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An inventory and typology of permanent floodplain lakes in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley: a first step to conservation planning

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Abstract

The alluvial valley of the Mississippi River is an extensive area harboring hundreds of lakes created by fluvial dynamics. These floodplain lakes are scattered throughout the valley and carved over thousands of years by shifting river courses and other hydro-fluvial processes associated with contemporary and prehistoric rivers. These lakes have significant ecological importance as they support a large component of North American biodiversity. We used remote sensing to catalog lakes, to characterize morphology, and to construct a typology via cluster analysis. We identified over 1300 permanent lakes totaling over 100,000 ha. The lakes were classified into 12 types according to lake size, shape, depth, connectivity, inundation frequency, and surrounding landcover. We anticipate that biotic characteristics differ among the 12 types, but large-scale systematic analyses of biotic assemblages of floodplain lakes in the region are mostly absent. Our typology can provide the framework essential for organizing research to define water dynamics, water quality, and ecological conditions such as forests, mussel, fish, and avian communities to construct conservation plans. The typology encourages a large-scale view of the properties of floodplain lakes in the alluvial valley. It is a functional tool that can be used to begin identifying conservation and research needs, adapt monitoring and management programs, customize environmental programs, and use conservation resources more effectively to achieve large-scale management objectives.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Vicksburg District of the Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi State University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey. Thanks to D. Dembkowski and two anonymous referees for constructive reviews. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Geological Survey, Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, P.O. Box 9691, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    L. E. Miranda

  2. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, P.O. Box 9690, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    M. C. Rhodes

  3. Mississippi Basin Region, Science Applications, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 243 Parker Coliseum, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Y. Allen

  4. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, USA

    K. J. Killgore

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  1. L. E. Miranda
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  2. M. C. Rhodes
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  3. Y. Allen
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  4. K. J. Killgore
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Correspondence to L. E. Miranda.

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Miranda, L.E., Rhodes, M.C., Allen, Y. et al. An inventory and typology of permanent floodplain lakes in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley: a first step to conservation planning. Aquat Sci 83, 20 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-020-00775-3

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