Response of Fish and Macroinvertebrate Communities to a Novel Stream Restoration at Hatchery Creek in Central Kentucky
Michael B. Flinn, PhD
Murray State University
Murray, KY
Hatchery Creek is a restored tailwater stream stemming from the outflow of Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery southwest of Jamestown, KY. The original channel of Hatchery Creek had degraded over the last 40 years resulting in water quality issues in the lower Cumberland River due to sediment. A 6-km novel channel was constructed to reduce sediment delivery and create a self-sustaining trout population. We predicted that the improved hydrologic conditions and increased substrate stability and heterogeneity would benefit fish and macroinvertebrate communities. Fish and macroinvertebrate communities were sampled seasonally for 2 years before and after the reconstruction. Taxa richness was the only macroinvertebrate metric that significantly increased from 12.83 ± 0.48 to 15.76 ± 0.42 (p=0.0029). The fish community significantly decreased in taxa richness from 7 ± 1 to 3 ± 0.28 (p=0.0019), but significantly increased in density (p=0.037). Further, trout were observed making redds across many seasons and results suggest that natural trout reproduction occurred during the sampling period. Hatchery Creek provides a unique opportunity to examine synthetic stream channel restorations and to quantify focal taxa habitat improvements independent of water quality. Initial patterns show a mix of positive and negative responses to the increases in habitat quality and indicate that community recovery may need more than 5 years to recover.
About Michael B. Flinn, PhD
Michael B. Flinn, Ph.D - Professor of Biological Sciences and Director of Hancock Biological Station at Murray State University. Dr. Flinn is an aquatic ecologist using bioindicators for assessing stream and wetland restoration. Dr. Flinn collaborated with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to evaluate the design and restoration of Hatchery Creek near Jamestown Kentucky (destination for conference field trip).