Aquatic Systems and Technology Applications 


Capabilities 

Branch goals are to: 

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management issues, 

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ments, 

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Land and water management agencies are responsible for restoring and conserving our nation’s natural resources. However, they face 

increasing, often competing demands for those resources, which can result in alteration or loss of critical riverine, riparian, wetland, and 

terrestrial habitats. Land and resource managers may be in federal, state, or local government, but all have the same need for quantitative, objective, science-based information that helps them plan, manage, and conserve the natural resources within their purview. 

The Aquatic Systems and Technology Applications Branch (ASTA) of the Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) encompasses a wide 

variety of studies, investigations, and activities that are related to providing tools and capabilities for natural resource managers. ASTA’s 

mission is to provide managers with credible science-based information on the interrelationships among the physical, chemical, aquatic, 

and biological natural resources in river basins for resource management decision-making. 

develop and apply specific models and analysis tools for resource 

identify habitat and biological linkages in river corridor environdesign and evaluate specific water quality improvement features, 

define economic measures for natural resource benefi ts, 

investigate altered flow regime effects on native fi sh populations, 

characterize sediment transport effects in river corridor 

environments, and 

utilize advanced technology to evaluate landscape-scale changes 

in river basins. 

Selected Projects 

Five major project areas support the ASTA mission and goals for 

resource management: (1) river and stream modeling and decision 

support systems, (2) western freshwater and anadromous fish, (3) 

lake and wetland ecosystems: constructed wetlands, (4) fish disease 

and sediment transport modeling, and (5) technology applications in 

support of Department of the Interior agencies. Representative projects from each area are described below. 

River and Stream Modeling and Decision Support Systems 

This project focuses on developing one- and two-dimensional 

aquatic habitat models, refining hydrodynamic models for habitat 

issues, building computer tools for habitat research, providing science-based information for regulated river systems, and developing 

planning and assessment models to evaluate water management 

strategies. Changes in river flows cause temporal and spatial variability in habitat for aquatic organisms. Visual representations of this 

variability provide resource managers with more explicit information 

on what is required to maintain or improve river conditions for target 

species, for example, in the Upper Yellowstone River in Montana 

and the Klamath River Basin, Oregon and California. Decision support systems provide a central location for data, provide institutional 

memory for resource managers, and allow “gaming” with river 

systems to optimize or improve certain resource variables. 

Western Freshwater and Anadromous Fish 

Project scientists investigate and examine fish community relationships in lakes and rivers, using both traditional and new technologies. Spatial scales range from small streams to large reservoirs. 

Methods employed in this project range from standard gill netting 

and electrofishing to sophisticated hydroacoustic sonar, geographic 

information systems (GIS), 

tracking telemetry, and other 

remote sensing techniques. 

Both recreational and special 

status species research are 

a part of this work. For 

example, studies being 

conducted on the Colorado 

River and associated reservoirs will benefit restoration 

efforts for endangered fish 

species and assist the Bureau 

of Reclamation in developing 

water project operating plans. 

In other work, investigations 

of predator-prey interactions 

utilize laboratory testing, 

underwater videography, and 

stable isotope analysis. 

U.S. Department of the Interior Fact Sheet 2004–3149 

U.S. Geological Survey December 2004 
Lake and Wetland Ecosystems: Constructed Wetlands 

In the arid West, loss of 

critical wetland and riparian 

habitat due to depletion of 

water resources has severe 

impacts on biodiversity. 

Often the only water available for restoring wetland 

or riparian habitat is of 

impaired quality. Using 

constructed wetlands as 

low-cost, low-maintenance, 

socially attractive treatment 

systems provides an opportunity to reuse impaired source water 

while enhancing wildlife habitat. ASTA scientists are applying an 

ecosystem perspective to understanding water treatment functions, 

evaluating the habitat created, and developing cost-effective techniques for operation and maintenance of these wetlands. Research is 

designed to understand water treatment functions within constructed 

wetlands, evaluate wildlife habitat, improve the integration of habitat 

value and treatment function, develop cost-effective techniques for 

habitat management, and apply new techniques to the restoration of 

degraded natural riparian and wetland ecosystems. Technical assistance in design, operation, and maintenance of constructed wetlands 

is provided to client agencies in many western states. 

Fish Disease and Sediment Transport Modeling 

The goal of this project is to link sediment/river channel interactions with changes in physical habitat important to fish populations. ASTA scientists are determining sediment limiting factors 

for Tubifex species, an intermediate host for whirling disease, using 

statistical routines developed at FORT to predict spatial distribution of sediment size classes with one-, two-, and three-dimensional 

hydraulic models. The studies of sediment and channel interaction 

develop predictions for channel maintenance flows, flows to remove 

(or not remove) sand and fines, and flows to predict spawning 

gravel movement. For example, ASTA scientists are using sedi 

ment transport modeling to identify specific places in river channels 

modified by construction activities that could be redesigned to 

reduce the area and suitability of sediment deposits for Tubifex species to survive. 

Technology Applications in Support of Department of the Interior 

(DOI) Agencies 

The Technology Applications Project Team (TAT) conducts 

applied research and development to help DOI agencies and international conservation organizations better understand and manage natural resources. TAT’s cadre of highly skilled information 

technology specialists and ecologists work for sister DOI bureaus, 

building Web-based applications and testing promising new 

technology. Major efforts in the past several years have involved 

converting operational programs into Web applications that vastly 

improve access and efficiency. For example, TAT built and maintains a suite of programs on the Web for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS) that provides agency and public access to critical 

data such as endangered species, wetlands, and critical habitat. This 

program is accessed daily by hundreds of registered USFWS users 

and thousands of public users, processing more than three million 

database transactions per month. Other products under development 

include a comprehensive research reporting system for the National 

Park Service, an air quality monitoring system for the Bureau of 

Land Management in Wyoming, and the Southwest Information 

Node of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). 

Staff 

Branch Chief: David Hamilton, Ph.D. Ecologist: wetland ecology 

and management, computer applications. 

Bartholow, John, M.S. Ecologist: temperature, water quality, and 

fish population modeling; systems analysis; training. 

Bovee, Ken, M.S. Hydrologist: stream habitat analysis, hydraulic 

modeling, hydrology. 

Boyle, Terence, Ph.D. Ecologist: biological and ecological indicators, ecotoxicology, ecological risk assessment. 

Campbell, Sharon, M.S. Ecologist (Aquatic): reservoir and stream 

ecology, water quality. 

Carpenter, Jeanette, Ph.D. Fishery Biologist: stream ecology, 

endangered species, introduced species, fish habitat analysis. 

Douglas, Aaron, Ph.D. Economist: nonmarket valuation, riverine 

resources. 

Flug, Marshall, Ph.D., P.E. Research Hydrologist: reservoir operations, water resource systems, environmental decision support, 

modeling and simulation. 

Hanson, Leanne, M.S. candidate. Biologist: aquatic ecology, environmental and geospatial sciences. 

Henriksen, Jim, B.S. Ecologist: stream ecology, instream fl ow, 

stream habitat analysis, hydraulic modeling, impact analysis. 

Hunter, Don, Ph.D. Ecologist: ecology, international conservation, 

information systems. 

Milhous, Bob, Ph.D., P.E. Hydrologist: hydraulic modeling, 

instream flow models, sediment transport, channel dynamics. 

Mueller, Gordon, M.S. Research Fishery Biologist: reservoir fi sheries, 

fish detection, telemetry, sampling equipment, hydroacoustics. 

Sartoris, Jim, M.S., P.E. Research Civil Engineer: engineering limnology, water quality, aquatic ecology, wetland creation. 

Terrell, James, M.S. Fish and Wildlife Biologist: modeling fi sh and 

wildlife habitat relations. 

Thullen, Joan, M.B.A., B.S. Botanist: aquatic plant ecology and 

management, wetland creation, wetland ecology, water quality. 

Waddle, Terry, Ph.D. Hydrologist: reservoir operations and water 

routing models, river hydraulics. 

Williamson, Sam, Ph.D. Ecologist: fish population dynamics, 

cumulative impacts, systems analysis. 

Contact Information 

Dave Hamilton, Branch Chief 

Fort Collins, Colorado 80526-8118 

Fax 970.226.9230 dave_hamilton@usgs.gov 

FORT Online 

Find information about FORT science, products, and resources at 

Branch at 

U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center 

2150 Centre Avenue, Building C 

Tel. 970.226.9383 

http://www.fort.usgs.gov 

Learn more about the Aquatic Systems and Technology Applications 

http://www.fort.usgs.gov/research/500/500.asp