effects of stream temperature and climate change on fluvial arctic grayling and non-native ...

128 Pages·2015·5.52 MB·English

EFFECTS OF STREAM TEMPERATURE AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON

FLUVIAL ARCTIC GRAYLING AND NON-NATIVE SALMONIDS

IN THE UPPER BIG HOLE RIVER, MONTANA

by

Shane Jeffrey Vatland

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree

of

Doctor of Philosophy

in

Fish and Wildlife Biology

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bozeman, Montana

December 2015
©COPYRIGHT

by

Shane Jeffrey Vatland

2015

All Rights Reserved
ii

DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my loving and supportive family and friends.
iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank my mentor and co-advisor Dr. Robert Gresswell for his guidance
throughout this process. I thank Dr. Al Zale, my co-advisor and committee chair, for his
unwavering support and critical contribution to my graduate studies at Montana State
University. Dr. Wyatt Cross and Dr. Jeff Kershner provided valuable feedback on all my
writing and were very supportive throughout this endeavor. I would also like to thank Dr.
Paul Gannon for participating as my graduate school representative. Overall, my graduate
advising committee was extremely helpful in guiding my dissertation research and
doctoral student experience.
I would like to thank Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, numerous field staff, and
many volunteers for acquiring and organizing field and lab data. I would also like to
thank my graduate student peers for their many thoughtful contributions. Dr. Daniel
Isaak, Dr. Geoff Poole, and Dr. Steve Hostetler all provided critical inputs to my
dissertation. Dr. Doug Peterson was also very supportive and helped enable this research
project. Funding to support this project was provided by U.S. Geological Survey, Big
Hole Watershed Committee, Montana Water Center—Wild Fish Habitat Initiative, Arctic
Grayling Recovery Program, and Montana Trout Unlimited. Graduate student
fellowships from the Montana Institute on Ecosystems and Montana Water Center
partially supported the analysis of these data.
iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1

References ........................................................................................................................6

2. QUANTIFYING STREAM THERMAL REGIMES AT MULTIPLE
SCALES: COMBINING THERMAL INFRARED IMAGERY AND
STATIONARY STREAM TEMPERATURE DATA IN A NOVEL
MODELING FRAMEWORK .........................................................................................8

Contributions of Author and Co-Authors ........................................................................8
Manuscript Information Page ..........................................................................................9
Abstract ..........................................................................................................................10
Introduction ....................................................................................................................10
Methods..........................................................................................................................11
Study Area .............................................................................................................11
Data Collection and Processing .............................................................................12
Stationary Temperature Loggers................................................................12
Airborne Thermal Infrared (TIR)...............................................................13
Langrangian Longitudinal Thermal Profiling ............................................13
Geographic Information System (GIS) ......................................................13
Modeling Summer Stream Temperature ................................................................13
General Approach ......................................................................................13
Predicting Subdaily Mean Stream Temperature ........................................14
Developing A Modified Sine Model..........................................................14
Evaluating Model Performance .................................................................16
Model Sensitivity Analysis ........................................................................16
Applying the Model to Management Criteria ............................................16
Results ............................................................................................................................17
TIR Accuracy and Stationary Loggers ..................................................................17
Predicting Subdaily Mean Stream Temperature Longitudinal Profiles .................17
Development of the TIR-Based Sine Model ..........................................................17
TIR-Based Sine Model Evaluation ........................................................................18
Model Sensitivity ...................................................................................................18
Comparing the Model to Management Criteria .....................................................19
Discussion ......................................................................................................................19
Integrating TIR and Stationary Stream Temperature Data ....................................19
Model Evaluation ...................................................................................................20
From Theory to Application ..................................................................................23
Conclusions ....................................................................................................................23
References ......................................................................................................................24
v

TABLE OF CONTENTS - CONTINUED

3. EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE THERMAL
HABITATS OF ARCTIC GRAYLING AND NON-NATIVE
SALMONIDS ................................................................................................................26

Contributions of Author and Co-Authors ......................................................................26
Manuscript Information Page ........................................................................................27
Title Page .......................................................................................................................28
Abstract ..........................................................................................................................29
Introduction ....................................................................................................................30
Materials and Methods ...................................................................................................32
Study Area, Focal Species, and Thermal Tolerance Thresholds ...........................32
Water Temperature Modeling Overview ...............................................................35
Stream Water and Air Temperature Measurements...............................................36
Site-specific Climate Forcing on Water Temperature ...........................................37
Future Air Temperature Scenarios .........................................................................39
Modeling Site-Specific Water Temperature Change Over Time ..........................42
Modeling Spatial Patterns of Summer Water Temperature ...................................42
Combining Models to Predict Water Temperature Across Space and Time .........45
Results ............................................................................................................................47
Air-Water Temperature Relationships ...................................................................47
Air Temperature Changes ......................................................................................47
Projected Changes in Summer Water Temperatures at Observation Sites ............48
Spatial Predictors of Summer Water Temperatures ...............................................49
Projected Changes in Summer Water Temperatures
Throughout the Study Area ....................................................................................50
Discussion ......................................................................................................................52
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................59
References ......................................................................................................................69

4. CONCLUSIONS............................................................................................................80

References ......................................................................................................................84

REFERENCES CITED ......................................................................................................86

APPENDICES .................................................................................................................103

APPENDIX A: Supporting Information for Chapter 2........................................104
APPENDIX B: Supporting Information for Chapter 3 ........................................112
vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

2.1. Goodness-of-Fit Metrics from Internal and External Model Evaluation .......19

3.1. Site-specific linear regressions using weekly mean daily
maximum (WMDM) air temperature (°C) as the predictor
and WMDM stream water temperature (°C) as the response .........................60

3.2. Correlation of spatial variables with summer stream temperature
at varying spatial extents ................................................................................61

3.3. Summary statistics of candidate regression models for predicting
spatial variation in summer stream temperature in the mainstem
Big Hole River and tributaries ........................................................................61
vii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1.1. Conceptual diagram of dynamic life history model for fluvial
Arctic grayling with factors affecting thermal habitat .....................................5

2.1. Big Hole River and watershed ........................................................................12

2.2. Example of asymmetry in diel stream temperature fluctuation .....................14

2.3. Graphical example using thermal infrared temperature observations
to estimate site-specific amplitude in diel temperature fluctuation ................15

2.4. Mean stream temperature as a function of stream distance ............................17

2.5. Stream temperature estimates (°C) for the main stem Big Hole
River over the entire study area for a 24 h period beginning
30 July 2008 ...................................................................................................18

2.6. Observed versus LOOCV model-predicted daily maximum
stream temperature .........................................................................................20

2.7. Local sensitivity analysis for four parameters used in the
TIR-based sine model .....................................................................................21

2.8. Predicted number of hours per day > 21° C in the main stem Big
Hole River from 1 July to 18 August 2008 ....................................................22

3.1. Hypothetical change in the probability distribution of a climate variable .....62

3.2. Slope and intercept estimates from simple linear regressions
between air and stream temperature ...............................................................63

3.3. Decadal averages by month of weekly mean daily maximum
(WMDM) air temperature. .............................................................................64

3.4. Decadal frequency distribution of weekly mean daily maximum
(WMDM) stream temperature estimates for June, July, and August .............65

3.5. Proportion of summer weeks (June, July, and August) predicted
to exceed chronic and acute stream temperature thresholds during the
1980s, 2000s, 2040s, and 2060s .....................................................................66
viii

LIST OF FIGURES – CONTINUED

Figure Page

3.6. Cumulative proportion of stream network and proportion of
time that summer stream temperatures exceeded the chronic
threshold of 21 °C...........................................................................................67

3.7. Cumulative proportion of stream network and proportion of
time that summer stream temperatures exceeded the acute
threshold of 25 °C...........................................................................................68
ix

ABSTRACT

The upper Big Hole River basin in southwestern Montana supports one of the last
naturally-reproducing populations of fluvial Arctic grayling Thymallus arcticus in the
coterminous United States. Warm summer water temperatures and negative interactions
with non-native fish (brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, rainbow trout Oncorhynchus
mykiss, and brown trout Salmo trutta) have been identified as critical factors constraining
this grayling population. Arctic grayling and these non-native fishes are all cold-water
species with similar temperature requirements. Understanding when, where, and to what
extent water temperatures are suitable for these fishes provides a physical basis for
conservation planning. In chapter 2, I used a combination of thermal infrared (TIR)
imagery and stationary temperature recorders to estimate water temperatures at a
relatively fine spatial (every ~ 100 m of stream length) and temporal (continuous)
resolution over a large extent of the Big Hole River (~ 100 km) during the warmest part
of the summer in 2008. This modeling revealed considerable spatial and temporal
heterogeneity in water temperature and highlighted the value of assessing thermal
regimes at relatively fine spatial and temporal scales. In chapter 3, I assessed the potential
effects of climate change on thermal suitability of summer water temperatures for these
salmonids. Water temperature simulations projected significant warming from the 1980s
through the 2060s. Despite this warming, water temperatures in some sections of stream
remained below thermal tolerance thresholds through the 2060s. These stream
temperature data provide a critical foundation for understanding the dynamic, multiscale
habitat needs of these mobile stream fish and can aid in developing conservation
strategies for fluvial Arctic grayling.