Stream restoration has been employed to offer more ecological, aesthetic, and hydraulic benefits to watersheds in emerging practices of dealing with post-development storm runoff and erosive conditions as well as remediating historical practices of gray infrastructure that control runoff. Fish habitat and passage is often included in stream restoration guidelines and regulations, however some species have been prioritized historically (i.e., migratory species such as salmon and trout). In some specific spatial regions, local keystone species have been identified such as the bluehead chub (Nocomis leptocephalus). Bluehead chubs are known as “ecosystem engineers” who build gravel-mound nests in southeastern North American streams, which provide nesting habitat for multiple fish species. The impacts of stream velocities on chub nests and their incipient motion is modeled and evaluated in regards to current prevailing stream restoration practices.
.jpg "Sam Kraus (he/him/his) photo")