Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item An assessment of culverts of fish passage barriers in a Montana drainage using a multi-tiered approach(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2005) Burford, Duncan Drake, Jr.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Tom McMahonRestriction or blockage of fish movement due to culverts may have important consequences to fish populations. Problems include the direct loss of critical upstream habitats, and the loss of connectivity with neighboring populations; however, culvert barriers may also serve to protect native species from nonnative species encroachment. Culverts can impede fish movement due to high water velocities, inadequate water depths, and excessive outfall heights among other factors. Most previous studies have focused on fish passage at only a few culverts and thus the extent to which culverts impede fish passage across large drainage basins is largely unknown. In this study, a multi-tiered approach was used to assess fish passage through culverts throughout the upper Clearwater River drainage, Montana. The FishXing software program was used to assess juvenile and adult fish passage at 46 culverts across a wide range of stream discharge. At a subset of 20 culverts, population sampling upstream and downstream of each culvert at low flow was used to determine the degree to which culverts are influencing relative abundance, size structure, and species presence. At a further subset of 10 sites, passage was measured directly at low flow by monitoring the movement of marked fish through culverts with differing physical characteristics. FishXing results indicated that 76-85% of the culverts were barriers, depending on the streamflow and lifestage assessed. The population sampling results indicated that there were a only few differences in relative abundance or size structure at the culverts sampled at low flow, and there was little evidence to suggest that species presence was different below versus above the culverts. The direct passage study results showed that some passage occurred at 90% of the culverts studied at low flow. However, 7 of the 10 culverts showed some degree of passage impedance. There was a moderately significant positive relationship between passage impedance and outlet height (r2 = 0.41, P = 0.047). In summary, the culverts were restricting passage to upstream habitats that may be important for spawning, growth, and survival, but they were generally not isolating populations nor serving as barriers to protect native species from non-native species encroachment.Item Evaluation of distribution and fish passage in relation to road culverts in two eastern Montana prairie streams(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2007) Rosenthal, Leo Richard; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Thomas E. McMahonRoad culverts can restrict passage of fish migrating between seasonal habitats. The development of new roads, as well as the repair and upgrade of existing roads, has led to research addressing the effects culverts have on fish populations. The majority of this research has focused on salmonid species, and the effect of culverts on movements of small-bodied, weak swimming species is largely unknown. Fish passage within a assemblage of prairie fishes was examined in two tributaries of the lower Yellowstone River having a variety of culvert types. Passage restriction at culverts was determined using a combination of existing fish passage models, downstream displacement experiments, and patterns of longitudinal fish distribution above and below culverts. Fish movement during experiments was not significantly different through culvert versus natural reaches for most species (P > 0.05), however longnose dace passage was significantly restricted.Item Assessment of culvert passage of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in a Yellowstone River spawning tributary using a passive integrated transponder system(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2007) Solcz, Andrew Anthony; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Thomas E. McMahonRoad crossing culverts can pose passage barriers during salmonid migration. However, existing models to predict passage have not been sufficiently tested, particularly for non-anadromous species. In addition, most existing tools for evaluating culvert passage status categorize culverts as passable or impassable whereas an estimate of the probability of passage under a range of flows and hydraulic conditions would be more useful for assessing barrier status. This study used Half-duplex (HDX) Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags and PIT tag reading antennas to examine the ability of migrating fluvial-adfluvial Yellowstone cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri to pass through three distinct culvert types over a variety of hydraulic conditions. PIT tag detecting antennas were installed on the upper and lower ends of each culvert and below the plunge pool downstream of the culvert. This design allowed determination of (1) passage success or failure; (2) the number of passage attempts made at each culvert; and (3) the time required for passage through each culvert; and (4) the number of tagged individuals that attempted passage at a particular culvert.