Big River Fisheries in the ‘Scapes'

Research and monitoring of fishes on North America’s largest River (i.e. the Mississippi River) can be a challenging task.  If viewed from the perspective of a fish—the aquatic landscape can be more challenging.  The historic riverscape (i.e. lands directly or indirectly effected by the river) is now fragments of many other societal defined ‘scapes’.   We provide perspective definitions and illustrative grouping of analog aquatic species relative to habitat fragments.  A review of paradigms in fish management is addressed with specific examples of fish species ‘scapes’.  A brief recommendation is provided for management and research on big rivers with relevance to the species.  We review existing programs which work across boundaries to link functional scapes together for understanding relevant management scales for big river fish species.  We highlight the structure of one long-term program and describe the challenges and opportunities of the existing spatial scale relative to fish species management, programmatic authority and jurisdictional boundary.