH, nitrate, ammonium, soluble reactive phosphorus, and total phosphorus), water temperature, and the export of invertebrates (biomass, species assemblage, functional feeding group) and organic matter. We will also measure fish responses (density, standing stock - which are also dependent variables) in the lower reaches that are fed by these headwater streams. In addition, we will select a subset of 20 sites (five from each of the four subcatchment types) for year-round sampling. These 20 sites will be chosen based on their winter accessibility, and sampled during winter to measure material transport (nutrients, organics, invertebrates) from headwaters during what has been typically assumed to be times of low productivity. Evidence from small subcatchments along coastal Alaska suggest otherwise (Wipfli and Gregovich 2002).
Sampling Methods
Small headwater subcatchments (drainage area measured by landscape analysis using GIS) will be selected in the upper Wenatchee Basin of the Columbia River Basin that consist of a fishless headwater stream that drains into streams that bear fish throughout all seasons. During some seasons, the only species present may be resident non-salmonids such as sculpins, but seasonal differences in headwater productivity might be linked to fish performance in these streams and the response of all fishes present will be considered. We expect to observe substantial variation in discharge among the headwaters. Discharge might affect the total input of invertebrates into fish-bearing systems and our statistical analyses will consider such variation. A brief description of methods includes:
(1) positioning sampling stations near and upstream of the junctures between fishless and fish-bearing streams
(2) sampling with modified drift nets (Wipfli and Gregovich 2002) the biological production (invertebrates and particulate organic matter) produced in these fishless subcatchments that is delivered to fish habitats
(3) measuring fish density, biomass, growth, at or as near as possible, to these fish-no fish junctions to evaluate the ecological connectedness between fishless headwaters and downstream fish performance.
(4) assessing the effects of headwaters subcatchment condition on macroinvertebrate and downstream fish populations.
Sampling in Study Streams
Study streams will be small and high gradient. Where possible, the length of stream between its origin and the sampling site will generally be less than a few kilometers. Streams selected will contain surface flow during all sampling bouts, but flow may be negligible for some streams during dry periods. Their high gradient and lack of fish habitat will likely be the factors preventing fish from colonizing reaches upstream of our sampling sites, although fish will be present downstream of study reaches. Sampling sites (points along the stream) will be selected that contain no fish, but upstream of systems with fish, to assess the actual contribution of material from fishless headwaters to fish-bearing habitats. We will confirm that our study streams lack fish by electrofishing, minnow-trapping and dip-netting reaches that plausibly could contain fish (i.e, that lack major barriers to movement such as high gradients or waterfalls).
Nutrient transport will be measured by taking two 1-L grab samples at each site in spring and fall beginning in April for three years for comparison with corresponding samples of the biota. Samples will immediately be placed on ice in the field and brought to the laboratory and refrigerated overnight before being express mailed to an aquatic chemistry testing facility (to be determined). Water will be tested for total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, total nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, and ammonium nitrogen, nutrient forms that commonly limit freshwater productivity in the Pacific Northwest (Perrin et al. 1987, Johnston et al. 1997, Ashley and Slaney 1997).
Invertebrates (aquatic and terrestrial) and detritus (i.e., particulate organic matter =250-µm) will be collected with a 250-µm net attached to one end of a 75-cm long, 10-cm diameter plastic pipe frame, which will rest on the stream bottom. One frame per stream with attached net will be secured with sandbags in the middle of each stream. Because the sampler will be placed on the stream bottom, seston will be captured (suspended particulate organic matter) as well as bedload particulate organic matter, which will be collectively labeled detritus, and macroinvertebrates in the drift as well as those moving downstream along the streambed. Facilitated by high stream gradient, the downstream end of each horizontal pipe will rest above the stream surface; discharge through the sampler will be determined by recording the time taken to fill a container of known volume. Discharge will be measured during each sampling period, a mean calculated, and this value used to determine the density of invertebrates (individuals m-3) and detritus (= 250-µm diameter, g m-3). Most of the streams are expected to be sufficiently small to allow for the entire streamflow to pass through the pipes. If not, the percentage relative to the total streamflow will be estimated. This fraction will be used to extrapolate the transport measured through the net for the whole stream. Replicates will be streams within each land-use and ecoregion (n = 15). Streams will be sampled continuously for invertebrates and detritus over a 48-h period once every two months annually for all sites. In addition, we will deploy drift nets in fish-bearing reaches to estimate productivity and macroinvertebrate community similarity where fish are foraging.
Invertebrates will be sorted from detritus after being placed in 70% EtOH in the field. They will be identified to the lowest reliable taxon, their body lengths measured, and dry mass determined using taxon-specific length-mass regression equations (Rogers et al. 1977; Smock 1980; Meyer 1989; Sample et al. 1993; Burgherr and Meyer 1997). Invertebrates will be categorized as either aquatic or terrestrial if they were a product of aquatic or terrestrial secondary production, respectively (Wipfli 1997). The remainder of the sample (detrital component) will be oven-dried, weighed, ashed (at 500º C for 5 h), and reweighed to determine ash-free dry mass (AFDM).
Additionally, we will measure several other physical and biological variables in the streams to link the productivity measures with causal factors in the subcatchments, including PAR, periphyton development on rock surfaces, and stream temperature, pH, and conductivity at all sites.
| $39,850 | 31.01% | | 09/30/2005 |
| D | 2995 | 157 | Collect/Generate/Validate Field and Lab Data | Collect samples of invertebrates, organic detritus, and water nutrients | Invertebrates (aquatic and terrestrial) and detritus (i.e., particulate organic matter =250-µm) will be collected with a 250-µm net attached to one end of a 75-cm long, 10-cm diameter plastic pipe frame, which will rest on the stream bottom. One frame per stream with attached net will be secured with sandbags in the middle of each stream. Because the sampler will be placed on the stream bottom, seston will be captured (suspended particulate organic matter) as well as bedload particulate organic matter, which will be collectively labeled detritus, and macroinvertebrates in the drift as well as those moving downstream along the streambed. Facilitated by high stream gradient, the downstream end of each horizontal pipe will rest above the stream surface; discharge through the sampler will be determined by recording the time taken to fill a container of known volume. Discharge will be measured during each sampling period, a mean calculated, and this value used to determine the density of invertebrates (individuals m-3) and detritus (= 250-µm diameter, g m-3). Most of the streams are expected to be sufficiently small to allow for the entire streamflow to pass through the pipes. If not, the percentage relative to the total streamflow will be estimated. This fraction will be used to extrapolate the transport measured through the net for the whole stream. Replicates will be streams within each land-use and ecoregion (n = 15). Streams will be sampled continuously for invertebrates and detritus over a 48-h period once every two months annually for all sites. In addition, we will deploy drift nets in fish-bearing reaches to estimate productivity and macroinvertebrate community similarity where fish are foraging.
Invertebrates will be sorted from detritus after being placed in 70% EtOH in the field. They will be identified to the lowest reliable taxon, their body lengths measured, and dry mass determined using taxon-specific length-mass regression equations (Rogers et al. 1977; Smock 1980; Meyer 1989; Sample et al. 1993; Burgherr and Meyer 1997). Invertebrates will be categorized as either aquatic or terrestrial if they were a product of aquatic or terrestrial secondary production, respectively (Wipfli 1997). The remainder of the sample (detrital component) will be oven-dried, weighed, ashed (at 500º C for 5 h), and reweighed to determine ash-free dry mass (AFDM).
Organic matter and invertebrate samples will be sorted, invertebrates enumerated and identified, and their mass determined. Organic matter mass will be determined by drying, weighing, ashing, and reweighing the sample in the lab. Biofilm mass will also be determined by drying and weighing the sample in the lab. Evaluating the biological community of a stream through invertebrates provides a sensitive and cost effective means of determining subcatchment condition. Benthic communities respond differently to various stressors and watershed conditions, and we believe organic matter load, and invertebrate quantity and species composition of export samples will provide clues into the health of these subcatchments.
| $42,327 | 32.94% | 10/01/2004 | 09/30/2005 |
| E | 2997 | 157 | Collect/Generate/Validate Field and Lab Data | Sampling in fish-bearing habitat | Because the macroinvertebrate community downstream of headwater junctions is likely to be affected by input of nutrients and the downstream drift of species with different taxonomic or ecological classifications than are found in the mainstem, we will sample drifting and benthic invertebrates in fish-bearing streams to determine the strength and spatial pattern of headwater stream delivery. We will deploy 4-6 drift nets of the same size used in headwater streams a minimum of 15 cm above the stream bottom for 24 hr in conjunction with the sampling of headwater streams. When practical, benthic macroinvertebrates will also be collected with a Hess sampler at the junction of the mainstem and 50-m upstream and downstream of the junction within the mainstem to assess the effects of headwater inputs on the lower trophic levels of these fish-bearing food webs.
Fish will be captured with baited Gee minnow traps, electrofishing when necessary, and by seining in pools within 50-m downstream of the zone of contact between the fishless and fish-bearing habitats (headwater ‘treatment'), and in pools within 50-m upstream of this zone (control), for determining fish responses (including possibly diet) resulting from prey delivery from the headwater tributaries. Because we will likely encounter ESA-listed anadromous salmonids such as spring chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss), we will use the most passive methods possible to estimate fish population size after obtaining the necessary permissions. Removal methods using minnow traps are much less harmful than electrofishing and impart less mechanical stress to fish than seining. With a careful sampling protocol, removal sampling with minnow traps can estimate fish density in a short (~ 1 d) time period (Bryant 2000). All captured fish will be placed in buckets of fresh stream water and monitored constantly until being returned alive to the stream. Additional estimates of fish population size will be made by snorkeling during both daytime and evening hours to account for variation in fish activity. We will conduct additional sampling of fish at pools 100 m and 150 m downstream to gain further information on the spatial extent of any effects generated by prey and nutrient input from headwater streams.
In order to link the relative contribution of invertebrate-based food webs found in the headwater streams and that of the fish-bearing streams to the condition of relevant fish populations, we must use some direct measures of fish responses to differences in food availability. Analysis of fish diet, condition and behavior will enable us to establish how strongly connected the energetic inputs of headwater streams are to the persistence of resident and anadromous species. During regular sampling of fish at our study sites we will anesthetize individuals of all species with MS-222® and use gastric lavage techniques (Meehan and Miller 1978) to obtain a sample of consumed prey. Although somewhat invasive, Meehan and Miller (1978) obtained high survival rates and pilot studies on hatchery-derived juvenile coho salmon (O. kisutch) in our study system resulted in full recovery with no immediate mortality (Polivka unpubl. data). Following sample collection and preservation, gut contents will be analyzed in the laboratory to determine whether the assemblage of taxa consumed by fish can be linked to either headwater or mainstem production.
Foraging behavior of actively foraging drift-feeding anadromous salmonids will be quantified in the field by a single observer using focal animal surveys (Altmann 1974) in stream pools or other occupied microhabitat patches. Observations will generally not be conducted for benthic sit-and-wait foragers such as sculpins. For each fish observed, the number of foraging attempts per minute will be recorded for a thirty minute period or until the individual quits foraging in the given patch, whichever comes first. Patch residence times of shorter duration than 30 min. will be documented. Additionally, the number and identity of other individuals foraging in the patch will be recorded as will aggressive behaviors such as displays, nips, and chases between individuals. Physical dimensions of the patch will be measured and productivity estimated from drift samples described above to determine mechanistic relationships between fish production and the carrying capacity of stream reaches. Foraging theory predicts that productivity is an important determinant of group size and dynamics such as residence time at the patch scale (Giraldeau and Caraco 2000) and the use of and competition for foraging patches may be an important indicator of fish carrying capacity, particularly where headwaters may contribute to productivity.
| $39,817 | 30.99% | | 09/30/2005 |
| F | 2998 | 162 | Analyze/Interpret Data | Statistical analysis of all data collected | Develop and test methods for monitoring subcatchment and stream condition of low-order drainages.
The productivity of a stream is a reflection of the health and condition of the watershed it drains. By measuring detritus and invertebrate transport from headwaters (surrogates of headwater production) at a point along the length of a stream, we can assess the level of productivity, and therefore health and condition of a headwater subcatchment upstream of the sampling site. We intend to test methods in the Wenatchee River Basin for monitoring headwater subcatchment condition that were developed by Wipfli and Gregovich (2002) for southeastern Alaska streams. Data suggest this technique holds promise as a surrogate of headwater subcatchment productivity, can serve as a tool for assessing the cumulative impacts of multiple stressors in subcatchments, and can be used as an indicator of watershed condition and health.
Phase 1 - Sample Collection:
Selected sites will be sampled during FY 05 and FY 06. Sampling of biotic and abiotic response variables (i.e., detritus, biofilm, invertebrates, fishes) will be completed approximately every other month (6X per year), with all sites visited, beginning in April or May (depending on snowmelt) and continue through September. Additional sampling will include stream and riparian habitat characterization, riparian cover species and crown cover, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), which are all independent variables that will be used in multiple regression analyses against dependent variables - which include water chemistry (conductivity, pH, nitrate, ammonium, soluble reactive phosphorus, and total phosphorus), water temperature, and the export of invertebrates (biomass, species assemblage, functional feeding group) and organic matter. We will also measure fish responses (density, standing stock - which are also dependent variables) in the lower reaches that are fed by these headwater streams. In addition, we will select a subset of 20 sites (five from each of the four subcatchment types) for year-round sampling. These 20 sites will be chosen based on their winter accessibility, and sampled during winter to measure material transport (nutrients, organics, invertebrates) from headwaters during what has been typically assumed to be times of low productivity. Evidence from small subcatchments along coastal Alaska suggest otherwise (Wipfli and Gregovich 2002).
Sampling Methods
Small headwater subcatchments (drainage area measured by landscape analysis using GIS) will be selected in the upper Wenatchee Basin of the Columbia River Basin that consist of a fishless headwater stream that drains into streams that bear fish throughout all seasons. During some seasons, the only species present may be resident non-salmonids such as sculpins, but seasonal differences in headwater productivity might be linked to fish performance in these streams and the response of all fishes present will be considered. We expect to observe substantial variation in discharge among the headwaters. Discharge might affect the total input of invertebrates into fish-bearing systems and our statistical analyses will consider such variation. A brief description of methods includes:
(1) positioning sampling stations near and upstream of the junctures between fishless and fish-bearing streams
(2) sampling with modified drift nets (Wipfli and Gregovich 2002) the biological production (invertebrates and particulate organic matter) produced in these fishless subcatchments that is delivered to fish habitats
(3) measuring fish density, biomass, growth, at or as near as possible, to these fish-no fish junctions to evaluate the ecological connectedness between fishless headwaters and downstream fish performance.
(4) assessing the effects of headwaters subcatchment condition on macroinvertebrate and downstream fish populations.
Sampling in Study Streams
Study streams will be small and high gradient. Where possible, the length of stream between its origin and the sampling site will generally be less than a few kilometers. Streams selected will contain surface flow during all sampling bouts, but flow may be negligible for some streams during dry periods. Their high gradient and lack of fish habitat will likely be the factors preventing fish from colonizing reaches upstream of our sampling sites, although fish will be present downstream of study reaches. Sampling sites (points along the stream) will be selected that contain no fish, but upstream of systems with fish, to assess the actual contribution of material from fishless headwaters to fish-bearing habitats. We will confirm that our study streams lack fish by electrofishing, minnow-trapping and dip-netting reaches that plausibly could contain fish (i.e, that lack major barriers to movement such as high gradients or waterfalls).
Nutrient transport will be measured by taking two 1-L grab samples at each site in spring and fall beginning in April for three years for comparison with corresponding samples of the biota. Samples will immediately be placed on ice in the field and brought to the laboratory and refrigerated overnight before being express mailed to an aquatic chemistry testing facility (to be determined). Water will be tested for total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, total nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, and ammonium nitrogen, nutrient forms that commonly limit freshwater productivity in the Pacific Northwest (Perrin et al. 1987, Johnston et al. 1997, Ashley and Slaney 1997).
Invertebrates (aquatic and terrestrial) and detritus (i.e., particulate organic matter =250-µm) will be collected with a 250-µm net attached to one end of a 75-cm long, 10-cm diameter plastic pipe frame, which will rest on the stream bottom. One frame per stream with attached net will be secured with sandbags in the middle of each stream. Because the sampler will be placed on the stream bottom, seston will be captured (suspended particulate organic matter) as well as bedload particulate organic matter, which will be collectively labeled detritus, and macroinvertebrates in the drift as well as those moving downstream along the streambed. Facilitated by high stream gradient, the downstream end of each horizontal pipe will rest above the stream surface; discharge through the sampler will be determined by recording the time taken to fill a container of known volume. Discharge will be measured during each sampling period, a mean calculated, and this value used to determine the density of invertebrates (individuals m-3) and detritus (= 250-µm diameter, g m-3). Most of the streams are expected to be sufficiently small to allow for the entire streamflow to pass through the pipes. If not, the percentage relative to the total streamflow will be estimated. This fraction will be used to extrapolate the transport measured through the net for the whole stream. Replicates will be streams within each land-use and ecoregion (n = 15). Streams will be sampled continuously for invertebrates and detritus over a 48-h period once every two months annually for all sites. In addition, we will deploy drift nets in fish-bearing reaches to estimate productivity and macroinvertebrate community similarity where fish are foraging.
Invertebrates will be sorted from detritus after being placed in 70% EtOH in the field. They will be identified to the lowest reliable taxon, their body lengths measured, and dry mass determined using taxon-specific length-mass regression equations (Rogers et al. 1977; Smock 1980; Meyer 1989; Sample et al. 1993; Burgherr and Meyer 1997). Invertebrates will be categorized as either aquatic or terrestrial if they were a product of aquatic or terrestrial secondary production, respectively (Wipfli 1997). The remainder of the sample (detrital component) will be oven-dried, weighed, ashed (at 500º C for 5 h), and reweighed to determine ash-free dry mass (AFDM).
Additionally, we will measure several other physical and biological variables in the streams to link the productivity measures with causal factors in the subcatchments, including PAR, periphyton development on rock surfaces, and stream temperature, pH, and conductivity at all sites.
| $3,500 | 2.72% | | 09/30/2005 |
| G | 3000 | 132 | Produce Progress (Annual) Report | Submit annual report to NOAA | Produce a report covering the previous 12 months efforts. Identifying proposed actions, accomplishments, and lessons learned. Additionally, for the previous 3 months, a similar format will be expected. The fourth 3-month report will be replaced by the Annual Report. | $3,000 | 2.33% | 10/01/2004 | 12/31/2004 |
| H | 2993 | 185 | Produce CBFish Status Report | Quarterly Pisces Milestone Report (Green/Yellow/Red) | | $0 | 0.00% | 09/23/2005 | 09/30/2005 |
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