Cold Waters Temperature Assessment across the Northeast

Transcription

1 Cold Waters Temperature Assessment across the Northeast March 23, 2012 Jennifer M. Jacobs, Erik Carlson, and Emily Carlson Environmental Research Group Department of Civil Engineering University of New Hampshire In Partnership With M. Carpenter, NHFG; T. Richards, MDFW Acknowledgements D. Neils, NHDES; R. Abele, USEPA Region I USEPA TMDL and USGS WRI Funding

2 Watersheds Goal Protect and restore watersheds and aquatic ecosystems

3 Why Healthy Watersheds? How do we know which streams are healthy coldwater streams? How do we know which streams should be healthy coldwater streams? How can we identify which streams need protection? From USEPA 841-R , 2011

4 What is a Healthy Watershed? Ideally, a healthy watershed is able to provide: Habitat for native aquatic and riparian species; Native vegetation and green infrastructure; Biotic refugia or critical habitat (e.g., deep pools, seeps and springs) Natural hydrology (e.g., flow regime); Natural sediment transport and geomorphology; Natural disturbance (e.g., floods and fire); Water quality to supports biotic communities; Healthy, self-sustaining aquatic and riparian biological communities. After: USEPA 841-R , 2011

5 What is a coldwater stream? Def. based on aquatic species Max. Average Monthly Temp Coldwater: < o C (65 o F) 19 o C (Chu et al. 2008, Carpenter NHF&G) 22 o C (Neumann et al., 2006) 20 o C (Massachusetts) Cool (Mixed) Water Warm Water: 22 o C (72 o F) Upper Lethal Temp o C (77-86 o F) D. Neils, NHDES

6 Thermal Regime and Fish Fish Species Preference Coldwater NH Examples: Brook Trout, Slimy Sculpin, Brown Trout, Lake Chub, Longnose Sucker, Northern Redbelly Dace, Rainbow Trout Eurythermal (tolerating a wide range of temperature) NH Examples: Common Shiner, Creek Chub, Eastern Blacknose Dace, Fallfish, Longnose dace, White Sucker Pictures Credit: NJ Freshwater Fish Identification

7 Typical Bioperiods for Fish 26 Upper Lethal Average Daily Temperature ( C) Rearing & Growth Brook Trout Spawning Winter Survival Brook Trout Emergence Spawning Rearing & Growth Brook Trout Spawning Winter Survival Spring Floods Spawning Upper Threshold Lower Threshold 0 Nov-07 Sep-07 Jul-07 May-07 Mar-07 Jan-07 Nov-06 Sep-06 Jul-06 May-06 Mar-06 Jan-06 Nov-05 Sep-05 Jul-05

8 Main Threats: NH Cold Water Fisheries road sediment, suburban and urban development, poorly designed stream crossings, acid rain, and habitat fragmentation from dams. Source: State of New Hampshire Wildlife Journal, 2006

9 It s not all about the fish! Dissolved Oxygen Inverse relationship between DO and temperature Warm water may cause the fish's DO demand to increase. Photosynthesis Cool waters slow the growth of bacteria and algae Warm water enhances algal growth Water Chemistry Increased plant growth can decease DO Increasing temperature decreases ph Water Turbidity and Sediment Loads Aquatic Organisms Species abundance and diversity Coldwater species include mayflies, caddisflies Timing of reproduction, migration and aestivation Pictures Credit: Bluegreen bloom, Upper Saranac Lake, 10/90 (source: R. Handler, MD)

10 Measuring Water Temperature Digital Temperature Loggers Hobo tm thermistor data loggers Pro V2 ($120) Pendant ($42) Tidbit temperature data loggers ($159)

11 Overview Database Analysis Next Steps Metric 2: TNC Temperature Temperature and Sampling Fish Locations Sampling Site by Agency N = 312 Sites Hourly Sampling

12 Overview Database Analysis Next Steps Metric 2: TNC July Temperature by Location 2000 to present Coldwater Threshold: o C (65 o F)

13 Where are the fish? Does temperature matter? July Daily Temp ( C) July Coldwater Fish Absent July Daily Temperature ( C) Coldwater Fish Present

14 If July mean temperature didn t tell us what was a coldwater stream, is there another measure we could use? July Mean One Day Max Three Day Max Min Oneway Analysis of July Mean By EBT Oneway Analysis of Max Daily ( C) By EBT Oneway Analysis of Max of 3-Day Min By EBT July Mean 20 Max Daily ( C) 20 Max of 3-Day Min 20 10A P 10A P 10A P EBT EBT EBT Excluded Rows 18 Excluded Rows 18 Excluded Rows 18

15 Can Temp Observations Predict Coldwater Fish? Metric 1: Lyons Classification Stream Class June Aug Average July Average Warmest Day of Yr Coldwater <17 < 17.5 < 20.7 Coolwater Warmwater > 21 >21 > 24.6

16 Lyons Classification: All Sites Absent Present EBT % of Coldwater and Warmwater Species Cold Cool Warm Lyons Class P A

17 Lyons Classification: NH P By State EBT A 0.0Cold Cool Warm Lyons Class MA CT P P EBT 0.5 EBT 0.5 A A 0.0Cold Cool Warm 0.0ColdCool Warm Lyons Class Lyons Class

18 Lyons Class: By Agency MA NH 1.0 MA DEP 1.0 NHDES 0.7 P 0.7 P EBT 0.5 EBT A 0.2 A MA 0.0Cold Cool Warm Lyons Class CT 0.0Cold Cool Warm Lyons Class MA F&W 0.7 NH F&G P EBT 0.5 P EBT A 0.0Cold Cool Warm Lyons Class 0.0Cold Cool Warm Lyons Class

19 Metric 1: Lyons Classification Summary Class Cold when Present Cool when Present Warm when Absent All States 98% (49) 67% (156) 84% (89) NH 97% (29) 73% (42) 92% (13) MA 100% (15) 81% (38) 44% (9) CT 100% (5) 56% (67) 88% (76)

20 Can Physical Features Predict Presence? Metric 2 (and last): TNC Source: Olivero and Anderson, NRC, Northeast Aquatic Habitat Classification System 2008

21 Lyons vs TNC : All Sites Lyons TNC P 0.7 P EBT 0.5 EBT A 0.2 A 0.0Cold Cool Warm 0.0 Cold Transitional Cool Warm Lyons Class TNC Classification

22 Class TNC vs Lyons Classification Summary Cold when Present All States 77 (167) 98% (49) NH 77% (74) 97% (29) MA 93% (45) 100% (15) CT 60% (48) 100% (5) Cool when Present 31% (110) 67% (156) 30% (10) 73% (42) 57% (14) 81% (38) 27% (86) 56% (67) Warm when Absent 67% (15) 84% (89) 0% (0) 92% (13) 50% (2) 44% (9) 69% (13) 88% (76)

23 Conclusions 1. We can identify existing healthy in NH and MA watersheds using the Lyons Class, the CT model needs to be adjusted 2. We may be able to identify potential coldwater stream for restoration using the TNC classes 3. These findings can be used to target water quality protection efforts in NH

24 Jennifer Jacobs University of New Hampshire

25 Temperature is probably the most important, but least discussed, parameter in determining water quality Blakely (1966)

26 Can a single observation predict Lyons statistics? Temperature Sampling Locations Values Near Zero represent representative

27 Can a single observation predict Lyons statistics? Temperature Locations With Low RMSE are STABLE in Time

28 Can a single observation predict Lyons statistics? Correlation Coefficients (R 2 ) between Statistic and Single Day Value Mean July Temp Maximum Daily Temp