2004 UC Proceedings Abstract
 A GIS Tool for Fish Habitat Modeling Track: Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management Author(s): Venkatesh Merwade, David Maidment, Barney Austin, Tim Osting An ArcGIS fish habitat modeling tool is developed to model the extent of fish habitat under different flow conditions. The study of the impact of change in flow on availability of fish habitat in river channels involves biological sampling, river surveying, and hydraulic modeling. Biological sampling seeks to associate various fish species with the habitat they utilize and the habitat conditions are defined in terms of depth and velocity of water only. The velocity and water depth for different flow rates are obtained by using a two-dimensional hydraulic model. The fish habitat modeling tool combines the results of the hydraulic model and the biological sampling statistics to determine the spatial extent of habitat for the different fish species at each of a number of different flow rates. The application of the habitat modeling tool is demonstrated by applying it to a short reach of the lower Brazos River in Texas. Venkatesh Merwade University of Texas at Austin Center for Research in Water Resources 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg. ## 119 Austin , TX 78758 US Phone: (512)471-0073 E-mail: vmmerwade@mail.utexas.edu David Maidment University of Texas at Austin Center for Research in Water Resources 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg.## 119 Austin , TX 78758 US Phone: (512)471-0065 E-mail: maidment@mail.utexas.edu Barney Austin Texas Water Development Board 1700 North Congress Avenue P. O. Box 13231 Austin 78711 US Phone: (512)463-8856 E-mail: barney.austin@twdb.state.tx.us Tim Osting Texas Water Development Board 1700 North Congress Avenue P.O. Box 13231 Austin 78711 US Phone: (512)936-0823 E-mail: tim.osting@twdb.state.tx.us |
|||||
