The Influence of Stream Corridor Parameters on Fish Species Richness in the Clearwater River, Id, USA

This paper presents the results of a statistical analysis performed at the micro scale (stream corridor) level in the South Fork of the Clearwater River (SFCR) watershed, which is located in North central Idaho. Using multivariate techniques along with factor analysis, relationships between Fish Indicators and man-made disturbances, watershed landscape, water discharge and geometry, channel morphology, river water depth, and temperature were established. At the micro scale level, this analysis was performed for 4 tributaries of the SFCR, namely, Newsome, Crooked, American, and Red River, where a significant amount of recent data existed. Results show that data at the micro scale level were more important for establishing quantitative relations between sediment and channel morphology parameters with Fish Indicators than at the watershed wide level. The findings of this investigation clearly illustrates that micro scale analyses should be considered in modeling habitat restoration techniques. It allows the development of more refined relationships between Fish Indicators and stream corridor parameters occurring at different life stages of fish populations