Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Iowa
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The goal of this proposed project is to understand and evaluate where and how many Topeka shiners are present in central Iowa's in-channel and off-channel habitats of streams and rivers, for not only their management, but the management and interaction of other species as well. Freshwater fishes are among the nation's most imperiled animals and the Topeka shiner species, as well as their habitat, is of particular conservation concern. Declines of Topeka shiners are largely the result of habitat degradation caused by land use alterations. This will be accomplished by: - Identifying factors (e.g., physical and chemical habitat, species associations) related to the occurrence and abundance of Topeka shiners and associated fishes. - Identify potential sampling sites, along with model predictions of their occurrence. Fishes will be sampled using pulsed-DC electrofishing and seining. - Habitat will be measured using standard methods. - Logistic regression and/or occupancy models will be used to describe the occurrence of Topeka shiners and other fishes in habitats. Associations of fish assemblage structure and abundance with habitat conditions will be evaluated using a combination of univariate and multivariate techniques