Fish
Fish are often considered the best overall measure of a river's health because
their presence indicates successful functioning of many complex habitat systems
including stream flow, water temperature, water quality and channel habitat. Based
on modeling of the structure of fish communities in similar southern Michigan river
systems, an image of potential Rouge River fish communities was developed. The
models were based primarily on three variables: river size (as indexed by catchment
area), summer baseflow discharge, and drainage net position. Potential fish communities
were developed for the Rouge system according to the drainage area, baseflow yield,
and network position at each USGS and Rouge Project gauging station. Given these
fish communities as targets, a similar set of regional reference models was used
to develop July water temperature regimes that can be used as benchmarks of thermal
integrity. Target temperatures represent average thermal regimes found where the
desired fishes currently flourish in southeast Michigan.
The Ecological Target for Rehabilitation of the Rouge River report summarizes
an analysis of potential Rouge River fish communities and the ecological characteristics
(temperature and river flow regimes) required to maintain them. The analysis is
based on measurements and modeling for the structure of fish communities in rivers
throughout southern Michigan. In essence, a regional biological hydrological criteria
for rivers ecologically similar to the Rouge was developed. The goal was to develop
ecological targets that are realistic and achievable by recognizing the human presence
in the Rouge watershed. The results are organized into three main sections. The
first section examines the geographical and ecological context of the Rouge River.
The second section presents the main results of this study: target fish communities
for key river segments and associated thermal and hydrologic regime targets. The
final section presents an evaluation of the potential for biases in the target
criteria due to the Rouge River's highly incised channel form.
Click the link below to view this document:
Ecological Target for Rehabilitation
of the Rouge River (2.33 MB - PDF file)
In addition, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources completed a fisheries
assessment of the river in 1998. Both an executive
summary and the full
document are available.
Additional information regarding fish can be found at the links below:
