Effects of Multiple Low-Head Dams on Fish, Macroinvertebrates, Habitat, and Water Quality in the Fox River, Illinois

Abstract We examined the effects of low-head dams on aquatic biota, habitat, and water quality in a 171-km reach of a midwestern warmwater river that was fragmented by 15 dams into a series of free-flowing and impounded habitats. Dams impounded 55% of the river's surface area within the study reach and influenced distributions of 30 species of fish by restricting upstream movements. Values for the Illinois index of biotic integrity (IBI) were higher in free-flowing areas (mean IBI = 46 out of a possible 60 at below-dam and midsegment free-flowing locations) than impounded areas (mean IBI 415 out of a possible 700) than in nearshore areas of impounded reaches (mean MCI < 210). Ponar dredge samples taken only from open-water impounded areas showed an offshore invertebrate community that consisted almost entirely of tolerant oligoc...

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