Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Work group details modeling task to link flows, stream temperature and aquatic life
Loading...
Summary
A technical task (2.3) will develop a conceptual framework and regression models to relate functional flow metrics to stream temperature and species thermal limits, with pilot applications in the South Fork Eel and San Luis Rey watersheds and planned QA/QC and covariate compilation.
Lara Janssen, lead on task 2.3, described a targeted effort to account for stream temperature when refining ecological flow criteria.
"We're developing a conceptual framework for the analysis of flow and temperature," Lara said, adding the team will model interactions between functional flows and temperature "in relation to biota," then apply the method in pilot watersheds to produce refined ecological flow metrics.
The task includes compiling temperature and flow observations, performing QA/QC, generating aligned temperature and punctual flow metrics, and building regression models that include covariates such as elevation, drainage area, slope, canopy cover and groundwater influence. When statistical relationships are significant, the team will build regression models and then compare modeled temperature outputs with species thermal envelopes to determine if flow metrics should be adjusted.
Pilot watersheds named for the task are the South Fork Eel (data‑rich; long temperature compilation available) and the San Luis Rey (sparser temperature data and intermittent reach conditions). Lara said the team has coordinated with Eli Sarian and other local groups for data compilation and is working with the Pala tribe to facilitate tribal engagement in the San Luis Rey watershed.
Lara invited feedback on additional covariates, other data sources and potential collaboration as the team completes QA/QC and begins model development.
