Forty years of science and management on the Upper Mississippi River: an analysis of the past and a view of the future

Abstract

The articles in this volume of Hydrobiologia commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Mississippi River Research Consortium by synthesizing research and monitoring conducted on the river over the past 40 years. This article briefly describes the recent history of development (since 1866) of the river and the programs that currently support monitoring, research, and rehabilitation of the river. These programs have generated much of the information reported in the articles, which cover hydrology and geomorphology, contaminants, nutrients, plants, reptiles and amphibians, food webs, and concepts of river ecology. The Upper Mississippi River is still responding to changes that occurred 70 or more years ago (construction of navigation dams, leveeing of the floodplains, and intensification of agriculture in the catchment) and to new stressors (climate change, invasive species, hormone-disrupting chemicals). Nevertheless, the river continues to attract 12 million visitors per year along the scenic Great River Road,

Implications of an invasive fish barrier for the long‐term recovery of native fish assemblages in a previously degraded northeastern Illinois River system

“…The biodiversity of many river systems has rebounded dramatically concomitant with water quality improvements and habitat rehabilitation over the past 40 years (Gibson‐Reinemer et al, ; Sparks, ; Theiling, Janvrin, & Hendrickson, ). This resilience is seen in gains for a variety of native fishes, freshwater mussels, and waterfowl (Hagy et al, ; McClelland et al, ; Sietman, Whitney, Kelner, Blodgett, & Dunn, ).…”

Aquatic vegetation responses to island construction (habitat restoration) in a large floodplain river

“…Prior to European colonization, the UMR floodplain supported a shallow braided‐channel river set in floodplain forests, backwaters, wetlands, and wet prairies. Channel modification to facilitate navigation began in the 1830s, and main channel dredging to maintain sufficient depth for navigation was initiated in the 1870s and is ongoing (Sparks, ). In the 1930s, 29 dams with locks were constructed in the 1070 km between St. Anthony Falls, MN, and St. Louis, MO (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [USACE], ).…”

“…In Navigation Pool 8, for example, wind‐ and boat‐driven waves and currents eroded ~80% of island land mass within 50 years of impoundment. Resulting increases in wave action and water velocity negatively impacted light conditions and aquatic vegetation (e.g., Sparks, ; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ).…”

“…The Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) was initiated as the Environmental Management Program of 1986, with the overarching goal of restoring fish and wildlife habitat and monitoring ~1,900 river km and >800,000 ha of floodplain (see Sparks, ). The program is administered by the USACE.…”

Diversity and succession of pelagic microorganism communities in a newly restored Illinois River floodplain lake

“…Because much of our present-day understanding of applied restoration ecology relies on projects that encompass small, defined systems, the question remains as to how applicable aspects of these projects are to larger-scale restoration efforts. Existing theories of what drives large flood-pulsed river systems (e.g., Junk et al, 1989;Tockner et al, 2000;Humphries et al, 2014) serve only as a theoretical framework for restoration (Sparks et al, 1990(Sparks et al, , 2016Bayley, 1995;Sparks, 2010) and datasets substantiating these theories are sparse. Subsequently, there remains a critical need for datasets that can increase our understanding of floodplain river ecology and inform management of large river restoration efforts.…”