Assessment of the use of submersed aquatic vegetation data as a bioindicator for the Upper Mississippi River
Dates
Publication Date
2008-12
Summary
The potential use of aquatic macrophytes as a bioindicator of the health of the Upper Mississippi River was assessed by analysis of submersed aquatic vegetation and water quality data collected through the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP) in Upper Mississippi River Pools 4, 8, and 13. Data from the main channel border and side channel strata were used because these strata are conducive to rapid data collection and are more susceptible to tributary influences than backwaters. Several aquatic macrophyte attributes were calculated by use of the LTRMP data set. These included percent frequency; relative frequency of exotic, sensitive, and tolerant species; plant abundance; species richness; Simpson’s Index of Diversity; Shannon’s [...]
Summary
The potential use of aquatic macrophytes as a bioindicator of the health of the Upper Mississippi River was assessed by analysis of submersed aquatic vegetation and water quality data collected through the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP) in Upper Mississippi River Pools 4, 8, and 13. Data from the main channel border and side channel strata were used because these strata are conducive to rapid data collection and are more susceptible to tributary influences than backwaters. Several aquatic macrophyte attributes were calculated by use of the LTRMP data set. These included percent frequency; relative frequency of exotic, sensitive, and tolerant species; plant abundance; species richness; Simpson’s Index of Diversity; Shannon’s Diversity and Evenness Index; mean Coefficient of Conservatism; Floristic Quality Index; and the Aquatic Macrophyte Community Index. Simple linear regressions, calculated by use of LTRMP fixed-site water quality data with the aquatic macrophyte attributes, were performed to determine if these attributes correlate with measured water quality attributes. The submersed aquatic vegetation attributes were found to be correlated to light measurements but not to nutrients in the water, thus indicating that the growth and abundance of submersed aquatic vegetation in the Upper Mississippi River may be light limited, but not nutrient limited. Wild celery may be an appropriate indicator species, whereas the mean number of species recorded at a site was the attribute most correlated with water quality.
