Sand Dredging Effects on Fishes and Fish Habitat in the Kansas River
Investigators: 
Jason Fischer, M.S. Student
Craig Paukert
Kieth Gido
Project Supervisor:
Craig Paukert
Melinda Daniels
Location:
Kansas River, near Lawrence and Edwardsville, Kansas
Funding:
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP)
Cooperators:
KDWP, United States Geological Survey (USGS)
Kansas State University
Status:
Completed April 2012
Progress and Results:
Sand dredging is an invasive procedure, which removes sediment directly from the river bed and can disturb fish communities and geomorphic processes with in the river. We are investigating the role these potential habitat alterations play in the structure of fish communities and habitat availability within the Kansas River. Starting in summer of 2010 fish and habitat data (i.e., depth, water velocity, temperature) were collected monthly from 1 km dredged and undredged reaches. Preliminary analyses have revealed that dredged reaches have a higher proportion of deep water habitat (>3 m) than reaches not dredged. However, there are no significant differences in catch per unit effort of fishes between dredged and undredged reaches, although further analyses are needed to determine if these trends hold throughout the seasonal sampling.
Products:
Fischer, Jason (M.S. 2012; advisor Paukert). Fish community response to habitat alteration: impacts of sand dredging in the Kansas River. Kansas State University.
Publications:
Fischer, J., C. Paukert, and M. Daniels. 2012. Fish community response to habitat alteration: impacts of sand dredging in the Kansas River. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 141:1532-1544.
Reports:
Fischer, J.F., C. Paukert, and M. Daniels. 2011. Sand Dredging Effects on Fishes and Fish Habitat in the Kansas River. Annual Report to Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Project Number T2-6-R-1, Pratt, Kansas
Presentations:
Fischer, J., C. Paukert, and M. Daniels. 2012. Influence of in-stream and watershed alterations on sandbars and islands in the Kansas River. Kansas Natural Resources Conference, Wichita, KS.
Fischer, J. J. Gerken, C. Paukert, and M. Daniels. 2011. Habitat and fish community response to sand dredging in a large Great Plains river. American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA.
Fischer, J., J. Gerken, C. Paukert, and M. Daniels. 2011. Habitat and fish community response to sand dredging in a large Great Plains river. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Des Moines, IA.
Daniels, M. K., J. Fischer, K. Costigan, J. Gerken, and C. Paukert. 2011. Making sense of an intensively modified sediment regime: measuring the relative impact of in-channel dredging amidst reservoir trapping and network-scale incision in the Kansas River basin. International Symposium on the Interactions between Sediment and Water. Dartington, England.
Jason Fischer, Joe Gerken, Craig Paukert, and Melinda Daniels. 2010. Fish Community Response to Habitat Alteration: Impacts of Sand Dredging in the Kansas River. 71st Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference.
Jason Fischer, Joe Gerken, Craig Paukert, and Melinda Daniels. 2011. Influence of Sand Dredging on Fish Communities in the Kansas River. Kansas Natural Resources Conference, 2011.
