Aquatic vegetation dynamics in the Upper Mississippi River over 2 decades spanning vegetation recovery

Bouska, Kristen L.; Larson, Danelle M.; Drake, Deanne C.; Lund, Eric M.; Carhart, Alicia M.; Bales, Kyle

doi:10.1086/717867

Cited by 5 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…First, we removed plots that lacked vegetation (n = 22,335 plots) prior to analyses because the research focus was to define vegetation types based on plots with shared taxa, not shared absences. Previous ordinations showed that when unvegetated plots are included, the ecological gradient of no vegetation to high vegetation is so strong (Bouska et al, 2022) that the results highlight shared absences. Next, any species that had less than 15 occurrences were considered rare and removed to improve statistical inferences, which resulted in 72 species for analyses (described in Appendix S1: Table S1).…”

Section: Data Analysesmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…(ELCA7). Previous work (Bouska et al, 2022) showed macrophyte dissimilarity between these two phases, and thus our hypothesis 2 was that the late phase would have more vegetation types that had yet to be described.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…The data captured an “early” and “late” phases of vegetation recovery (Figure 1b; Larson, Lund, et al, 2022), but the disturbances and reasons for the apparent recovery remain mysterious. All four study areas experienced biologically significant increases in macrophyte prevalence, diversity, and species composition changes from years 2000 to 2015 (Bouska et al, 2022). From years 1998 to 2002, vegetation was in an early phase of recovery and characterized by lower diversity and prevalence of plants.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During 2015–2019, macrophyte prevalence, diversity, and community dissimilarity plateaued and became relatively stable in most study areas. Due to these plant assembly changes through time (Figure 1; Bouska et al, 2022; Larson, Lund, et al, 2022), we defined a posteriori the early phase of macrophyte recovery as years 1998–2002 and the late phase of recovery from years 2015 to 2019.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hypothesis 2 was that the early phase would have few vegetation types, whereas the late phase would have more. In the UMR, the late phase of recovery (years 2015-2019, 15 years after the early phase) was characterized by the greatest macrophyte prevalence and relative stability (Figure 1b, and see Bouska et al, 2022;Drake et al, 2022;Larson, Lund, et al, 2022). Thus, we expected the early phase would have only a few turbid-tolerant and cosmopolitan species (Lougheed et al, 2001), such as Stuckenia pectinata (L.) Borner (POPE6), Potamogeton crispus L. (POCO3), Ceratophyllum demersum L. (CEDE4), and Elodea canadensis Michx.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Aquatic vegetation types identified during early and late phases of vegetation recovery in the Upper Mississippi River

2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Assemblage patterns and processes of aquatic vegetation in most large floodplain rivers are not well understood, particularly after plant recovery. Identifying vegetation types, which are recurring plant groupings based on species composition, diversity, and abundances, can describe plant assembly patterns and environmental drivers that aid conservation planning and management. We used a 22‐year dataset (n = 18,000 sampling plots) to identify aquatic vegetation types during an “early phase” and “late phase” of plant recovery at multiple spatial scales nested within a 500‐km river reach of the Upper Mississippi River, USA. We hypothesized that vegetation types varied according to scale because of the stark environmental differences among riverine habitats and differing regional species pools along the river's latitudinal gradient, and that the late phase of recovery had developed several new vegetation types. We first used cluster analyses at multiple spatiotemporal scales to identify the number of vegetation types and their characteristics, such as indicator species, species compositions and abundances, and diversity index. Then we applied a multivariate regression to pinpoint environmental factors (such as hydrodynamics, system productivity, local habitat, and water quality) that structured those vegetation types. Clustering revealed that ~90% of plots irrespective of recovery phase were not classified into vegetation types, which indicated that most aquatic sampling plots are unique in species composition and unpredictable. However, impounded areas upriver from dams had matured five vegetation types: lotus (Nelumbo lutea Willd.), submersed (a mix of 11 common submersed species), watercelery (Vallisneria americana Michx.), arrowheads (Sagittaria rigida Pursh and Sagittaria latifolia Willd.), and a diverse community (with high diversity indices and multiple life forms). The vegetation types were associated with three environmental gradients related to inundation depth and duration, system productivity, and water clarity. These five vegetation types are known to be of high ecological value to fish and wildlife and thus targets for restoration, for example, the watercelery community is principal forage for migrating canvasback ducks (Aythya valisineria) along the Mississippi River flyway. Our results provide insights on vegetation assembly during recovery and aid habitat conservation by providing quantitative, environmental targets for restoration.

show abstract

Section: Data Analysesmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Aquatic vegetation types identified during early and late phases of vegetation recovery in the Upper Mississippi River

2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Regulation of Water Clarity in a Large, Floodplain River Ecosystem

Carhart,

Drake,

Fischer

et al. 2024

Ecosystems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lipid metabolites index habitat quality for Canvasbacks on stopover areas during spring migration

Bouton,

Anteau,

Smith

et al. 2023

Ornithological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nutrients acquired by ducks on spring migratory stopover areas influence survival and subsequent reproduction. Accordingly, wetland loss and degradation on stopover areas can lead to reduced refueling efficiency and have demographic consequences. Lipid metabolite concentrations in blood provide a useful index of daily mass change in wild birds and can be used to make inferences about quality of stopover areas for refueling. We experimentally validated a model that uses lipid metabolites to predict daily mass change, and then we used those predictions to make inferences about foraging habitat quality for Canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria) at important stopover sites of the upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, USA. We measured plasma lipid metabolites and daily mass change of 60 wild Canvasbacks held in short-term captivity and subjected to feeding and fasting treatments. Respectively, triglyceride and β–hydroxybutyrate concentrations were positively and negatively related to mass change (R2 = 0.58). On average, Canvasbacks collected experimentally across our study area had positive index values indicating sufficient forage resources to allow energy acquisition. However, predicted daily mass increases were greater at more northerly pools of the Mississippi River (Pools 7–8, and 13) compared to more southerly locations (Pool 19 of the Mississippi River and the Illinois River Valley), which was likely due, in part, to more abundant submerged aquatic vegetation at more northerly pools. Our results affirm that lipid metabolites are useful predictors of daily mass change that in turn can provide inferences about habitat quality. Lower daily mass increases of Canvasbacks at Pool 19 are concerning because that area is considered a critically important spring stopover area for migratory diving ducks. Considering the challenges of managing large rivers for multiple uses, targeting restoration of wetlands isolated or isolatable from river systems could provide stopover areas with necessary forage for optimal mass gain.

show abstract

Aquatic vegetation dynamics in the Upper Mississippi River over 2 decades spanning vegetation recovery

Cited by 5 publications

References 41 publications

Aquatic vegetation types identified during early and late phases of vegetation recovery in the Upper Mississippi River

Aquatic vegetation types identified during early and late phases of vegetation recovery in the Upper Mississippi River

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Regulation of Water Clarity in a Large, Floodplain River Ecosystem

Lipid metabolites index habitat quality for Canvasbacks on stopover areas during spring migration

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About