Big Hole River Research Articles

Effect of temperature on growth, survival, and chronic stress responses of Arctic Grayling juveniles.

Arctic Grayling Thymallus arcticus are Holarctically distributed, with a single native population in the conterminous United States occurring in the Big Hole River, Montana, where water temperatures can fluctuate throughout the year from 8 to 18 °C. A gradual increase in mean water temperature has been reported in this river over the past 20 years due to riparian habitat changes and climate change effects. We hypothesized that exposing Arctic Grayling to higher temperatures would result in lower survival, decreased growth, and increased stress responses. Over a 144-day trial, Arctic Grayling juveniles were subjected to water temperatures ranging from 8-26 °C to measure the effects on growth, survival, gene expression and antioxidant enzyme activity. Fish growth increased with increasing water temperature up to 18 °C, beyond which survival was reduced. Fish did not survive at temperatures above 22 °C. In response to temperatures above 16 °C, a 3-fold and 1.5-fold increase in gene expression was observed for superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), respectively, but no changes were seen in the ratio of Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) and heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) expression. Enzyme activities of SOD and GPx also rose at temperatures above 16 °C, indicating heightened oxidative stress. Catalase (CAT) gene expression and enzyme activity decreased with rising temperatures, suggesting a preference for the GPx pathway, as GPx could also be providing help with lipid peroxidation. An increase of Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) was also recorded, which corresponded with rising temperatures. Our findings thus underscore the vulnerability of Arctic Grayling to minor changes in water temperature. Further increases in mean water temperature could significantly compromise survival of Arctic Grayling in the Big Hole River.

Flow-Control Plates to Manage Denil Fishways in Irrigation Diversions for Upstream Passage of Arctic Grayling

Abstract Small-stream irrigation diversions are key elements of many on-farm irrigation systems but can act as barriers to aquatic species. Denil fishways have been installed at irrigation diversion structures throughout the Big Hole River watershed in Montana to provide upstream passage for a population of Arctic Grayling Thymallus arcticus. When stream flows are low and irrigation demand is high, irrigators look for ways to maintain adequate diversion, but doing so may reduce the effectiveness of the fishways. In response, agencies and irrigators have proposed flow-control plates placed at the upstream end of fishways. We conducted laboratory-based fishway efficiency experiments with Arctic Grayling placed in an open-channel flume fitted with a Denil fishway and three flow plates. Of the total 200 fish that we used, the fishway entrance attracted 154 fish and we counted these fish as participants. We operated the fishway under varying flow conditions using three flow-control plate treatments and a control to investigate 1) the extent to which each treatment reduced flow compared to the control, and 2) the extent to which each treatment impacted passage success of Arctic Grayling relative to the control. We measured passage success as the ratio of the number of fish that fully ascended the fishway treatment to the number of participant fish attracted to the fishway treatment. One of the three plates, the Denil slot treatment, showed no evidence of reducing either flow or passage success. Another plate, the standard treatment, showed no evidence of reducing flow but moderate evidence of reducing passage success (P = 0.03). The only treatment to significantly reduce water flow rate was the narrowed Denil slot treatment and there was no evidence this treatment reduced passage in comparison to the control. Over all trials, water flow rate through the Denil fishway had a strong positive influence on fish passage success.

Attraction, Entrance, and Passage Efficiency of Arctic Grayling, Trout, and Suckers at Denil Fishways in the Big Hole River Basin, Montana

AbstractThe Big Hole River basin in southwestern Montana supports the only indigenous, self‐sustaining fluvial population of Arctic Grayling Thymallus arcticus in the conterminous United States, but the basin is fragmented by numerous low‐head irrigation diversion dams. Denil fishways at 63 diversion dams provide Arctic Grayling and other fishes opportunities for year‐round access to critical habitats; however, their efficiency has not been evaluated. We quantified attraction, entrance, and passage for hatchery‐reared Arctic Grayling, wild trout (Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis and Brown Trout Salmo trutta), and wild suckers (White Sucker Catostomus commersonii and Longnose Sucker C. catostomus) during 14 field trials conducted at six Denil fishways over a representative range of fishway slopes and hydraulic conditions using passive integrated transponder telemetry. Attraction (60.4–84.3%) and entrance (44.3–78.6%) efficiencies were variable across test conditions and reduced overall fishway efficiencies (19.1–55.8%). In contrast, upon entry, passage efficiencies were high (96.2–97.0%) for all taxa across all test conditions. Attraction of hatchery‐reared Arctic Grayling increased with upstream depth (a surrogate for fishway discharge) and attraction flow, but attraction of wild fish was less affected by these conditions. Entrance of Arctic Grayling, Brook Trout, and Brown Trout decreased with upstream depth and fishway slope, especially when plunging entrance conditions associated with shallow downstream depths were present. However, entrance of Arctic Grayling and both trout species increased with downstream depth, and submerged fishway entrances demonstrated promise for increasing entrance efficiency at fishways with high discharges and steep slopes. We demonstrate that comprehensive evaluations of fishway efficiency components can identify specific solutions that improve fishway efficiency; application of these engineering solutions at individual fishways (as needed) could improve their efficiency and further enhance aquatic connectivity for fishes in the Big Hole River basin and elsewhere.

Living Filtration Membranes Demonstrate Antibiofouling Properties

Membrane filters are excellent prospects for increasing global access to safe water; however, they are significantly limited by fouling, particularly biofouling. Fouling plagues membranes by reducing efficiency and increasing maintenance and costs. Biofouling is particularly problematic due to the self-replicating nature of microorganisms and the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances that make the biofilm difficult to remove. Living filtration membranes (LFMs) are a sustainable membrane technology composed of bacterial cellulose and native microorganisms. In this study, natural water from Butte, Montana’s three municipal drinking water sources (Basin Creek Reservoir, Moulton Reservoir, and Big Hole River) was pretreated with a coagulant and used in 400 min bench-scale dead-end filtration tests. Two membranes were compared─an LFM and a commercial mixed cellulose ester (MCE) membrane with a similar nominal pore size. Although the MCE membrane was more hydrophilic and had a smoother surface, surface properties that, in general, may improve fouling resistance for certain particles, a more rapid flux decline and live biomass were observed with the MCE membrane for all three waters. We suggest that the LFM’s resistance to biofouling may be due to the proliferation of native bacteria, Acetobacter, which produces acetic acid, a known antibiofilm and antibacterial agent.

Fluvial Arctic Grayling and the Limits of Conservation

The Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus), a member of the salmon family, historically inhabited only two areas within the coterminous United States: parts of Michigan and the upper Missouri River system, primarily in Montana. The species vanished from Michigan by the mid-1930s and the fluvial variety persists in but a tiny fraction of its range in Montana. Focusing on Montana’s Big Hole River (the last place in the Lower 48 where native fluvial grayling survive) and Michigan’s Au Sable River (once a prominent grayling fishery and today a renowned trout stream), this article examines how a combination of capitalist endeavors and climate change contributed to the fish’s decline and hampered efforts to preserve and reintroduce grayling populations. As overfishing, shifts in land use, and introductions of non-native salmonids visibly eroded the grayling populations of both states by the early twentieth century, government agencies and sportsmen’s groups counted on hatchery work to save the species. Although conservationists had successfully created and diversified recreational fisheries by propagating and stocking other species, this method bore little fruit when applied to fluvial grayling. Undercut by the profound transformation of waterways, fluvial grayling conservation and restoration efforts offer a humbling case study of the limitations of science and human agency.

Origin of Mountain Passes across Continental Divide Segments Surrounding the Southwest Montana Big Hole and Beaverhead River Drainage Basins, USA

The evolution of southwest Montana’s Big Hole and Beaverhead River drainage basins is determined from topographic map evidence related to mountain passes crossing what are today high altitude drainage divides including North America’s east-west Continental Divide. Map evidence, such as orientations of valleys leading away from mountain passes (and saddles) and barbed tributaries found along the downstream drainage routes, is used to reconstruct flow directions of streams and rivers that once crossed the present-day high mountain divides. Large south-oriented anastomosing complexes of diverging and converging channels are interpreted to have eroded what are today closely spaced passes and saddles now notched into high mountain ridges. Water in those south-oriented channels is interpreted to have flowed across emerging mountains and subsiding basins. Headward erosion of deeper southeast-oriented valleys, assisted by crustal warping, concentrated south-oriented water in fewer and deeper valleys as the water flowed from southwest Montana into what are today Idaho and the Snake River drainage basin. Headward erosion of the Big Hole River valley between the emerging Anaconda and Pioneer Mountains, also assisted by crustal warping, reversed all Big Hole Basin drainage so as to create the north-, east-, and south-oriented Big Hole River drainage route. A final and even more major reversal of flow in the present-day north-oriented Montana Missouri River valley, with the assistance of additional crustal warping, next ended all remaining flow to Idaho and the Snake River drainage basin and reversed and captured all drainage in the present-day north-oriented Big Hole, Beaverhead, and Red Rock River drainage basins. The observed map evidence indicates that prior to the final flow reversal events, large volumes of south-oriented water flowed across southwest Montana’s Big Hole and Beaverhead River drainage basins.

Quantifying stream thermal regimes at multiple scales: Combining thermal infrared imagery and stationary stream temperature data in a novel modeling framework

Accurately quantifying stream thermal regimes can be challenging because stream temperatures are often spatially and temporally heterogeneous. In this study, we present a novel modeling framework that combines stream temperature data sets that are continuous in either space or time. Specifically, we merged the fine spatial resolution of thermal infrared (TIR) imagery with hourly data from 10 stationary temperature loggers in a 100 km portion of the Big Hole River, MT, USA. This combination allowed us to estimate summer thermal conditions at a relatively fine spatial resolution (every ∼100 m of stream length) over a large extent of stream (∼100 km of stream) during the warmest part of the summer. Rigorous evaluation, including internal validation, external validation with spatially continuous instream temperature measurements collected from a Langrangian frame of reference, and sensitivity analyses, suggests the model was capable of accurately estimating longitudinal patterns in summer stream temperatures for this system (validation RMSEs < 1°C). Results revealed considerable spatial and temporal heterogeneity in summer stream temperatures and highlighted the value of assessing thermal regimes at relatively fine spatial and temporal scales. Preserving spatial and temporal variability and structure in abiotic stream data provides a critical foundation for understanding the dynamic, multiscale habitat needs of mobile stream organisms. Similarly, enhanced understanding of spatial and temporal variation in dynamic water quality attributes, including temporal sequence and spatial arrangement, can guide strategic placement of monitoring equipment that will subsequently capture variation in environmental conditions directly pertinent to research and management objectives.

Ancestry, population structure, and conservation genetics of Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) in the upper Missouri River, USA

We genotyped Arctic grayling ( Thymallus arcticus ) at 10 microsatellite loci in 18 samples (n = 726) from Montana, Wyoming, and Saskatchewan to determine genetic relationships among native, captive, and naturalized populations in the upper Missouri River basin, to assess patterns in genetic diversity, and to infer recent demographic histories. Substantial genetic subdivision was observed among sample populations (global FST= 0.10). Canadian populations have been isolated from Missouri River populations long enough for mutation to cause genetic differences between regions (mean pairwise FST= 0.18, RST= 0.54). Within the Missouri River basin, most naturalized lacustrine populations traced their ancestry to Red Rock lakes. Two populations in headwater lakes within the Big Hole River watershed appear to be native. We found neither evidence for introgression of Canadian-origin grayling nor any effect of hatchery stocking in native populations. The native fluvial Big Hole River group was genetically distinct and most diverse (HE= 0.89), whereas native Madison River and Red Rock lakes populations exhibited lower genetic diversity (HE= 0.74 and 0.80, respectively) and evidence of recent bottlenecks. The existing Big Hole and Red Rock populations are at low abundance but do not appear to be at immediate risk of inbreeding depression (Ne= 207.7–228.2).

Biogeochemical Controls on Diel Cycling of Stable Isotopes of Dissolved O2 and Dissolved Inorganic Carbon in the Big Hole River, Montana

Rivers with high biological productivity typically show substantial increases in pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration during the day and decreases at night, in response to changes in the relative rates of aquatic photosynthesis and respiration. These changes, coupled with temperature variations, may impart diel (24-h) fluctuations in the concentration of trace metals, nutrients, and other chemical species. A better understanding of diel processes in rivers is needed and will lead to improved methods of data collection for both monitoring and research purposes. Previous studies have used stable isotopes of dissolved oxygen (DO) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) as tracers of geochemical and biological processes in streams, lakes, and marine systems. Although seasonal variation in 6180 of DO in rivers and lakes has been documented, no study has investigated diel changes in this parameter. Here, we demonstrate large (up to 13%o) cycles in delta18O-DO for two late summer sampling periods in the Big Hole River of southwest Montana and illustrate that these changes are correlated to variations in the DO concentration, the C-isotopic composition of DIC, and the primary productivity of the system. The magnitude of the diel cycle in delta18O-DO was greater in August versus September because of the longer photoperiod and warmer water temperatures. This study provides another biogeochemical tool for investigating the O2 and C budgets in rivers and may also be applicable to lake and groundwater systems.

Competitive Interactions between Arctic Grayling and Brook Trout in the Big Hole River Drainage, Montana

Abstract We investigated mechanisms through which nonnative brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis could negatively influence native Arctic grayling Thymallus arcticus. We assessed occupied microhabitats, growth, and condition of Arctic grayling and brook trout in sympatric and allopatric groups in stream enclosures. Microhabitat use by both species was also measured in a natural assemblage. In stream enclosures and the natural assemblage, Arctic grayling and brook trout exhibited similar preferences for pools and runs, but they spatially segregated in microhabitats. Arctic grayling occupied faster focal point and mean column velocities closer to the surface than brook trout. Brook trout occupied slower focal point velocities in proximity to structural cover. Specific growth rates indicated that intraspecific competition operated more strongly than interspecific competition in regulating growth of both species in stream enclosures. In sympatry, Arctic grayling grew faster at a low density with a high density o...

High-Temperature Tolerances of Fluvial Arctic Grayling and Comparisons with Summer River Temperatures of the Big Hole River, Montana

Critical thermal maximum (CTM) and resistance time to high temperature were determined for juvenile Arctic grayling Thymallus arcticus from the fluvial population of the Big Hole River, Montana. Grayling were tested after acclimation to 8.4, 16.0, and 20.0°C. Thermal tolerances increased with acclimation temperatures; mean CTM was 26.4°C for the 8.4°C acclimation group, 28.5°C for the 16.0°C group, and 29.3°C for the 20.0°C group; median resistance time at given test temperature also increased with acclimation. The upper incipient lethal temperature (UILT) was 23.0°C for fish acclimated to 8.4°C and 16.0°C, and was 25.0°C for those acclimated to 20.0°C, temperatures that were similar to the median tolerance limits of Arctic grayling in Alaska. Comparisons of mean CTM and UILT for juvenile Arctic grayling with levels and durations of maximum river temperatures recorded during summers 1992–1994 indicated that resident fish may occasionally be subjected to potentially lethal temperatures in the warmest reaches of the Big Hole River.

Notes: Retention of Adaptive Rheotactic Behavior by F1Fluvial Arctic Grayling

Abstract Downstream movements of age-0 Arctic grayling Thymallus arcticus from an indigenous fluvial population (Big Hole River) and two inlet-spawning, lacustrine populations (Upper Red Rock Lake and Ennis Reservoir) were compared in a natural stream. All fish were incubated and reared together in a hatchery and acclimated together in the stream before being released in the stream. All fluvial test fish were F1 progeny of parents originating as gametes from wild fish but reared in a natural lake (1993 trials) or in a hatchery (1994 trials). The F1 fish in four 1993 trials were progeny of parents whose rheotaxis had also been tested as age-0 young. In all four trials of fish with 7–14 d stream acclimation, significantly fewer fluvial than lacustrine fish (P < 0.005) were recovered within 1 d in nets at a weir 1 km downstream from the release site. In two trials of fish with 1 d acclimation, significantly fewer fluvial than lacustrine fish were also recovered in one trial (P < 0.005) but not in the other (...

Rheotactic Differentiation between Fluvial and Lacustrine Populations of Arctic Grayling (Thymallus arcticus), and Implications for the Only Remaining Indigenous Population of Fluvial "Montana Grayling"

Rheotactic behavior of young Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) from fluvial (Big Hole River) and lacustrine (Red Rocks Lake) populations in Montana was assessed in an artificial stream to see if fluvial grayling are adapted to life-long residence in streams by having an innately greater tendency to hold position and lesser tendency to go downstream. Responses of young tested at 0–10 d post-swimup contradicted the hypothesis; the fluvial grayling had strong downstream responses similar to or greater than those of the lacustrine grayling. When tested 18–31 d post-swimup, however, rheotactic responses of the fluvial and lacustrine grayling were consistent with the hypothesis, at three light intensities (full and dim lighting and darkness). Rheotactic differences were even greater in trials at 47–72 d post-swimup (conducted only under full lighting). Big Hole River grayling appear to be adapted to permanent stream residence. Such adaptation reinforces the importance of conserving this last indigenous fluvial population of the geographically disjunct, genetically identifiable "Montana grayling."

Geology of North End of East Pioneer Mountains, Beaverhead County, Montana: ABSTRACT

The north end of the Pioneer Mountains is underlain by the following rocks: lower Proterozoic gneiss and amphibolite; middle proterozoic clastic rocks of the Missoula Group (Mount Shields Formation?); basal Cambrian clastic unit; Cambrian-Devonian-Carboniferous shelf sequence; Permian Phosphoria Formation; and Lower Triassic Dinwoody Formation. Jurassic rocks are missing. The Lower Cretaceous Kootenai Formation is of lagoonal to fluviatile facies, overlain by a thick (^approx 2 km, 1 mi) section of fluviatile Colorado Group. An upper member of the Colorado Group has yielded a Campanian-to-Maestrichtian pollen flora. The sedimentary rocks are cut by calc-alkalic plutonic rocks (80 to 65 m.y.B.P.), the oldest of which are synchronous with upper Colorado sedimentation. The y ungest pre-Quaternary rocks are Eocene and Oligocene calc-alkalic lavas and Oligocene pumiceous tuff. The Missoula Group is entirely in thrust sheets that postdate the Colorado, so the thrusting is no older than Campanian, but the thrusts are cut by 72 to 74 m.y.B.P. plutons. The Johnson thrust of Fraser and Waldrop, on the 1972 U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle Map 988, is part of this thrust system. A klippe of Missoula Group on Morrison Hill is an erosional remnant, but most of the overthrust rocks are west of the Wise River valley and probably overlie Phanerozoic strata. In addition to the thrust sheets, two families of high-angle faults dominate. One family trends west-northwest and displacements along these faults can be measured in kilometers. The Johnson thrust is interpreted to have been displaced by a sinistral fault of this system along the straight valley of Big Hole River between Seymour Creek and Dewey. The eastward projection of the mountain front at Maiden Rock, just south of Divide, resulted from block displacement along two strands of this fault. This particular fault is of major significance because it marks an abrupt jump in the initial strontium ratios of intrusive rocks, from values typical of the Boulder batholith (0.706 to 0.709) to those of the Pioneer batholith (0.711 to 0.716), indicating that different crustal blocks were juxta osed. The second family of high-angle faults trends north-northeast. Wise River valley is interpreted to be a graben in this system. One important fault in the system is the Fourth of July fault, with downdrop (to west) of several kilometers; the fault may be continuous with the Comet Mountain fault. The west-northwest fault system began at least before the Eocene lava flows, but complex field relations between the two high-angle fault systems indicate their growth must have overlapped in age, possibly through the late Tertiary. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1362------------

Toxicity and Control of Kelsey Milkvetch

Kelsey milkvetch (Astragalus atropubescens Coult. and Fish.) contains miserotoxin (P-glucoside of 3-nitro-1-propanol). Chemical analyses and biological evaluations indicated moderately low concentrations of the toxin in this species. However, this plant has been implicated in cattle losses and a potential danger of both acute and chronic poisoning exists on grazing areas where kelsey milkvetch grows in abundance. It grows in mountainous areas in the Salmon River drainage in Idaho and the Big Hole River drainage in Montana. Kelsey milkvetch was controlled with an application of 2.24 kg/ha (2 lb/at) of 2,4,5-T [2,4,5tricholorophenoxy)acetic acid] and eradicated with an application of silvex [2-(2,4,5tricholorophenoxy)propionic acid]. Kelsey milkvetch (Astrugahs atropubescens Coult. and Fish.) grows in the mountainous areas of east-central Idaho, especially on

A hypothesis to explain the distribution of native trout in a drainage of Montana's Big Hole River

A hypothesis to explain the distribution of native trout in a drainage of Montana's Big Hole River

Comparison of Genetic and Meristic Characters of Yellowstone National Park, Montana and Arctic Grayling Populations

Yellowstone National Park initiated a grayling restoration program in 1971, to re-establish grayling in small headwater systems of the Missouri River in YNP. Comparative genetic analysis of arctic and Montana grayling was initiated to identify pure populations of Montana grayling as a source of eggs or fry. The initial stocking attempt utilizing grayling derived from a laustrine population (Grebe Lake in YNP) was unsuccessful because the grayling failed to hold stream position and drifted downstream into the Missouri River. A second stocking attempt with fish from the Bighole River in Montana was apparently successful. A comparative genetic analysis of lacustrine and adfluvial populations was started in 1977.

Comparative Genetics of Yellowstone National Park, Montana and Arctic Grayling Populations

This is a report of investigations of the genetic structure of grayling populations in Yellowstone National Park and the Bighole River, Montana. This research is an extension of a comparative genetic study of Yellowstone National Park and Arctic grayling. This research was supported by the Rocky Mountain Parks Study Program. I appreciate the assistance of the personnel of Yellowstone National Park and Montana Fish and Game in obtaining the necessary samples. In particular J. Varley and R. Jones YNP are to be thanked for their assistance.

Late Cenozoic drainage reversal, east-central Idaho, and its relation to possible undiscovered placer deposits

The Lemhi River, a northwest-trending river in east-central Idaho, apparently flowed to the southeast until late Pliocene or early Pleistocene time, and was then reversed by the rise of the Gilmore Summit. The river and its parallel--and probably also reversed--sister streams the Pahsimeroi River and Warm Spring Creek, are now tributaries to the Salmon River, but the Salmon could not have existed in anything resembling its present form until after the reversal. The Big Hole River, in adjacent southwestern Montana, may also have drained to south at one time, which suggests that fossil placer deposits of gold might be found in the Big Hole drainage area by analysis of late Cenozoic tilting and faulting and reconstruction of late Pliocene and early Pleistocene drainage systems.

The Montana Grayling

Abstract Montana grayling are now found, with few exceptions, only in the headwaters of the Big Hole River, Montana, and in lakes of that region. Despite their restricted distribution, the grayling make spirited spawning runs from these waters into various small inlets. Cultural operations have been successful in maintaining good populations in waters still frequented by grayling. Though apparently suitable spawning grounds are present in the West Gallatin, stocking must be continued to maintain satisfactory fishery under the present fishing pressure.