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Managing floodplain inundation for native fish: production dynamics of age-0 splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) in California’s Yolo Bypass

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Abstract

We used data gathered across seven hydrologically diverse years (1998–2004) from Yolo Bypass, the primary floodplain of the Sacramento River, California (U.S.A.), to examine how physical and hydrological characteristics of floodplain habitat influence spawning and patterns of occurrence and production of age-0 splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus). We estimated that spawning in Yolo Bypass occurred from January to May but typically peaked in March in close association with the vernal equinox. Production of age-0 splittail varied significantly among years. Using an information-theoretic approach to evaluate several factors, the amount of inundated floodplain habitat available during the primary spawning and rearing period of January–June was the most important factor we examined in explaining annual production (81% of variance explained in a linear regression model). Peak emigration of age-0 splittail from Yolo Bypass varied temporally among years but always occurred when fish were 30–40 mm in length, suggesting an ontogenetic influence on floodplain emigration. Annual system-wide production of age-0 splittail derived from a separate long-term monitoring program exhibited an apparent positive relationship with annual production in Yolo Bypass, suggesting that site-specific floodplain-derived production within Yolo Bypass may be important at a regional scale. Our results support the flood pulse concept for cyprinids in regulated temperate river–floodplain systems and demonstrate floodplain inundation in regulated systems can be managed to benefit native fish.

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  1. Aquatic Ecology Section, California Department of Water Resources, 3251 S Street, Sacramento, CA, 95816, U.S.A.

    F. Feyrer, T. Sommer & W. Harrell

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  1. F. Feyrer
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Correspondence to F. Feyrer.

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Feyrer, F., Sommer, T. & Harrell, W. Managing floodplain inundation for native fish: production dynamics of age-0 splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) in California’s Yolo Bypass. Hydrobiologia 573, 213–226 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0273-2

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