Aquatic Biology

Two species of aquatic snails, the Banbury Springs limpet (Idaholanx fresti) and the Bliss Rapids snail (Taylorconcha serpenticola) live in springs along the middle Snake River in south-central Idaho. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed these species as Endangered (Banbury Springs limpet) and Threatened (Bliss Rapids snail). Both species need clean, cold spring water to survive.

From 1989 to 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, monitored trends in water quality and biological integrity at more than 50 USGS streamgage stations on rivers throughout Idaho. In 2018, multiple State and Federal partners restarted a portion of the Large River Ambient Monitoring (LRAM) network.

The spread of invasive quagga and zebra mussels poses threats to water resources and water-resource infrastructure. Water-resource agencies such as the Bureau of Reclamation need cost-effective monitoring methods to provide early detection for immediate response.

The Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) and other native fish species are culturally important to the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, but their habitat and recruitment have been affected by anthropogenic changes to the river. The Tribe has undertaken a large-scale restoration project and needs objective information on which to base restoration decisions.

The Kootenai River (Kootenay in Canada) rises from the Canadian Rockies and flows south in an arc through Montana and Idaho before swinging back into British Columbia and the Columbia River. The uplifted sedimentary rocks forming the southern Canadian Rockies have rich coal deposits that have been mined for many decades. The coal beds and associated rock layers are enriched with other minerals as...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published a plan for recovering the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon. This study supports the objectives of that plan by quantifying white sturgeon habitat preference within a recently restored reach of the Kootenai River. Fine-scale acoustic telemetry positioning data will be integrated with quasi-three-dimensional hydraulic model simulations for the...

For decades, the lower Boise River downstream of Lucky Peak Reservoir has been highly enriched with phosphorus. Too much of a good thing, the high concentrations of phosphorus create a cycle of excessive plant growth, decreased oxygen for fish, and even algal blooms.

Nutrient enrichment can affect the ecological health of a stream. For example, excessive aquatic plant growth caused by increased nutrients can reduce dissolved oxygen necessary for other aquatic life. Topics of particular interest in this study area include:seasonal patterns among nutrients, flows, algae and plants in streamsrooted aquatic plant vs. algae growthstream metabolism and nutrient...

Some groups are concerned that dredging the reservoir and the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers to remove excess sediment may mobilize contaminants in sediment that could negatively affect endangered species such as steelhead and salmon.

Historically, Idaho has been home to many productive underground and open-pit mining operations. These activities have also produced water quality problems in some areas. One such example is the Blackbird Mine in central Idaho. Following mining operations from the 1940s through the 1960s, Panther Creek and its tributaries were severely damaged by runoff from the Blackbird Mine. Water-quality...

The endangered Bruneau hot springsnail (Pyrgulopsis bruneauensis) exists only in a geographically limited habitat of thermal springs and seeps in southwestern Idaho. As a part of its 2002 recovery plan for the springsnail, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) targeted conservation efforts to increase groundwater levels in the Bruneau area to protect the geothermal spring discharges necessary...