Influence of Landscape Geomorphology on Large Wood Jams and Salmonids in an Old-growth River of Upper Michigan |
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Authors: | Arthur E L Morris P Charles Goebel Lance R Williams Brian J Palik |
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Institution: | (1) School of Natural Resources, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691, USA;(2) School of Natural Resources, Ohio State University, 2021 Coffey Rd., Columbus, OH 43210, USA;(3) North Central Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 1831 Highway 169 E, Grand Rapids, MN 55744, USA |
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Abstract: | We investigated the structure of large wood jams (LWJ) and their use by brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis, Mitchill) and other fish in four geomorphically-distinct sections of the Little Carp River, a small river flowing through
an uncut, old-growth, northern hardwood-conifer forest along the south shore of Lake Superior, Upper Michigan. We characterized
nine LWJ per section and then electroshocked fish at three randomly selected LWJ per section. Structural characteristics of
LWJ (e.g., total volume of wood, number of logs) varied with geomorphology at the scale of approximately one km. Differences
in the abundance of fish associated with LWJ were not statistically significant among LWJ and non-LWJ portions of stream across
all study reaches. Factors that explained most variability in the proportion of salmonids at LWJ (valley constraint, volume
and number of pieces in the jam) reflected both large-scale geomorphology and characteristics of LWJ. If emulating an old-growth
system is the goal for restoring habitat, attention should be given to the correlation of LWJ with larger-scale geomorphology
of the reference river. However, it cannot be assumed that LWJ restoration will necessarily increase brook trout abundance
near LWJ in a system similar to the Little Carp River as we observed low overall correlation between brook trout abundance
and LWJ. |
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Keywords: | large wood jam coaster brook trout geomorphology ecological restoration |
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