Effects of Missouri River Floodplain Inundation on Recruitment and Size Structure of Native Fishes

Since the completion of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project and the regulation of river discharge, floodplain inundation cycles have become infrequent.  The irregularity of this natural process may be contributing to the decline of native fish species.  The 2011 Missouri River high water event presented a unique opportunity to assess how floodplain inundation effected recruitment and condition of native fishes in the Missouri River.  For this evaluation we sampled the young-of-year fish assemblages of Missouri River floodplain areas during the 2011 inundation cycle and compared the data to long term fish monitoring data collected on the Missouri River mainstem.