Floodplain Use by Fish During the 2011 Missouri River Flood

Record runoff in the upper basin resulted in record discharges to the upper channelized Missouri River from Gavins Point Dam from June through August, 2011.  The record flows resulted in the inundation of the historic floodplain in eastern Nebraska since the mainstem dams were closed nearly 50 years ago.  NGPC conducted an assessment to determine fish use of this rarely available habitat.  The objectives of this study were to: (1) quantify fish use of floodplain habitats and (2) compare spatial and temporal distribution amongst sampling sites.  An intensive monitoring effort was conducted at four public sites from June through August.  A total of 30,462 fish were captured representing 67 species.  Age-0 fish dominated the catch and included the native shovelnose sturgeon, blue suckers, sauger, paddlefish, and blue catfish.  Other age-0 native species collected, not routinely sampled from the main channel included: goldeye, white suckers, smallmouth buffalo, bigmouth buffalo, stonecat, and yellow perch. We documented high variability between sites and sampling occasions.  The long-term effects of the flood of 2011 on the fish community will only be determined during future sampling efforts, but based on initial findings it appears to have been very beneficial for the native fish community.