Browsing by Author "Dumke, Josh"

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21st Avenue West Remediation to Restoration Project: Biological Survey and Hydrodynamic Modeling Results
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2012) Host, George E; Reschke, Carol; Brady, Valerie; Breneman, Dan; Dumke, Josh; Niemi, Gerald J; Austin, Jay; James, Matthew; Johnson, Lucinda B
The lower 21 miles of the St. Louis River, the largest U.S. tributary to Lake Superior, form the 4856 ha St. Louis River estuary. Despite the effects of more than 100 years of industrialized and urban development as a major Great Lakes port, the estuary remains the most significant source of biological productivity for western Lake Superior, and provides important wetland, sand beach, forested, and aquatic habitat types for a wide variety of fish and wildlife communities. The lower St. Louis River and surrounding watershed were designated an “Area of Concern” (AOC) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1989 because of the presence of chemical contaminants, poor water quality, reduced fish and wildlife populations, and habitat loss. Nine Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) have been identified in the AOC, including: Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat, Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations, Degradation of Benthos, and Fish Tumors and Deformities. The St. Louis River Citizens Action Committee, now the St. Louis River Alliance (SLRA), was formed in 1996 to facilitate meeting the needs of the AOC. Following the recommendations of the St. Louis River AOC Stage II Remedial Action Plan, the SLRA completed the Lower St. Louis River Habitat Plan (Habitat Plan) in 2002 as “an estuary-wide guide for resource management and conservation that would lead to adequate representation, function, and protection of ecological systems in the St. Louis River, so as to sustain biological productivity, native biodiversity, and ecological integrity.” The SLRA also facilitated development of “Delisting Targets” for each BUI in the St. Louis River AOC in December 2008. The Habitat Plan identified several sites within the AOC with significant habitat limitations. One of these sites, the “21st Avenue West Habitat Complex” (approximately 215 ha; Map 1), was identified by a focus group within the SLRA Habitat Workgroup as a priority for a “remediation-to-restoration” project. The focus group subsequently developed a general description of desired future ecological conditions at the 21st Avenue West Habitat Complex, hereafter referred to as the ‘Project Area’, including known present conditions and limiting factors of the area. In addition, the focus group recommended a process to develop specific plans and actions to achieve the desired outcomes at the site. As the next step toward the creation of an “Ecological Design” for the Project Area, Natural Resource Research Institute researchers, in cooperation with USFWS, USEPA, MPCA, MnDNR, and other partners, sampled the 21st Avenue West site in late summer of 2011 to establish baseline information on vegetation, sediment types, benthic macroinvertebrates, toxins and bird usage of the area. This work will inform development of an ecological design that will allow assessment of restoration scenarios in the Project Area. The project will build on the 40th Ave West Remediation to Restoration effort, which developed an aquatic vegetation model based on depth, energy environment (predicted from a fetch model), water clarity, and other environmental factors. The model allows the evaluation of restoration scenarios involving changes in bathymetry, remediation or enhancement of substrate, reduction in wave energy, and other strategies. In this report we also incorporate a hydrodynamic model of the estuary to inform the ecological design process. Relationships between vegetation and the macroinvertebrate and avian communities will provide information on the efficacy of these strategies in remediating and restoring overall habitat and biological productivity in the 21st Avenue West Habitat Complex. This project was funded under USFWS Cooperative Agreement Number F11AC00517; full details of the project can be found in Attachment 1 of that Agreement.
Amity Restoration Assessment: Water quality, fish, bugs, people
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2013) Axler, Richard P; Brady, Valerie; Ruzycki, Elaine; Henneck, Jerald; Will, Norman; Crouse, A; Dumke, Josh; Hell, Robert V
This project is also a new contribution from the Weber Stream Restoration Initiative (WSRI) that began in 2005 via private endowments to create a Partnership of university scientists and extension educators, and local, state and federal agency staff to restore and protect Lake Superior Basin trout streams (www.lakesuperiorstreams.org/weber/index.html). The WSRI features a demonstration project targeting the turbidity and sediment impaired Amity Creek watershed for multiple restoration activities. It was awarded an Environmental Stewardship Award from the Lake Superior Binational Forum in 2010 and was honored state-wide by the [Minnesota] Environmental Initiative in May 2013 by being awarded the “Partnership of the Year” for its activities, key elements being: (1) its website for local community education about watershed and water resource issues; (2) creation of interactive, on-line animations of real-time water quality with interpretive information from a site near Amity’s discharge into the Lester River just above its discharge into Lake Superior (within the St. Louis River AOC); (3) development of a multi-agency/organization partnership to pursue trout stream restoration and conservation activities throughout the western Lake Superior basin; (4) designing and carrying out two major Amity restoration projects in 2009 with the City of Duluth and South St. Louis SWCD; (5) mapping landscape stressors for highlighting areas of higher risk for environmental impacts as well as conducting a detailed reconnaissance of riparian zone sediment sources for priority remediation (SSL SWCD, 2009); and (6) developing a successful EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) project to fund additional restoration related activities from 2010-2014 (MPCA, NRRI-UMD, SSL SWCD partnership, 2010, $843,616).
Aquatic invasive species prevention: getting the best bang for the buck!
(2023) Angell, Nichole; Bajzc, Alex; Brady, Valerie; Campbell, Tim; Doll, Adam; Dumke, Josh; Kinsley, Amy; Keller, Reuben; Phelps, Nicole
Common AIS prevention efforts focus on public education, watercraft inspection, and watercraft decontamination. While these prevention efforts are currently widely implemented, little is understood about the cost-effectiveness of these methods.
Assessment of Habitat and Biota in the West Branch of the Knife River, MN
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2014-03) Dumke, Josh; Brady, Valerie; Hell, Robert V
The Lake Superior Steelhead Association (LSSA) received funding from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council in 2012 to fund multiple project phases on the West Branch of the Knife River. The West Knife has received attention by LSSA due to historic reports of this tributary being important for anadromous rainbow trout (steelhead) reproduction, and because most of this watershed lies within public property. In past decades, this watershed has experienced logging, beaver activity, and barriers to migratory fish passage. In 2013 LSSA worked with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to improve fish passage conditions over the second falls of the Knife River. Mixed tree species were also planted in one beaver impacted meadow, and there are plans to expand the tree planting activities to other areas within the watershed in 2014. Pre-restoration surveys are important for demonstrating the effect of restoration activities. Good documentation of stream condition, and the organisms that live there, allow post-restoration comparisons, assessment of the most cost-effective restoration activities, and the ability to track trends over time. Natural Resources Research Institute staff were hired by LSSA to complete pre-restoration surveys of seven reaches on the West Branch Knife River; five on the main stem and two on tributaries. Fish and stream habitat were surveyed in all reaches, and aquatic macroinvertebrates were sampled in two reaches (reaches 2 and 3), with a cursory survey on a third reach (reach 1). The pre-restoration survey revealed that rainbow trout (steelhead) were present in all sampled reaches except the farthest upstream reach, which was apparently inaccessible to migratory fish due to beaver activity downstream. Brook trout were the dominant salmonid in all sampled reaches, and were at the greatest densities in the two small tributaries. One of these tributaries (reach 7) had indications of strong groundwater inputs based on water temperature and specific conductivity. This tributary appears to be an important area for brook trout reproduction and as a nursery for juveniles, but had few pools to hold larger fish. Stream bottom substrates in this tributary had large proportions of sand and silt, which are suboptimal habitat conditions for the aquatic macroinvertebrates that provide food for trout and other fish. Most pool habitats were found in downstream sections of the West Knife main stem that were influenced by beaver (reaches 1 and 2). However, these beaver meadow areas contained more nontrout species, which indicates these reaches may periodically have summer water temperatures above the thermal optimum for trout. The stream bottom in reaches 1 and 2 contained rocks that were surrounded and buried in sands, silts, and clays, reducing the amount of living space (habitat) for fish fry and aquatic macroinvertebrates. Thus, aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in these two reaches were in poorer condition (rated moderate-low) when compared to other North Shore streams NRRI researchers have sampled. Biotic habitat was best in reach 3, followed by reach 5 (both on the main stem, upstream of reaches 1 and 2). Reach 3 had the most young rainbow trout, as well as a nice population of brook trout, but the macroinvertebrate community was not in as good a condition as expected based on the very good habitat conditions. We speculate that the gravels in this reach are easily moved during high flow (flood) events; this lack of stream bottom stability leaves macroinvertebrates (and often fish fry) with few refugia from high flows, causing many of them to be dislodged and washed downstream. We speculate that this issue may be the reason why macroinvertebrate assemblages do not compare as favorably with those of other north shore streams as we expected. Reach 5 was located within a beaver meadow, but our stream measures indicate that the only measureable negative impact was a loss of riparian tree canopy to shade the stream.
Coastal Wetland Monitoring Survey Report: Clough Island
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2014-06) Dumke, Josh; Brady, Valerie; Danz, Nicholas P; Bracey, Annie; Niemi, Gerald J
Better than average water quality at Clough Island wetlands (for chloride and conductivity), as compared to most other SLR estuary wetlands, demonstrates the island's distance from human development. However, these wetlands still are located in the St. Louis River estuary, and thus have poorer quality by many measures than nearby Lake Superior wetlands. In particular, Clough Island wetlands had poorly-developed wet meadow zones compared to Lake Superior wetlands. Most of the Clough Island wetland areas were dominated by an emergent vegetation zone. Submergent vegetation was very patchy, and research by US EPA (Angradi, pers. comm.) found that SAV abundance across the whole estuary varies yearly depending on turbidity levels. In addition, Island wetlands have higher exposure to wind and wave action than do wetlands in secluded bays, which also affects the development of extensive aquatic vegetation beds. Clough wetlands had both high quality and low quality vegetation species, with purple loosestrife and invasive cattail particularly prevalent at 1089. Therefore, floristic quality values were very similar to other estuary sites, but lower than nearby Lake Superior wetlands that had fen components. Clough Island wetland fyke net fish catches were skewed toward warmer water fish (e.g., sunfish) than nearby Lake Superior sites, and water temperatures were substantially higher in the SLR estuary than in Lake Superior wetlands. Clough Island wetland site 1089 also had the most invasive tubenose gobies comprising a fish catch. In contrast, site 1089 had the greatest fish taxa richness. Clough Island wetlands did not provide as much habitat for YOY fish as did highly vegetated, secluded bays. Site 1102 had the greatest number of habitats and included a floating bog mat. Thus, macroinvertebrate richness was highest at site 1102, and more sensitive macroinvertebrates were present at this site. Site 1201 had the fewest habitats, and it had the lowest taxa richness for fish and macroinvertebrates (although sampling effort was also lowest at this site due to the lack of habitats). An invasive, non-native snail (Bithynio, the faucet snail) was found in all wetlands, but made up 7% of the macroinvertebrates collected from site 1201. This was different from nearby Lake Superior wetlands, in which no invasive macroinvertebrates were found. Bird use at Clough Island was different in some ways from other estuary wetlands. Wind and wave exposure and lack of protection may explain why migrating waterfowl and waterbirds were less commonly observed at Clough Island wetlands relative to other estuary wetlands. However, the island's isolation, lack of human usage, and potential for lower numbers of predators may benefit breeding birds, and forest-dwelling songbirds that were detected in large numbers during the breeding season. This idea is reinforced by the detection of secretive marsh birds and the foraging by Common Tern.
Conservation Behavior (2020-12-08)
(2020) Landon, Adam; Dumke, Josh; Schiller, Amie; University of Minnesota Duluth. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Panelists: Adam Landon, DNR Human Dimensions Scientist; Josh Dumke, NRRI Research Scientist; Aime Schiller, Steward Coordinator, Minnesota Land Trust; Host: Matti Erpestad, Instructor and Program Coordinator of Environmental and Outdoor Education, Master of Environmental Education Graduate Faculty
Data and R code for analysis of walleye and yellow perch age-0 length in Minnesota's Large Lakes
(2019-12-10) Hansen, Gretchen J A; Bethke, Bethany J; Ahrenstorff, Tyler D; Dumke, Josh; Hirsch, Jodie; Kovalenko, Katya E; LeDuc, Jaime F; Maki, Ryan P; Rantala, Heidi M; ghansen@umn.edu; Hansen, Gretchen; Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center
Invasive species represent a threat to aquatic ecosystems globally; however, impacts can be heterogenous across systems. Documented impacts of invasive zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and spiny water fleas (Bythotrephes cedarstroemi; hereafter Bythotrephes) on native fishes are variable and context dependent across locations and time periods. Here, we use a hierarchical Bayesian analysis of a 35-year dataset on two fish species from 9 lakes to demonstrate that early life growth of ecologically important fishes are influenced by these aquatic invasive species. Walleye (Sander vitreus) grew more slowly throughout their first year of life, and were on average 12 or 14% smaller at the end of their first summer following invasion by Bythotrephes or zebra mussels, respectively. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) growth was less affected by invasion. Yellow perch on average grew more slowly in their first year of life following invasion by zebra mussels, although this effect was not statistically distinguishable from zero. Early life growth of both walleye and yellow perch was less tightly coupled to degree days in invaded systems, as demonstrated by increased variance surrounding the degree day-length relationship. Smaller first-year size is related to walleye survival and recruitment to later life stages and has important implications for lake food webs and fisheries management. Future research quantifying effects of zebra mussels and Bythotrephes on other population-level processes and across a wider gradient of lake types is needed to understand the mechanisms driving observed changes in walleye growth.
Data for Impacts of beaver dams on low-flow hydrology and hydraulics, Knife River, Minnesota
(2021-06-07) Gran, Karen B; Behar, Hannah; Burgeson, Emma; Dymond, Salli; Dumke, Josh; Teasley, Rebecca; kgran@d.umn.edu; Gran, Karen B
These data were collected as part of a two-year investigation into the impacts of beaver dam removal on low-flow hydrology and hydraulics in the Knife River, Minnesota, USA. Eight sub-basins were monitored for two years, organized as four pairs of sub-basins. The study focused on small headwater sub-basins, with areas ranging from 1.58 to 6.4 km2. In 2018, all of the study basins had active beaver dams. In 2019, the beavers were removed and dams notched in half of the sub-basins, one half of each of the four pairs. Data collection continued throughout the 2019 season measuring impacts post-dam removal.
Data in support of Quantifying the effectiveness of three aquatic invasive species prevention methods
(2023-05-04) Angell, Nichole R; Campbell, Tim; Brady, Valerie; Bajcz, Alex; Kinsley, Amy; Doll, Adam; Dumke, Josh; Keller, Reuben; Phelps, Nicholas BD; nangell@glc.org; Angell, Nichole R; Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC)
Efforts to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been widely implemented at many scales to mitigate economic and environmental harms. Boater education, watercraft inspection, and hot water decontamination are popular strategies for prevention of AIS moving through the recreational boating pathway. However, few studies have actually quantified the effectiveness of these strategies under field conditions. We estimated their effectiveness based on the performances of boaters, watercraft inspectors, and hot water decontaminators. Participants (n=144) were recruited at 56 public water access sites in Minnesota and 1 in Wisconsin. Each participant was asked to inspect and remove AIS from a boat staged with macrophytes, dead zebra mussels, and spiny water fleas. The types and amounts of AIS removed were used to estimate the effectiveness of each prevention method. We observed that removal varied by type of AIS, with macrophytes being most commonly removed for all participants. There were also regional (metro and outstate) differences for some species perhaps due to awareness and education. Hot water decontamination was the most effective (83.7%) intervention but was not significantly better at reducing risk of spread than was watercraft inspection (79.2%). Boaters were less effective at AIS removal (56.4%). Our results suggest that watercraft inspection is an effective prevention method for most boats, and that hot water decontamination is an important tool for high-risk boats. However, robust decontamination protocols are difficult to effectively execute. Furthermore, our results provide insights into how to increase boater awareness of often-overlooked locations and help reduce risk when inspectors cannot be present at a public water access site.
Measuring what matters: Assessing the full suite of benefits of OHF investments
(2021-01-08) Noe, Ryan; Locke, Christina; Host, George; Gorzo, Jessica; Johnson, Lucinda; Lonsdorf, Eric; Grinde, Alexis; Joyce, Michael; Bednar, Josh; Dumke, Josh; Keeler, Bonnie
Overview of Stanley Creek and Assessment of Habitat and Biota in the Knife River Mainstem, MN
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2016-03) Dumke, Josh; Brady, Valerie
Post-flood and Post-restoration Biotic Sampling of Fond du Lac and Martin Branch Streams
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2013-03-29) Brady, Valerie; Dumke, Josh; Hell, Robert V
Fond du Lac Environmental Program requested sampling of two stream reaches in late summer of 2012. One reach (Station 2) on Fond du Lac Creek was damaged by the Solstice Flood of 2012, while a second reach (Marshall Rd) on the Martin Branch had received restoration work. During the early summer of 2012 the St. Louis River River watershed endured a high flood stage which caused easily-observable changes in water quality, bathymetry, and presence of submerged aquatic vegetation within the estuary. Many streams draining into the St. Louis River and estuary were also damaged by the flooding. Damage to Fond du Lac Creek included a road and culvert washout with associated scouring of the stream bed at Station 2. Sampling of Martin Branch was to document any changes due to a new and improved culvert just downstream of the sampled reach at Marshall Rd. The Natural Resources Research Institute's macroinvertebrate sampling crew sampled both reaches for aquatic macroinvertebrates and in-stream and riparian zone habitat at the end of August, 2012. These results were compared with samples collected by NRRI in mid-September of 2010 from these same reaches using the same methods and sampling gear. both streams showed evidence of physical changes to their channels between 2010 and 2012 that were reflected in noticeable but not substantial changes in their macroinvertebrate assemblages. Fond du Lac Creek's flood damage seems to have created or enlarged a pool and enlarged the channel, particularly bankfull width. It is possible that these changes will reduce the ability of baseflow to adequately fill the channel during low flow periods. The flood also appears to have coarsened the channel substrate and removed all of the large woody debris from the wetted area of the channel. These changes appear to have provided more niches for increased Ephemeroptera taxa richness (although there has been some splitting of genera that adds to this perception), but EPT proportional composition of the assemblage dropped slightly. Combined with increased proportions of chironomids, amphipods and isopods, and oligochaetes, the changes resulted in a significantly lower EPA tolerance score for the stream in 2012 than in 2010. Martin Branch faired somewhat better between 2010 and 2012, gaining a riffle that was not seen in 2010 sampling and experiencing a coarsening of the substrate in the pool and run areas. These physical changes were accompanied by a more than doubling of the taxa richness of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera, including gaining a greater proportion of net-spinning Trichoptera. Chironomid taxa richness also nearly doubled between 2010 and 2012, and they increased in proportional composition of the reach assemblage. With the increase in chironomid taxa came an associated decrease in several non-insect groups, which dropped the non-insect proportion of the assemblage by 50% from 2010. However, this did not result in a change in either tolerance score calculated for the reach.
Pre-restoration Assessment of Biological Condition for Radio Tower Bay in the St. Louis River Estuary
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2011) Brady, Valerie; Dumke, Josh; Breneman, Dan
The St. Louis River originates in northeast Minnesota and the lower 20 miles forms a 4856 ha freshwater estuary along the border with northwest Wisconsin. At the confluence with Lake Superior, the harbor is home to one of the busiest shipping ports on the Great Lakes. Despite more than 100 years of industrial use and urban development in the region, the St. Louis River estuary remains a significant source of biological productivity for western Lake Superior. Land use alterations through years of residential expansion and active industrial operations have created conditions in the estuary ranging from heavily impacted to those that remain relatively pristine. The estuary provides numerous sand and gravel beaches, islands, upland forests, sheltered bays, wetlands complexes, and other aquatic habitat types deemed essential for maintaining viable fish and wildlife communities. The lower St. Louis River and surrounding watershed was designated an “area of concern” (AOC) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1989 due to chemical contaminants, poor water quality, reduced fish and wildlife populations, and habitat loss. Nine beneficial use impairments have been identified in the AOC, including loss of fish and wildlife habitat, degraded fish and wildlife populations, degradation of benthos, and fish tumors and deformities. The St. Louis River Alliance is a community-sponsored organization that facilitates collaborative efforts associated with the St. Louis River AOC. Following the recommendations of the St. Louis River AOC Stage II Remedial Action Plan, the St. Louis River Alliance completed the Lower St. Louis River Habitat Plan (Habitat Plan) in 2002 as “an estuary-wide guide for resource management and conservation that would lead to adequate representation, function, and protection of ecological systems in the St. Louis River, so as to sustain biological productivity, native biodiversity, and ecological integrity” (SLRA 2002). The St. Louis River Alliance also facilitated development of “delisting targets” for each beneficial use impairment (BUI) in the St. Louis River AOC in December 2008. Radio Tower Bay is a small (18 ha) bay located in the upper reaches of the estuary near Gary, MN. Radio Tower Bay contains shallow open water, emergent and submergent aquatic vegetation, and is influenced hydrologically by both river currents and seiche activity. Historically, a sawmill operation in the early 1900s left the bay with significant amounts of wood waste and support pilings. The Minnesota DNR (MNDNR) and Minnesota Land Trust (MLT) secured funding from NOAA’s Marine Debris Removal Program to begin the restoration process by removing wood waste, pilings, and abandoned radio tower footings from the site. An adjacent reference location (North Bay) was included in the habitat assessment in order to provide an opportunity to establish comparisons both temporally and spatially regarding a target condition as restoration progresses in Radio Tower Bay. The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI), in cooperation with MLT and MN DNR, sampled Radio Tower Bay and North Bay to establish baseline information benthic macroinvertebrates, adult, juvenile, and larval fish assemblages and accompanying sediment and vegetation types. The project has been informed by previous collaborative efforts among NRRI, MLT, USFWS, MPCA, and MNDNR through the 40th Avenue West and 21st Avenue West remediation-to-restoration efforts.
Pre-Treatment Assessment of Habitat and Biota in the Knife River Mainstem, MN
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2017-03) Dumke, Josh; Kelly, Holly W
Pre-restoration surveys are important for demonstrating the effectiveness of restoration activities. Good documentation of stream condition, and the organisms that live there, allow post-restoration comparisons, assessment of the most cost-effective restoration activities, and the ability to track trends over time. During 2016 the Lake Superior Steelhead Association (LSSA) requested University of Minnesota Duluth, Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) staff to complete surveys of 3 Knife River mainstem reaches (two pre-treatment, and one reference) for fish, macroinvertebrates, and stream habitat. The 2016 Knife River surveys followed our standard methods used in past LSSA contracts. Reaches were named “Reach 12”, “Reach 9”, and “Reference” (listed in upstream progression). Reach 12 and Reach 9 were considered “pre-treatment” assessments, as habitat improvement projects to reduce stream bank erosion and improve pool and cover habitat for larger salmonids in these reaches occurred following our surveys. Data from the Reference reach will be important for distinguishing whether changes detected over time are natural or from the applied stream work. Our surveys revealed that all three reaches were quite similar in habitat, as well as macroinvertebrate and fish communities. Reach 9 had the most fish species due to one very large pool, but otherwise, was not very different from Reach 12. Reaches 12 and 9 had areas with unstable channel conditions and eroding banks, which were not present in the Reference reach. Therefore, the Reference reach ranked highest in the MPCA Stream Habitat Assessment (MSHA) protocol scoring system and percent canopy cover over the stream channel. The Reference reach also had more pools with slower-flowing water and woody debris, which Brook Trout favor. Thus, we found greater Brook Trout abundance and fitness in the Reference reach. In summary, our survey indicates all reaches were relatively similar. This assessment is important because it demonstrates the section of the river we selected for the Reference reach will adequately capture natural changes over time, while still being a comparable river segment to Reach 12 and 9.
Results of Pre-Treatment Habitat and Biota Surveys from the Knife River, MN below County Road 11
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2022-12) Dumke, Josh; Wellard-Kelly, Holly
This report follows the same layout and data summaries as reports provided to the Lake Superior Steelhead Association (LSSA) in recent years (Dumke and Wellard-Kelly, 2017, 2018). … The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) was contracted in 2021 by LSSA to conduct pre-treatment stream surveys of habitat, fish, macroinvertebrates, and water chemistry from a segment of the Knife River main stem below County Road 11, which is planned to receive habitat improvement work in the future. We also measured all the same parameters in another reach not expected to undergo any treatment to serve as a reference for later comparisons. This before-after, control-impact (BACI) design is our standard for attributing changes over time to specific treatments applied to the stream and is useful in evaluating changes caused by habitat improvement projects. In total, two river reaches (a treatment and a reference station) were surveyed by NRRI. In September of 2021 NRRI completed surveys of stream habitat, macroinvertebrates, and water chemistry within both reaches, and completed electrofishing within the reference reach. However, the electrofishing of the treatment reach could not be completed in 2021 due to a combination of rain events causing high flows, upstream construction causing muddy water, and a September 15th stop on electrofishing to protect fall-spawning Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis. Therefore, NRRI and LSSA agreed to extend the work contract and NRRI would re-survey fish at the end of June 2022 before new stream construction projects would begin again. We found that all reaches had water quality parameters acceptable for all salmonid species present in the Knife River watershed, at least at the times of our sampling. Among all our fish surveys we collected young-of-year (YOY, aka age0) and age1+ Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, Brown Trout Salmo trutta, and Brook Trout. Our September 2021 survey of the reference reach captured 67 age0 Rainbow Trout, so we know Rainbow Trout are using this area for some reproduction. Electrofishing surveys in June 2022 captured only 1 age0 Rainbow Trout, but the low capture during these surveys may be attributable to the early timing when age0 Rainbow Trout were still too small to be effectively sampled. However, both stream reaches were dominated by non-game fishes, and the total count of trout species contributed less than 10% to the fish assemblage. Macroinvertebrate communities were generally similar between the reference and treatment reaches, but the treatment reach had a slightly higher quality macroinvertebrate assemblage. Reference and treatment reaches both had occurrences of bank erosion, fine sediment comprised on average 30-40% of the stream bed, and coarse substrates were, on average, 20-30% embedded by fines. All of these things contribute to loss of living space among the stream rocks for aquatic macroinvertebrates.
Results of Pre-Treatment Habitat and Biota Surveys from the Knife River, MN Watershed
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2018-03) Dumke, Josh; Wellard-Kelly, Holly
This report follows the same layout and data summaries as the report provided to the Lake Superior Steelhead Association (LSSA) in 2017 (Dumke and Wellard-Kelly, 2017). Thus, much of the text from introduction and methods sections are repeated because each report has been written as a stand-alone document. The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) was contracted in 2017 by LSSA to conduct pre-treatment stream habitat, fish, invertebrate, and water chemistry surveys on three segments of the Knife River mainstem anticipated to have channel restoration work applied in the future. The reaches were named ‘Reach 4.5,’ ‘Reach 4_ED,’ and ‘Reach 4_CB’ to match section labels used in planning by LSSA. We also measured all the same parameters in an upstream reach not expected to undergo any treatment, which serves as the control for later comparisons. This before-after-control-impact (BACI) design is our standard for attributing changes over time to specific treatments applied to the stream and is very useful in evaluating changes caused by habitat improvement projects. In total, four river segments (Reach 4.5, Reach 4_ED, Reach 4_CB, and Reference) were surveyed by NRRI with the full suite of options. In addition, three upper-watershed reaches (Mcarthy, Red Dot, and White Landing) were surveyed via electrofishing only with the goal of detecting age0 Rainbow Trout presence, and two reaches on the Knife River mainstem were surveyed with rapid-response thermometers to detect ground-water inputs which would be important trout refuge during hot summer periods. We found that all reaches had water quality parameters acceptable for all salmonid species present in the Knife River watershed. In fact, we found a ground-water spring within one of temperature survey reaches. The pre-treatment reaches had lower MSHA habitat scores than the Reference, which was largely due to the presence of large eroding stream banks, but all reaches had fish habitat in the form of woody debris and pools. Brown Trout were present in the lower segments, but absent in upper watershed reaches. Brook Trout comprised more of the fish community as surveys progressed into the upper Knife River watershed, which is typical. Rainbow Trout were present in every electrofished river section, but only one age0 Rainbow Trout was collected within White Landing, and no age0 were detected in Red Dot. Red Dot and White Landing were not far apart, and the low capture of age0 Rainbow Trout indicates there was very little spawning activity, or poor spawning success, of Rainbow Trout in these upper sections during spring 2017. Macroinvertebrate communities were similar among the four reaches sampled for bugs, but the Reference had slightly fewer sensitive taxa, likely due to that reach being a steeper slope and dominated by larger boulders that were half-buried in the stream bed by smaller rocks (which offers fewer spaces between rocks for invertebrates to hide).
Seasonal influence on detection probabilities for multiple aquatic invasive species using environmental DNA
(2023-12-14) Rounds, Christopher; Arnold, Todd W; Chun, Chan Lan; Dumke, Josh; Totsch, Anna; Keppers, Adelle; Edbald, Katarina; García, Samantha M; Larson, Eric R; Nelson, Jenna KR; Hansen, Gretchen JA; round060@umn.edu; Rounds, Christopher; University of Minnesota Fisheries Systems Ecology Lab
Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are a threat to freshwater ecosystems. Documenting AIS prevalence is critical to effective management and early detection. However, conventional monitoring for AIS is time and resource intensive and is rarely applied at the resolution and scale required for effective management. Monitoring using environmental DNA (eDNA) of AIS has the potential to enable surveillance at a fraction of the cost of conventional methods, but key questions remain related to how eDNA detection probability varies among environments, seasons, and multiple species with different life histories. To quantify spatiotemporal variation in the detection probability of AIS using eDNA sampling, we surveyed 20 lakes with known populations of four aquatic invasive species: Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio), Rusty Crayfish (Faxonius rusticus), Spiny Waterflea (Bythotrephes longimanus), and Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha). We collected water samples at 10 locations per lake, five times throughout the open water season. Quantitative PCR was used with species-specific assays to determine the presence of species DNA in water samples. Using Bayesian occupancy models, we quantified the effects of lake and site characteristics and sampling season on eDNA detection probability. These results provide critical information for decision makers interested in using eDNA as a multispecies monitoring tool and highlight the importance of sampling when species are in DNA releasing life history stages.
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP): Aquatic Invertebrate Collection, Habitat Assessment, and Laboratory Sample Processing
(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2013) Dumke, Josh; Brady, Valerie; Hell, Robert V
This document describes the sample collection and processing procedures used by the Microscopy Laboratory at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s (UMD) Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI), and is a revised version of NRRI/TR-99/37. Prior to any work-related effort, individuals are trained in laboratory safety requirements, project and field safety, and are approved by the department safety officer. For detailed information regarding general laboratory safety and protocols, refer to The University of Minnesota Department of Health and Safety Laboratory Safety Plan (see http://www.nrri.umn.edu/safety/policies.html for documentation). All project personnel are trained in sampling techniques by experienced CWE personnel, made aware of laboratory chemical inventory (Table 1), and sample or process samples only under the supervision of personnel experienced in these sampling techniques until they demonstrate proficiency.

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