Interagency Ecological Program: Fish catch and water quality data from the Sacramento River floodplain and tidal slough, collected by the Yolo Bypass Fish Monitoring Program, 1998-2021.

• Main Authors: Interagency Ecological Program, Catarina Pien, Nicole Kwan
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Environmental Data Initiative 2022
• Subjects: Yolo Bypass; San Fransciso Estuary; Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; Yolo Bypass Fish Monitoring Program; California Department of Water Resources; Interagency Ecological Program; rotary screw trap; fyke trap; beach seine; tidal slough; Chinook Salmon; Sacramento Splittail; aquatic ecosystems; freshwater; ecology; estuaries; rivers; floodplain; seasonality; long term; communities; food webs; surveys; fishes; abundance; endangered species; invasive species; Alosa Alosa sapidissima; Lepomis Lepomis macrochirus; Ameiurus Ameiurus melas; Pomoxis Pomoxis nigromaculatus; Ameiurus Ameiurus nebulosus; Cyprinus Cyprinus carpio; Ictalurus Ictalurus punctatus; Oncorhynchus Oncorhynchus tshawytscha; Eriocheir Eriocheir sinensis; Hypomesus Hypomesus transpacificus; Pimephales Pimephales promelas; Carassius Carassius auratus; Lepomis Lepomis cyanellus; Notemigonus Notemigonus crysoleucas; Lavinia Lavinia exilicauda; Mylopharodon Mylopharodon conocephalus; Spirinchus Spirinchus thaleichthys; Micropterus Micropterus salmoides; Percina Percina macrolepida; Gambusia Gambusia affinis; Lepomis Lepomis gibbosus; Cottus Cottus asper; Leptocottus Leptocottus armatus; Oncorhynchus Oncorhynchus mykiss; Lepomis Lepomis microlophus; Lucania Lucania parva; Cyprinella Cyprinella lutrensis; Ptychocheilus Ptychocheilus grandis; Catostomus Catostomus occidentalis; Orthodon Orthodon microlepidotus; Tridentiger Tridentiger bifasciatus; Exopalaemon Exopalaemon modestus; Palaemonetes Palaemonetes kadiakensis; Micropterus Micropterus dolomieu; Micropterus Micropterus punctulatus; Pogonichthys Pogonichthys macrolepidotus; Morone Morone saxatilis; Platichthys Platichthys stellatus; Dorosoma Dorosoma petenense; Hysterocarpus Hysterocarpus traskii; Gasterosteus Gasterosteus aculeatus; Lepomis Lepomis gulosus; Hypomesus Hypomesus nipponensis; Ameiurus Ameiurus catus; Pomoxis Pomoxis annularis; Acipenser Acipenser transmontanus; Acanthogobius Acanthogobius flavimanus; Alosa sapidissima; Lepomis macrochirus; Ameiurus melas; Pomoxis nigromaculatus; Ameiurus nebulosus; Cyprinus carpio; Ictalurus punctatus; Oncorhynchus tshawytscha; Eriocheir sinensis; Hypomesus transpacificus; Pimephales promelas; Carassius auratus; Lepomis cyanellus; Notemigonus crysoleucas; Lavinia exilicauda; Mylopharodon conocephalus; Spirinchus thaleichthys; Micropterus salmoides; Percina macrolepida; Gambusia affinis; Menidia audens; Lepomis gibbosus; Lampetra tridentata; Cottus asper; Leptocottus armatus; Oncorhynchus mykiss; Lepomis microlophus; Lucania parva; Lampetra ayresi; Cyprinella lutrensis; Ptychocheilus grandis; Catostomus occidentalis; Orthodon microlepidotus; Tridentiger bifasciatus; Exopalaemon modestus; Palaemonetes kadiakensis; Micropterus dolomieu; Micropterus punctulatus; Pogonichthys macrolepidotus; Morone saxatilis; Platichthys stellatus; Dorosoma petenense; Hysterocarpus traskii; Gasterosteus aculeatus; Lepomis gulosus; Hypomesus nipponensis; Ameiurus catus; Pomoxis annularis; Acipenser transmontanus; Ictalurus natalis; Acanthogobius flavimanus; Weir; Catostomus catostomus
• Online Access: https://pasta.lternet.edu/package/metadata/eml/edi/233/3

Largely supported by the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP), California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has operated a fish monitoring program in the Yolo Bypass, a seasonal floodplain and tidal slough, since 1998. The objectives of the Yolo Bypass Fish Monitoring Program (YBFMP) are to: 1. Collect baseline data on water quality, chlorophyll, lower trophic level biota, and fish in the Yolo Bypass to monitor spatial and temporal changes in trends and abundance. 2. Analyze and communicate Yolo Bypass data with stakeholders and the scientific and management communities to address pertinent management-related questions. 3. Provide technical expertise on Yolo Bypass aquatic ecology and monitoring and sampling methods. The YBFMP operates a rotary screw trap and fyke trap and conducts biweekly beach seine and lower trophic surveys in addition to maintaining water quality instrumentation in the bypass. Only juvenile and adult fish catch with associated water quality are presented in this dataset. The rotary screw trap sampling objectives are to: (1) examine species abundance and life stage of juvenile outmigrants and resident small-bodied fishes, (2) identify temporal and spatial patterns in fish abundance and species composition, and (3) examine the effect of physical and environmental conditions on these patterns. The fyke trap sampling objectives are to: (1) examine abundance of migrating and resident adult fishes, (2) identify temporal and spatial patterns in fish abundance and species composition, especially with regard to anadromous species, (3) examine the effect of physical and environmental conditions on these patterns, and (4) provide data on the timing and duration of species captured in the Yolo Bypass for comparison to those captured in other Sacramento Valley tributaries. The beach seine surveys are conducted in the Yolo Bypass’s perennial channel (Toe Drain), inundated floodplain, disconnected inundated ponds, and perennial ponds. The objectives of Toe Drain and inundated floodplain beach seine sampling are: (1) to examine species abundance and composition in different water year types and inundation conditions, (2) to spatially compare fish abundance and diversity in the Yolo Bypass, and (3) to estimate growth rates and densities of salmon in the Yolo Bypass versus the Sacramento River. The objectives for beach seine sampling in disconnected inundated ponds are: (1) measure the diversity and abundance of fish species stranded in ponds located in different regions and habitats, (2) to compare relative densities of fish before and after floodplain drainage, (3) to examine the sources of fish mortality in ponds including temperature, desiccation and predation, (4) to develop long-term annual Yolo Bypass stranding indices for reference locations, and (5) to examine relationships between annual stranding indices and physical variables such as hydrology and temperature. The objectives for seine sampling in the perennial ponds are: (1) to examine seasonal fish species abundance and diversity in the Yolo Bypass versus the Sacramento River and (2) to examine species abundance and composition in different water year types. The YBFMP serves to fill information gaps regarding environmental conditions in the bypass that trigger migrations and enhanced survival and growth of native fishes, as well as provide data for IEP synthesis efforts. YBFMP staff also conduct analyses of YBFMP monitoring data to address pertinent management related questions as identified by IEP. The Yolo Bypass has been identified as a high restoration priority by the National Marine Fisheries Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinions for Delta Smelt, Winter and Spring-run Chinook salmon and by California EcoRestore. The YBFMP informs the restoration actions that are mandated or recommended in these plans and provides critical baseline data on the ecology of the bypass and how it interacts with the broader San Francisco Estuary. Key findings from the YBFMP include: (1) Yolo Bypass is a major factor regulating year class strength of splittail, Pogonichthys macrolepidotus (Sommer et al., 1997; Feyrer et al., 2006; Sommer et al., 2007a); (2) Yolo Bypass is a key migration corridor for adult fish of several listed and sport fish (Harrell and Sommer 2003); (3) it is one of the most important regional rearing areas for juvenile Chinook Salmon (Sommer et al., 2001a; 2005); (4) Yolo Bypass is a source of phytoplankton to the food web of the San Francisco Estuary (Jassby and Cloern 2000; Schemel et al., 2004; Sommer et al., 2004); and (5) Inundation of the Yolo Bypass enhances the quantity and quality of phytoplankton carbon to the downstream estuary (Lehman et al. 2007).