This report concerns the ability of fish-populations in the Neosho and
Marais des Cygnes rivers in Kansas to readjust to continuous stream-flow
following intermittent conditions resulting from the severest drought in
the history of the State.
The variable weather in Kansas (and in other areas of the Great Plains)
markedly affects its flora and fauna. Weaver and Albertson (1936)
reported as much as 91 per cent loss in the basal prairie vegetative
cover in Kansas near the close of the drought of the 1930's. The average
annual cost (in 1951 prices) of floods in Kansas from 1926 to 1953 was
$35,000,000. In the same period the average annual loss from the
droughts of the 1930's and 1950's was $75,000,000 (in 1951 prices),
excluding losses from wind- and soil-erosion. Thus, over a period of 28
years, the average annual flood-losses were less than one-half the
average annual drought-losses (Foley, Smrha, and Metzler, 1955:9;
Anonymous, 1958:15).
Weather conditions in Kansas from 1951 to 1957 were especially
noteworthy: 1951 produced a bumper crop of climatological events
significant to the economy of the State. Notable among these were:
Wettest year since beginning of the state-wide weather records in 1887;
highest river stages since settlement of the State on the Kansas River
and on most of its tributaries, as well as on the Marais des Cygnes and
on the Neosho and Cottonwood. The upper Arkansas and a number of smaller
streams in western Kansas also experienced unprecedented flooding
(Garrett, 1951:147). This period of damaging floods was immediately
followed by the driest five-year period on record, culminating in the
driest year in 1956 (Garrett, 1958:56). Water shortage became serious
for many communities. The Neosho River usually furnishes adequate
quantities of water for present demands, but in some years of drought
all flow ceases for several consecutive months. In 1956-'57, the city of
Chanute, on an emergency basis, recirculated treated sewage for potable
supply (Metzler _et al._, 1958). The water shortage in many communities
along the Neosho River became so serious that a joint project to pump
water from the Smoky Hill River into the upper Neosho was considered,
and preliminary investigations were made. If the drought had continued
through 1957, this program might have been vigorously promoted. Data on
stream-flow in the Neosho and Marais des Cygnes (1951-'59) are presented
in Tables 1-4.
These severe conditions provided a unique opportunity to gain insight
into the ability of several species of fish to adjust to marked changes
in their environment. For this reason, and because of a paucity of
information concerning stream-fish populations in Kansas, the study here
reported on was undertaken.
TABLE 1. STREAM-FLOW IN CUBIC FEET PER SECOND, NEOSHO RIVER
NEAR COUNCIL GROVE, KANSAS. DRAINAGE AREA: 250 SQUARE MILES.
=========================================================
WATER-YEAR[A] | Average flow | Maximum | Minimum |
---------------+--------------+------------+------------+
1951 | 498.0 | 121,000 | 3.0 |
1952 | 82.1 | 4,850 | .7 |
1953 | 5.37 | 202 | .1 |
1954 | 8.53 | 2,720 | .1 |
1955 | 31.2 | 6,480 | 0 |
1956 | 10.1 | 5,250 | 0 |
1957 | 68.5 | 12,300 | 0 |
1958 | 131.0 | 5,360 | .8 |
1959 | 114.0 | 7,250 | 8.5 |
---------------+--------------+------------+------------+
TABLE 2. STREAM-FLOW IN CUBIC FEET PER SECOND, NEOSHO RIVER
NEAR PARSONS, KANSAS. DRAINAGE AREA: 4905 SQUARE MILES.
=========================================================
WATER-YEAR[B] | Average flow | Maximum | Minimum |
---------------+--------------+------------+------------+
1951 | 8,290 | 410,000 | 124.0 |
1952 | 2,021 | 20,500 | 20.0 |
1953 | 173 | 4,110 | .3 |
1954 | 430 | 27,900 | .1 |
1955 | 645 | 18,600 | 0 |
1956 | 180 | 6,170 | 0 |
1957 | 1,774 | 25,000 | 0 |
1958 | 3,092 | 27,200 | 78.0 |
1959 | 1,609 | 22,600 | 139.0 |
---------------+--------------+------------+------------+
TABLE 3. STREAM-FLOW IN CUBIC FEET PER SECOND, MARAIS DES CYGNES
RIVER NEAR OTTAWA, KANSAS. DRAINAGE AREA: 1,250 SQUARE MILES.
=========================================================
WATER-YEAR | Average flow | Maximum | Minimum |
---------------+--------------+------------+------------+
1951 | 2,113 | 142,000 | 25.0 |
1952 | 542 | 12,000 | .2 |
1953 | 36.5 | 2,690 | .2 |
1954 | 73.6 | 5,660 | .5 |
1955 | 75.7 | 5,240 | .7 |
1956 | 26 | 1,590 | .7 |
1957 | 442 | 11,200 | .7 |
1958 | 775 | 9,130 | 5.6 |
---------------+--------------+------------+------------+
TABLE 4. STREAM-FLOW IN CUBIC FEET PER SECOND, MARAIS DES CYGNES
RIVER AT TRADING POST, KANSAS. DRAINAGE AREA: 2,880 SQUARE MILES.
=========================================================
WATER-YEAR | Average flow | Maximum | Minimum |
---------------+--------------+------------+------------+
1951 | 5,489 | 148,000 | 36.0 |
1952 | 1,750 | 20,400 | 3.0 |
1953 | 261 | 7,590 | 0 |
1954 | 334 | 12,500 | 0 |
1955 | 786 | 16,100 | .2 |
1956 | 202 | 10,000 | 0 |
1957 | 871 | 14,700 | 0 |
1958 | 2,453 | 20,400 | 120.0 |
[C]1959 | 750 | 10,900 | 3.4 |
---------------+--------------+------------+------------+
[A] (Oct. 1-Sept. 30, inclusive)
[B] (Oct. 1-Sept. 30, inclusive)
[C] The gaging station was moved a short distance downstream
to the Kansas-Missouri state line.