Project Description
High Resolution Stream Habitat Inventory and Mapping of Middle Brazos and Tributaries: Using geospatial tagging sensors mounted to watercraft (kayak/boat), high-resolution (<1ft) geospatial datasets are generated for stream habitats, including substrate, riparian cover, bank conditions, and water quality parameters. Sonar estimates of fish densities can be included.
Conservation Area
Lower Brazos River Native Fish Conservation AreaNFCA Objectives
- Conduct research to fill critical information gaps
- Protect and maintain intact, healthy habitats
- Restore impacted habitats
- Restore stream and habitat connectivity
High-resolution habitat mapping provides information on patterns of suitable habitat patchiness, providing more understanding of species sustenance and important scales for restoration (local versus watershed). High-resolution habitat help to prioritize the location and scale of restoration measures and instream flow needs (habitat suitability in relation to flow). It can be used to quantify the quality of habitat upstream of barriers or disconnected from other quality habitats to prioritize restoration of stream connectivity. Maps for the middle Brazos can serve as an example of mapping that can be extended to other NFCAs; however, the efforts should provide beneficial information for protecting and restoring habitat variety of species, including alligator gar, several minnows of genera Hybognathus, Hybopsis, and Macrohybopsis, Notropis, perhaps Blue Sucker, and darter species.
Texas A&M, TNC, TPWD
TPWD, TCEQ, TNC, USFWS Sport Fish Restoration