Fish Use of Intermittent Watercourses Draining Agricultural Lands in the Upper Willamette River Valley, Oregon

Abstract

Historically, the upper Willamette River valley in western Oregon was characterized by seasonal floods and large expansions of its stream network. During the past century, human activities have altered or eliminated many intermittent stream and floodplain habitats in the valley. As a result, the remaining intermittent streams and ditches, referred to as watercourses, may still provide habitat that is critical for native fish. Our objectives were to determine (1) fish presence, (2) the spatial gradients of fish distribution (including species identity, native versus nonnative status, and numbers), (3) fish use of the intermittent streams as spawning and nursery habitats, and (4) the main factors that influence the numbers of fish and fish species. In the winter and spring of 2002–2003, we examined the distributions of fish species in five subbasins within the Willamette River valley. The sampling sites were in intermittent watercourses that drained grass seed–producing fields. We collected water samples and sampled fish from December to May with minnow traps and an electrofishing unit and collected data on the standard fish habitat variables at all sites in spring. Thirteen fish species were found and only three of them were exotic. The presence of recently hatched and juvenile fish shows that intermittent watercourses offer conditions suitable for spawning and juvenile rearing. The two watershed-scale variables with the most influence on fish species richness were the percentage of the watershed covered by forest and the distance to perennial water, the first of which had a direct relationship to species diversity and the second an inverse relationship. In turn, fish abundance had a negative, albeit modest, relationship with the distance to perennial water. Among local-scale variables, water velocity and conductivity were inversely related to species richness and fish numbers. Our results highlight the relevance of intermittent agricultural watercourses for native fish species in the Willamette River valley and call for the promotion of agricultural conservation practices that benefit farmers while maintaining aquatic biodiversity in floodplain habitats.