Project
Aquatic food webs in Grand Canyon
May 2013 - September 2025
Personnel
Participating Agencies
The Colorado River downstream of Glen Canyon Dam in Grand Canyon supports a Federally-listed fish species, the Humpback Chub, and its ecosystem is further protected by the Grand Canyon Protection Act. The aquatic food resources in this river are therefore important to the continued conservation and management of this fish and the ecosystem. In cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and a suite of Federal, State, and Tribal partners, this research is carried out as part of the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program. It seeks to provide research in support of effective management of the Colorado Rive in Grand Canyon.
(showing 1 to 7 of 7 entries)
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Metcalfe, A. N., C. A. Fritzinger, T. J. Weller, M. J. Dodrill, J. D. Muehlbauer, C. B. Yackulic, P. B. Holton, C. M. Szydlo, L. E. Durning, J. B. Sankey, and T. A. Kennedy. 2023. Insectivorous bat foraging tracks the availability of aquatic flies (Diptera). The Journal of Wildlife Management 87:e22414. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22414 | Abstract | May 2023 |
| Metcalfe, A. N., J. D. Muehlbauer, M. A. Ford, and T. A. Kennedy. 2023. Colorado River Basin. Pages 462-509 in M. D. Delong, T. D. Jardine, A. C. Benke and C. E. Cushing (editors). Rivers of North America. Academic Press, San Diego, California, USA. | April 2023 |
| Abernethy, E. F., J. D. Muehlbauer, T. A. Kennedy, K. E. Dziedzic, H. Elder, M. K. Burke, and D. A. Lytle. 2023. Population connectivity of aquatic insects in a dam‐regulated, desert river. River Research and Applications 39:364-374. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3972 | Abstract | Publisher Website | March 2023 |
| Kennedy, T.A., A.N. Metcalfe, B.R. Deemer, M.A. Ford, C.M. Szydlo, C.B. Yackulic, and J.D. Muehlbauer. 2022. Little bugs, big data, and Colorado River adaptive management—Preliminary findings from the ongoing bug flow experiment at Glen Canyon Dam. Boatman's Quarterly Review. 35:26-31. | Publisher Website | October 2022 |
| Deemer, B.R., C.B. Yackulic, R.O. Hall, M.J. Dodrill, T.A. Kennedy, J.D. Muehlbauer, D.J. Topping, N. Voichick, and M.D. Yard. 2022. Experimental reductions in sub-daily flow fluctuations increased gross primary productivity for 425 river kilometers downstream. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nexus pgac094. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac094 | Abstract | Publisher Website | June 2022 |
| Metcalfe, A.N., T.A. Kennedy, G.A. Mendez and J.D. and Muehlbauer. 2022. Applied citizen science in freshwater research. WIREs Water e1578:1-11. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1578 | Abstract | Publisher Website | January 2022 |
| Abernethy, E.F., J.D. Muehlbauer, T.A. Kennedy, J.D. Tonkin, R. Van Driesche and D.A. Lytle. 2021. Hydropeaking intensity and dam proximity limit aquatic invertebrate diversity in the Colorado River Basin. Ecosphere 12: e03559, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3559 | Abstract | Publisher Website | June 2021 |
(showing 1 to 13 of 13 entries)
| Presentations | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| Muehlbauer, J.D. 2025. What’s 250 microns between friends? How choice of sampling gear affects food web data. Alaska Chapter American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Ketchikan, Alaska, 17-21 March 2025. | March 2025 |
| Muehlbauer, J.D. 2024. “Bug Flows” to Benefit Aquatic Food Webs in Grand Canyon. Fisheries Seminar Series, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, 5 December 2024. | December 2024 |
| Muehlbauer, J.D. 2024. Environmental flows for food webs and fishes in Grand Canyon. School of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Seminar Series, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 17 October 2024. | October 2024 |
| Metcalfe, A.N., T.A. Kennedy and J.D. Muehlbauer. 2024 Sticky situation: Insights from 12 years of monitoring emergent aquatic insects along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting. 2-6 June 2024. | June 2024 |
| Starbuck, M., A. Metcalfe, J. Muehlbauer, D. Lytle and T. Kennedy. 2023. A deep dive on net-spinning caddisflies (Hydropsyche oslari): measurements of adult body size and stable isotopes provides insights into growing conditions for aquatic insects during the Bug Flow Experiment. National Conference on Ecological Restoration, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 14-19 April 2024. | April 2024 |
| Brown, P., E. Moody, J. Muehlbauer, B. Deemer, C. Yackulic, T. Kennedy and J. Corman. 2023. The role of calcium carbonate in gross primary production in the Little Colorado River, AZ, and implications for humpback chub growth rates. Desert Fishes Council Annual Meeting, Bluff, California, 14-19 November 2023. | November 2023 |
| Muehlbauer, J.D., T.A. Kennedy, A.N. Metcalfe, B.R. Deemer and C.B. Yackulic. 2023. Effects of experimental “Bug Flows” on aquatic insect populations downstream of a large hydropower dam. Annual Meeting, Society for Freshwater Science, 3-7 June 2023. | June 2023 |
| Kennedy, T.A., J.D. Muehlbauer, B.R. Deemer, C.B. Yackulic, M.A. Ford, C. Szydlo and A.N. Metcalfe. 2022. Experimental ‘Bug Flows’ increased algae production and insect diversity in the Colorado River, Grand Canyon. 16th Biennial Conference of Science & Management on the Colorado Plateau & Southwest Region, Flagstaff, Arizona, 12-15 September 2022. | September 2022 |
| Metcalfe, A.N., T.A. Kennedy, C.A. Fritzinger, M.J. Dodrill, C.M. Szydlo, J.D. Muehlbauer, C.B. Yackulic, B.P. Holton, L.E. Durning, J.B. Sankey and T.J. Weller. 2022. Insectivorous bat foraging along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon is determined by the availability of aquatic flies (Diptera). 16th Biennial Conference of Science & Management on the Colorado Plateau & Southwest Region, Flagstaff, Arizona, 12-15 September 2022. | September 2022 |
| Kennedy, T.A., A. Metcalfe, B.R. Deemer, M. Ford, C. Szydlo, C. Yackulic and J. Muehlbauer. 2022. Update on the Bug Flow Experiment: background, monitoring, and new analyses. Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program Adaptive Management Working Group Meeting, Flagstaff, AZ, 17-18 August 2022. | August 2022 |
| Kennedy, T.A. and J.D. Muehlbauer. 2022. Project F: Aquatic ecology and food base monitoring. Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program Annual Reporting Meeting, Virtual, 11-12 January 2022. | January 2022 |
| Metcalfe, A., T. Kennedy, J. Muehlbauer, M. Dodrill, T. Weller, J. Sankey, L. Durning and C. Fritzinger. 2022. The role of insect abundance and riparian vegetation in driving bat foraging activity in Grand Canyon: insights from a community science project. Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program Annual Reporting Meeting, Virtual, 11-12 January 2022. | January 2022 |
| Deemer, B.R., C.B. Yackulic, R.O. Hall, M.J. Dodrill, T.A. Kennedy, J. Muehlbauer, D. Topping, N. Voichick and M. Yard. 2021. An experimental flow increases gross primary production up to 400 kilometers downstream in a regulated river. Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography Annual Meeting, Virtual, 22-27 June 2021. | June 2021 |