Relationships of Physical and Biological Characteristics of Cutoff Bends along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
Abstract
Construction of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (TTW) involved construction of a navigation channel across the necks of 38 meander bends of the Tombigee River. The cutoff bends, or bendways, constitute a valuable resource that the Corps of Engineers is committed to maintain. This study was conducted to provide a rational basis for refinement of the management strategy. Fish and water quality data collected on a semiannual basis over a 3-year period from 12 of the TTW bendways were compared with physical data from aerial photographs and annual hydrographic surveys of 13 of the bendways. To broaden the basis of study findings, similar data for three Upper Mississippi River side channels and 12 Lower Mississippi River floodplain lakes were also examined. Based on Kulczynski Type I similarity analyses, fish community composition varied little among the TTW bendways. Electrofishing catch per unit effort and the average number of fish species per electrofishing transect varied inversely with depth and thus was greater for the upper pool bendways. Summer DO levels near the bottom of the water column were lower in the deeper bendways, and Secchi disk depths were higher. Biological differences among the Upper Mississippi River side channels and the Lower Mississippi River floodplain lakes were related primarily to the relative influence of the main channel rather than depth or shoreline development. However, fish diversity and standing stock reported from the 1987 investigation were inversely related to depth.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA219699
Entities
People
- Anthony C. Gibson
- F. D. Shields Jr.
- Thomas E. Schaefer