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Changes in Fish Diversity Due To Hydrologic and Suspended Sediment Variability in the Sandusky River, Ohio: A Genetic Programming Approach

Sanderson, Louis M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1245699638

Abstract Details

2009, Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, Geology.
There are numerous ways to measure the health of a riverine ecosystem, though fish diversity is the most widely used measure. Fish diversity can be affected by changes to the characteristics of a river, including flow rates and suspended sediment concentration. Genetic programming was used to create a symbolic regression to determine how four biodiversity indices in fish were affected by variations in streamflow and suspended sediment. Fish data collected by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources spanning twelve years within 1952-2002 was used. Streamflow discharge rates and suspended sediment concentrations at the USGS gage station 04198000 for the same time frame as the fish data was used. The Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration software program was used with the streamflow and suspended sediment data to generate different hydrologic and suspended sediment variables for input into the symbolic regression. The symbolic regression created a best fit equation for each of the four biodiversity indices. The results showed that no single variable was common among all four indices, but groups of variables were common for all indices. The fish of the Sandusky River have a large dependence on the magnitude and length of high and low pulses of both streamflow and suspended sediment. Suspended sediment variables were present more frequently in the best fit equations than flow variables. The symbolic regression was able to accurately predict the Margalef and Shannon Indices while the Simpson Index and Shannon Index for Evenness predictions were less accurate. The better results for the Margalef and Shannon Indices suggest that species richness is mostly influenced by changes in streamflow and suspended sediment concentrations.
Enrique Gomezdelcampo (Advisor)
James Evans, E (Committee Member)
Peter Gorsevski (Committee Member)
92 p.
Ecology; Environmental Science; Geology; Hydrology
Generic Programming; Fish Biodiversity; Sandusky River; Suspended Sediment; Streamflow

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sanderson, L. M. (2009). Changes in Fish Diversity Due To Hydrologic and Suspended Sediment Variability in the Sandusky River, Ohio: A Genetic Programming Approach [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1245699638

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sanderson, Louis. Changes in Fish Diversity Due To Hydrologic and Suspended Sediment Variability in the Sandusky River, Ohio: A Genetic Programming Approach. 2009. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1245699638.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sanderson, Louis. "Changes in Fish Diversity Due To Hydrologic and Suspended Sediment Variability in the Sandusky River, Ohio: A Genetic Programming Approach." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1245699638

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1245699638
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© 2009, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.