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Environmental Flow Research in the Tennessee River Basin

By Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center January 8, 2013

The objective of this project is to improve understanding of how alteration of streamflow characteristics affects the ecological health of rivers and streams in Tennessee. Initial efforts are aimed at identifying critical streamflow characteristics and providing a set of statistical tools and analytical approaches for the prediction of these characteristics. Application of these tools will enhance understanding of how hydrologic alteration may change fish community structure in the Tennessee River basin.

This research is part of the USGS Cooperative Funding Program and is supported by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, The Nature Conservancy, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

Below are publications associated with this project.

Predicting ecological flow regime at ungaged sites: A comparison of methods

Nineteen ecologically relevant streamflow characteristics were estimated using published rainfall–runoff and regional regression models for six sites with observed daily streamflow records in Kentucky. The regional regression model produced median estimates closer to the observed median for all but two characteristics. The variability of predictions from both models was generally less...
Authors
Jennifer C. Murphy, Rodney R. Knight, William J. Wolfe, W. Scott Gain
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Ecological limit functions relating fish community response to hydrologic departures of the ecological flow regime in the Tennessee River basin, United States

Ecological limit functions relating streamflow and aquatic ecosystems remain elusive despite decades of research. We investigated functional relationships between species richness and changes in streamflow characteristics at 662 fish sampling sites in the Tennessee River basin. Our approach included the following: (1) a brief summary of relevant literature on functional relations between...
Authors
Rodney R. Knight, Jennifer C. Murphy, William J. Wolfe, Charles F. Saylor, Amy K. Wales
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Modelling ecological flow regime: an example from the Tennessee and Cumberland River basins

Predictive equations were developed for 19 ecologically relevant streamflow characteristics within five major groups of flow variables (magnitude, ratio, frequency, variability, and date) for use in the Tennessee and Cumberland River basins using stepbackward regression. Basin characteristics explain 50% or more of the variation for 12 of the 19 equations. Independent variables...
Authors
Rodney R. Knight, W. Scott Gain, William J. Wolfe
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Invertebrate response to changes in streamflow hydraulics in two urban areas in the United States

Stream hydrology is foundational to aquatic ecosystems and has been shown to be a structuring element for fish and invertebrates. The relations among urbanization, hydraulics, and invertebrate communities were investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey, National Water-Quality Assessment Program by using measures of stream hydraulics in two areas of the United States. Specifically, the...
Authors
Rodney R. Knight, Thomas F. Cuffney
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Relating streamflow characteristics to specialized insectivores in the Tennessee River Valley: a regional approach

Analysis of hydrologic time series and fish community data across the Tennessee River Valley identified three hydrologic metrics essential to habitat suitability and food availability for insectivorous fish communities in streams of the Tennessee River Valley: constancy (flow stability or temporal invariance), frequency of moderate flooding (frequency of habitat disturbance), and rate of...
Authors
Rodney R. Knight, M. Brian Gregory, Amy K. Wales
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Below are partners associated with this project.

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Tennessee Valley Authority

The Nature Conservancy

The objective of this project is to improve understanding of how alteration of streamflow characteristics affects the ecological health of rivers and streams in Tennessee. Initial efforts are aimed at identifying critical streamflow characteristics and providing a set of statistical tools and analytical approaches for the prediction of these characteristics. Application of these tools will enhance understanding of how hydrologic alteration may change fish community structure in the Tennessee River basin.

This research is part of the USGS Cooperative Funding Program and is supported by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, The Nature Conservancy, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

Below are publications associated with this project.

Predicting ecological flow regime at ungaged sites: A comparison of methods

Nineteen ecologically relevant streamflow characteristics were estimated using published rainfall–runoff and regional regression models for six sites with observed daily streamflow records in Kentucky. The regional regression model produced median estimates closer to the observed median for all but two characteristics. The variability of predictions from both models was generally less...
Authors
Jennifer C. Murphy, Rodney R. Knight, William J. Wolfe, W. Scott Gain
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Ecological limit functions relating fish community response to hydrologic departures of the ecological flow regime in the Tennessee River basin, United States

Ecological limit functions relating streamflow and aquatic ecosystems remain elusive despite decades of research. We investigated functional relationships between species richness and changes in streamflow characteristics at 662 fish sampling sites in the Tennessee River basin. Our approach included the following: (1) a brief summary of relevant literature on functional relations between...
Authors
Rodney R. Knight, Jennifer C. Murphy, William J. Wolfe, Charles F. Saylor, Amy K. Wales
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Modelling ecological flow regime: an example from the Tennessee and Cumberland River basins

Predictive equations were developed for 19 ecologically relevant streamflow characteristics within five major groups of flow variables (magnitude, ratio, frequency, variability, and date) for use in the Tennessee and Cumberland River basins using stepbackward regression. Basin characteristics explain 50% or more of the variation for 12 of the 19 equations. Independent variables...
Authors
Rodney R. Knight, W. Scott Gain, William J. Wolfe
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Invertebrate response to changes in streamflow hydraulics in two urban areas in the United States

Stream hydrology is foundational to aquatic ecosystems and has been shown to be a structuring element for fish and invertebrates. The relations among urbanization, hydraulics, and invertebrate communities were investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey, National Water-Quality Assessment Program by using measures of stream hydraulics in two areas of the United States. Specifically, the...
Authors
Rodney R. Knight, Thomas F. Cuffney
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Relating streamflow characteristics to specialized insectivores in the Tennessee River Valley: a regional approach

Analysis of hydrologic time series and fish community data across the Tennessee River Valley identified three hydrologic metrics essential to habitat suitability and food availability for insectivorous fish communities in streams of the Tennessee River Valley: constancy (flow stability or temporal invariance), frequency of moderate flooding (frequency of habitat disturbance), and rate of...
Authors
Rodney R. Knight, M. Brian Gregory, Amy K. Wales
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center

Below are partners associated with this project.

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Tennessee Valley Authority

The Nature Conservancy

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