https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2025.2213
Mississippi River-floodplain connectivity level mediates fish assemblage dynamics
Submitted: 10 January 2025
Accepted: 17 February 2025
Published: 11 March 2025
Accepted: 17 February 2025
Abstract Views: 316
PDF: 9
Supplementary: 3
Supplementary: 3
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
The life histories of many Louisiana fishes are tied to the timing, magnitude, and duration of the Mississippi River flood pulse. Anthropogenic modifications designed to control and restrict flood waters have decoupled Louisiana’s floodplains from the seasonal flood pulse, influencing the aquatic food web. Culvert and rock weir repair within the Richard K. Yancey Wildlife Management Area aims to improve water quality and maintain appropriate water depth for native Louisiana fishes. In this study we conducted high-resolution imaging sonar (ARIS Explorer 3000) monitoring of the floodplain fish assemblage across seasons prior to hydrologic restoration. Imaging sonars may be used to obtain quantitative ecological and behavioral information without the selectivity biases of traditional techniques through the recording of continuous video-like datasets that are not constrained by environmental factors such as turbidity. Our first objective was to test the hypothesis that seasonal inundation levels and proximity to the Mississippi River affect the abundance and size class distribution of the floodplain-associated fish assemblage. Our second objective was to characterize species composition and ecological function of each acoustically-detected size class using historical fisheries datasets collected by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. To do so, we employed the multi-gear mean standardization technique for standardizing catch per unit effort of passive and active gear types used within the historical dataset in order to produce a non-exhaustive list of potentially recorded species by the imaging sonar. Our study demonstrated a size class dependent use of floodplain habitats mediated by inundation level, but not the distance from the Mississippi River. Our results illustrated a trend of increased detections of all size classes during high-water connected-spring and summer periods, as well as during disconnected-summer periods immediately following the seasonal flood pulse. Continued monitoring of the fish assemblage will provide additional data to better describe the complex dynamic patterns the floodplain fish assemblage may exhibit in response to the seasonal flood pulse and hydrologic restoration efforts.
Alford JB, Walker MR, 2013. Managing the flood pulse for optimal fisheries production in the Atchafalaya river basin, Louisiana (USA). River Res Appl 29:279-296.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.1610
Arantes CC, Castello L, Cetra M, Schilling A, 2013. Environmental influences on the distribution of Arapaima in Amazon floodplains. Environ Biol Fish 96:1257-1267.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-011-9917-9
Arthington AH, Balcombe SR, 2011. Extreme flow variability and the ‘boom and bust’ ecology of fish in arid‐zone floodplain rivers: a case history with implications for environmental flows, conservation and management. Ecohydrology 4:708-720.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.221
Bayley PB, Austen DJ, 2002. capture efficiency of a boat electrofisher. T Am Fish Soc 131:435-451.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(2002)131<0435:CEOABE>2.0.CO;2
Becker A, Cowley PD, Whitfield AK, Järnegren J, Næsje TF, 2011. Diel fish movements in the littoral zone of a temporarily closed South African estuary. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 406:63-70.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2011.06.014
Bennett MG, Kozak jp. 2016. Spatial and temporal patterns in fish community structure and abundance in the largest U.S. river swamp, the Atchafalaya River floodplain, Louisiana. Ecol Freshw Fish 25:577-589.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eff.12235
Benoit DM, Jackson DA, Chu C, 2021. Partitioning fish communities into guilds for ecological analyses: an overview of current approaches and future directions. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 78:984-993.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2020-0455
Bolland JD, Nunn AD, Lucas MC, Cowx IG, 2015. The habitat use of young-of-the-year fishes during and after floods of varying timing and magnitude in a constrained lowland river. Ecol Engin 75:434-440.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.12.009
Bouloy A, Olivier J-M, Riquier J, Castella E, Marle P, Lamouroux N, 2024. Spatio-temporal dynamics of habitat use by fish in a restored alluvial floodplain over two decades. Sci Total Environ 906:167540.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167540
Buckmeier DL, Smith NG, Daugherty DJ, 2013. Alligator gar movement and macrohabitat use in the Lower Trinity River, Texas. T Am Fish Soc 142:1025-1035.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00028487.2013.797494
Burdis RM, DeLain SA, Lund EM, Moore MJC, Popp WA, 2020. Decadal trends and ecological shifts in backwater lakes of a large floodplain river: Upper Mississippi River. Aquat Sci 82:27.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-020-0703-7
Burgess OT, Pine WE, Walsh SJ, 2013. Importance of floodplain connectivity to fish populations in the Apalachicola River, Florida. River Res Appl 29:718-733.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.2567
Cappo M, Speare P, De’Ath G, 2004. Comparison of baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) and prawn (shrimp) trawls for assessments of fish biodiversity in inter-reefal areas of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 302:123-152.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2003.10.006
Castello L, Bayley PB, Fabré NN, Batista VS, 2019. Flooding effects on abundance of an exploited, long-lived fish population in river-floodplains of the Amazon. Rev Fish Biol Fish 29:487-500.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-019-09559-x
Cazzanelli M, Soria-Barreto M, Castillo MM, Rodiles-Hernández R, 2021. Seasonal variations in food web dynamics of floodplain lakes with contrasting hydrological connectivity in the Southern Gulf of Mexico. Hydrobiologia 848:773-797.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04468-8
Clark ME, Rose KA, Chandler JA, Richter TJ, Orth DJ, Van Winkle W, 2008. Water‐level fluctuation effects on centrarchid reproductive success in reservoirs: a modeling analysis. N Am J Fish Manage 28:1138-1156.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1577/M07-106.1
Cruz DO, Kingsford RT, Suthers IM, Rayner TS, Smith JA, Arthington AH. 2020. Connectivity but not recruitment: response of the fish community to a large‐scale flood on a heavily regulated floodplain. Ecohydrology 13:e2194.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2194
Dattilo J, Brewer SK, Shoup DE. 2021. Flow dynamics influence fish recruitment in hydrologically connected river-reservoir landscapes. N Am J Fish Manage 41:1752-1763.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/nafm.10692
De Gallardo K, Kaller MD, Rutherford DA, Kelso WE. 2023. Influence of river disconnection on floodplain periphyton assemblages. Wetlands 43:23.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-023-01668-5
Delong MD. 2010. Food webs and the Upper Mississippi River: contributions to our understanding of ecosystem function in large rivers. Hydrobiologia 640:89-101.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-0065-6
Eggleton MA, Fontenot QC, Jackson JR, 2016. The Lower Mississippi River floodplain ecosystem: current status and future potential introduction-overview of the Lower Mississippi River, p 235-262. In: Y. Chen, D. Chapman, J. Jackson, Chen D, Z. Li, K. Killgore, Q. Phelps and M.A. Eggleton (eds.), Fishery resources, environment, and conservation in the Mississippi and Yangtze River Basins. Proc. American Fisheries Society Symposium 84, Bethesda.
Evans NT, Shirey PD, Wieringa JG, Mahon AR, Lamberti GA, 2017. Comparative cost and effort of fish distribution detection via environmental DNA analysis and electrofishing. Fisheries 42:90-99.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03632415.2017.1276329
Felterman MA, 2015. Population dynamics, reproductive biology and diet of Alligator gar Atractoseus spatula in Terrebonne Estuary and Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge. Master’s Thesis, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA.
Ferrara AM, 2001. Life-history strategy of lepisosoteidae: implications for the conservation and management of Alligator gar. Dissertation, Auburn University, Auburn.
Fournier RJ, Bond NR, Magoulick DD, 2021. Modeling effects of disturbance across life history strategies of stream fishes. Oecologia 196:413-425.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-021-04941-8
Gibson-Reinemer DK, Ickes BS, Chick JH, 2017. Development and assessment of a new method for combining catch per unit effort data from different fish sampling gears: multigear mean standardization (MGMS). Can J Fish Aquat Sci 74:8-14.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0003
Hänfling B, Lawson Handley L, Read DS, Hahn C, Li J, Nichols P, Blackman RC, 2016. Environmental DNA metabarcoding of lake fish communities reflects long-term data from established survey methods. Mol Ecol 25:3101-3119.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.13660
Junk WJ, Bayley PB, Sparks RE. 1989. The flood pulse concept in river-floodplain systems, P. 110-127. Proc. Int. Large River Symposium. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
Kemp GP, Day JW, Freeman AM, 2014. Restoring the sustainability of the Mississippi River Delta. Ecol Engin 65:131-146.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2013.09.055
Kennard MJ, Pusey BJ, Harch BD, Dore E, Arthington AH, 2006. Estimating local stream fish assemblage attributes: sampling effort and efficiency at two spatial scales. Mar Freshwater Res 57:635.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/MF06062
King AJ, Tonkin Z, Mahoney J, 2009. Environmental flow enhances native fish spawning and recruitment in the Murray River, Australia. River Res Appl 25:1205-1218.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.1209
Kluender ER, Adams R, Lewis L, 2017. Seasonal habitat use of alligator gar in a river–floodplain ecosystem at multiple spatial scales. Ecol Freshw Fish 26:233-246.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eff.12270
Lackmann AR, Sereda J, Pollock M, Bryshun R, Chupik M, McCallum K, et al., 2023. Bet-hedging bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) recruit episodically over a 127-year timeframe in Saskatchewan. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 80:313-329.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2022-0122
Leblanc JP, Farrell JM. 2023. Influence of water‐level variability on fish assemblage and natural reproduction following connectivity enhancement in a Typha‐dominated coastal wetland, USA. J Fish Biol 103:574-592.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15468
Luo M, Criss RE, 2018. Increasing stage variability of the Mississippi River. J Hydrol Eng 23:0001678.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001678
Lyon JP, Bird T, Nicol S, Kearns J, O’Mahony J, Todd CR, et al., 2014. Efficiency of electrofishing in turbid lowland rivers: implications for measuring temporal change in fish populations. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 71:878-886.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2013-0287
Magoulick DD, Kobza RM, 2003. The role of refugia for fishes during drought: a review and synthesis. Freshwater Biol 48:1186-1198.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.2003.01089.x
McAllister K, Drake DAR, Power M, 2023. Habitat preferences of young-of-year , potted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) in Rondeau Bay, Lake Erie. Can J Zool 101:0081.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2022-0081
McGrath PE, 2010. The life history of Longnose gar, Lepisosteus osseus, an apex predator in the tidal waters of Virginia. Dissertation, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg.
Miller BA, Kelso WE, Kaller MD. 2015. Diet partitioning in a diverse centrarchid assemblage in the Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana. T Am Fish Soc 144:780-791.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00028487.2015.1038361
Miranda LE, Killgore KJ, 2019. Abundance–occupancy patterns in a riverine fish assemblage. Freshwater Biol 64:2221-2233.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13408
Mitsch WJ, Li Z, Fink DF, Hernandez ME, Altor AE, Turtle CL, Nahlik AM, 2008. Ecological engineering of floodplains. Ecohydrol Hydrobiol 8:139-147.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10104-009-0010-3
Molinari B, Stewart-Koster B, Adame MF, Campbell MD, McGregor G, Schulz C, et al., 2021. Relationships between algal primary productivity and environmental variables in tropical floodplain wetlands. Inland Waters 11:180-190.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/20442041.2020.1843932
Munnelly RT, Castillo JC, Handegard NO, Kimball ME, Boswell KM, Rieucau G, 2024. Applications and analytical approaches using imaging sonar for quantifying behavioural interactions among aquatic organisms and their environment. ICES J Mar Sci 81:207-251.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsad182
Munyai LF, Mugwedi L, Wasserman RJ, Dondofema F, Dalu T, 2023. Assessing fish and macroinvertebrates assemblages in relation to environmental variables in Makuleke floodplain pans: implications for biodiversity conservation. Wetlands 43:93.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-023-01738-8
Narins PM, Wilson M, Mann DA, 2013. Ultrasound detection in fishes and frogs: discovery and mechanisms, pp. 135-156. In: Koppl C, Manley GA, Popper AN and Fay RR (eds.), Insights from comparative hearing research. Springer, New York.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/2506_2013_29
Nelson SAC, Soranno PA, Qi J, 2002. Land-cover change in Upper Barataria Basin Estuary, Louisiana, 1972-1992: Increases in Wetland Area. Environ Manage 29:716-727.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-001-0060-9
Nguyen VY, Bayse SM, EinarssonHA, Ingólfsson ÓA, 2023. Inferring fish behaviour at the trawl mouth from escape location. PeerJ 11:e14746.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14746
Ogaz MH, Rypel AL, Lusardi RA, Moyle PB, Jeffres CA. 2022. Behavioral cues enable native fishes to exit a California floodplain while leaving non‐native fishes behind. Ecosphere 13:e4293.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4293
Oliveira AGD, Lopes TM, Angulo-Valencia MA, Dias RM, Suzuki HI, Costa ICB, Agostinho AA, 2020. Relationship of freshwater fish recruitment with distinct reproductive strategies and flood attributes: a long-term view in the Upper Paraná river floodplain. Front Environ Sci 8:577181.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.577181
Peterson JT, Thurow RF, Guzevich JW. 2004. An evaluation of multipass electrofishing for estimating the abundance of stream-dwelling salmonids. T Am Fish Soc 133:462-475.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1577/03-044
Petsch DK, Cionek VDM, Thomaz SM, Dos Santos NCL, 2023. Ecosystem services provided by river-floodplain ecosystems. Hydrobiologia 850:2563-2584.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-022-04916-7
Price AL, Peterson JT. 2010. Estimation and modeling of electrofishing capture efficiency for fishes in wadeable warmwater streams. N Am J Fish Manage 30:481-498.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1577/M09-122.1
Pritt JJ, DuFour MR, Mayer CM, Roseman EF, DeBruyne RL. 2014. Sampling little fish in big rivers: larval fish detection probabilities in two Lake Erie tributaries and implications for sampling effort and abundance indices. T Am Fish Soc 143:1011-1027.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00028487.2014.911204
Pritt JJ, Frimpong EA. 2014. The effect of sampling intensity on patterns of rarity and community assessment metrics in stream fish samples. Ecol Indic 39:169-178.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.12.016
Radigan WJ, Fincel MJ. 2019. Factors affecting white bass abundance in two Missouri River reservoirs. Prairie Nat 51:3-16.
Rantala H, Glover D, Garvey J, Phelps Q, Tripp S, Herzog D, et al., 2016. Fish assemblage and ecosystem metabolism responses to reconnection of the Bird’s Point-New Madrid floodway during the 2011 Mississippi River flood. River Res Appl 32:1018-1029.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.2932
Richard JC, Castello L, Gurdak DJ, Peoples BK, Angermeier PL. 2018. Size-structured habitat selection by arapaima in floodplain lakes of the Lower Amazon. Aquat Conserv 28:1403-1413.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2969
Rieucau G, Boswell KM, Kimball ME, Diaz G, Allen DM. 2015. Tidal and diel variations in abundance and schooling behavior of estuarine fish within an intertidal salt marsh pool. Hydrobiologia 753:149-162.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2202-8
Rixner AV, Ferrara AM, Fontenot QC, 2021. Comparison of Bowfin diets in the Upper Barataria Estuary and Atchafalaya River Basin of the Lower Mississippi River. J S Assoc Fish Wildlife Agencies 8:9-14.
Roussel JM, Pallisson JM, Tréguier A, Petit E. 2015. The downside of eDNA as a survey tool in water bodies. J Appl Ecol 52:823-826.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12428
Rypel AL, Pounds KM, Findlay RH. 2012. Spatial and temporal trade-offs by bluegills in floodplain river ecosystems. Ecosystems 15:555-563.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-012-9528-0
Schramm HL, Ickes BS, 2016. The Mississippi River: a place for fish, pp. In: Y. Chen, D. Chapman, J. Jackson, Chen D, Z. Li, K. Killgore, Q. Phelps and M.A. Eggleton (eds.), Fishery resources, environment, and conservation in the Mississippi and Yangtze River Basins. Proc. American Fisheries Society Symposium 84, Bethesda.
Chen Y, Chapman D, Jackson J, Chen D, Li Z, Killgore K, Phelps Q, Eggleton M, 2016. Fishery resources, environment, and conservation in the Mississippi and Yangtze River Basin. American Fisheries Society Symposium, Bethesda; p. 350.
Seibert KL, Seibert JR, Phelps QE. 2017. Age‐0 blue catfish habitat use and population demographics in the middle Mississippi River. Fisheries Manag Ecol 24:427-435.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12243
Sibley ECP, Elsdon TS, Marnane MJ, Madgett AS, Harvey ES, Cornulier T, et al., 2023. Sound sees more: a comparison of imaging sonars and optical cameras for estimating fish densities at artificial reefs. Fish Res 264:106720.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2023.106720
Šmejkal M, Bartoň D, Brabec M, Sajdlová Z, Souza AT, Moraes KR, et al., 2022. Behaviour affects capture probability by active sampling gear in a cyprinid fish. Fish Res 249:106267.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2022.106267
Smith NG, Buckmeier DL, Daugherty DJ, Bennett DL, Sakaris PC, Robertson CR, 2020. Hydrologic correlates of reproductive success in the alligator gar. N Am J Fish Manage 40:595-606.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/nafm.10442
Smylie M, Shervette V, Mcdonough C, 2015. Prey composition and ontogenetic shift in coastal populations of Longnose gar Lepisosteus osseus. J Fish Biol 87:895-911.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12759
Snow RA, Stewart DR, Porta MJ, Long JM, 2020. Feeding ecology of age‐0 gar at Texoma Reservoir inferred from analysis of stable isotopes. N Am J Fish Manage 40:638-650.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/nafm.10436
Speas DW, Walters CJ, Ward DL, Rogers RS. 2004. Effects of intraspecific density and environmental variables on electrofishing catchability of brown and rainbow trout in the Colorado River. N Am J Fish Manage 24:586-596.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1577/M02-193.1
Valentine Jr. JM, Walther JR, McCartney KM, Ivy LM, 1972. Alligator diets on the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana. J Wildlife Manage 36:809-815.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3799434
Van Der Sleen P, Rams M, 2023. Flood pulses and fish species coexistence in tropical rivers - a theoretical food web model. Environ Biol Fish 106:1785-1796.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-023-01458-2
Velez S, 2015. Effects of ultrasonic frequencies on schooling behavior of American shad (Alosa sapidissima). J Aquac Mar Biol 2:00019.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15406/jamb.2015.02.00019
Wang C, Jiang Z, Zhou L, Dai B, Song Z, 2019. A functional group approach reveals important fish recruitments driven by flood pulses in floodplain ecosystem. Ecol Indic 99:130-139.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.12.024
Wegener MG, Harriger KM, Knight JR, Barrett MA, 2017. Movement and habitat use of alligator gars in the Escambia River, Florida. N Am J Fish Manage 37:1028-1038.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02755947.2017.1342722
Wei Y, Duan Y, An D, 2022. Monitoring fish using imaging sonar: capacity, challenges and future perspective. Fish Fish 23:1347-1370.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12693
Welcomme RL, Winemiller KO, CowxIG, 2006. Fish environmental guilds as a tool for assessment of ecological condition of rivers. River Res Appl 22:377-396.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.914
Whitledge GW, Kroboth PT, Chapman DC, Phelps QE, Sleeper W, Bailey J, Jenkins JA, 2022. Establishment of invasive Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) in the Mississippi River basin: identifying sources and year classes contributing to recruitment. Biol Invasions 24:3885-3904.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02889-1
Williams JE, Gregory S, Wildman R, 2024. Fish assemblage structure and habitat relationships of a large floodplain river in western North America. River Res Appl 40:809–820.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.4273
Zolderdo AJ, Brownscombe JW, Abrams AEI, Suski CD, Cooke SJ, 2024. Space use and residency patterns of largemouth bass relative to a freshwater protected area. Aquat Sci 86:23.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-023-01026-x
Edited by
Michela Rogora, CNR-IRSA Water Research Institute, Verbania-Pallanza, ItalySupporting Agencies
U.S. National Fish and Wildlife FoundationHow to Cite
Quade, Adam H., Allyse Ferrara, Quenton Fontenot, Raynie Harland, Kelly S. Boyle, and Guillaume Rieucau. 2025. “Mississippi River-Floodplain Connectivity Level Mediates Fish Assemblage Dynamics”. Journal of Limnology 84 (March). https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2025.2213.
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
