Reduction of large vessel traffic improves water quality and alters fish habitat-use throughout a large river.

Rivers are increasingly used as superhighways for the continental-scale transportation of freight goods, but the ecological impact of large vessel traffic on river ecosystems is difficult to study. Recently, the temporary maintenance closure of lock and dam systems on the Illinois Waterway (USA) brought commercial vessel traffic to a halt along the river's length, offering a rare opportunity to study the response of the ecosystem before, during, and after an extended pause of this persistent anthropogenic disturbance. We observed improvements in main- and side-channel water quality and a redistribution of fish habitat-use during a months-long, near-complete reduction of large vessel traffic.

New records of Spotted Bass, , within the Mississippi River Basin, Illinois.

Spotted Bass , like many sport fishes, have experienced range expansion through intentional introductions (i.e., legal stocking and illegal transfers) and migration across the United States.

Ecosystem responses to aquatic invasive species management: A synthesis of two decades of bigheaded carp suppression in a large river.

The invasion of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (H. nobilis) or "bigheaded carps" has caused extensive ecological and economic harm throughout the Mississippi River and its tributaries. To prevent their continued spread upstream toward the Great Lakes, intense commercial harvest was implemented on the Illinois River, a large tributary that connects the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan.

Freshwater mussel shells (Unionidae) chronicle changes in a North American river over the past 1000years.

The Illinois River was substantially altered during the 20th century with the installation of navigational locks and dams, construction of extensive levee networks, and degradation of water quality. Freshwater mussels were affected by these changes. We used sclerochronology and stable isotopes to evaluate changes over time in age-and-growth and food sources for two mussel species: Amblema plicata and Quadrula quadrula.