Sesonal Differences in the Diversity and Relative Abundance of Fishes in a Small Midwestern Stream

During 2001, a massive fish kill occurred in Kickapoo Creek near Charleston, Illinois due to a spill of 8000 gallons of the chemical furfural. The company responsible for the spill was required to finance a restoration project. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources identified a 0.5 km stretch of stream as needing restoration. Restoration included both bank stabilization and the creation of artificial riffles. We are attempting to assess the effect of instream restoration on the fish community assemblage. To have a representation of pre-restoration community assemblage, we sampled four stream reaches of Kickapoo Creek: two control reaches (upstream and downstream) and two treatment reaches within the 0.5 km restoration stretch (upper and lower). During fall 2009 and spring 2010, a six person crew sampled all four sites using an electric seine. We collected 8530 individuals from 32 different species. Relative density as estimated by CPUE differed (p < 0.05) between fall (6.5 fish/m) and spring (3.0 fish/m) samples. Additionally, Shannon-Weiner diversity was greater (p < 0.05) in fall (2.24) compared to spring (1.95).  These data suggest the need for standardized sampling protocols to include season as a variable.  Sampling will continue for three years after the restoration project is completed. We will evaluate these data to determine the impact of the instream restoration.