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Lexington study are much lower or the encroachment of phragmites into those channels makes <br />seining a questionable method to sample fish. If fish are not sampled because they take cover in <br />phragmites plants then they are also most likely not available as forage for least terns. <br />Fish population estimates increased from 199 through 2005 even though drought prevailed <br />during that time frame. However, in 2007 the estimated population dropped to the lowest seen <br />during this study. One potential factor limiting fish in 2007 is that after a peak of near 4,000 cfs <br />in early June, river flows peaked at or near 2,000 cfs again in late June, mid-July and late July <br />which may have hampered reproduction of the most common species which spawn in shallow <br />water areas. Higher flows and deeper water during the sampling period may also have effected <br />catch rates. <br />Two of the five sites sampled have had least terns nesting at nearby sandpits. Those two sites are <br />Lexington and Elm Creek. There does not seem to by any discernable pattern to fish abundance <br />and the presence or absence of nesting terns. The very low number of fish at Lexington would <br />seem to indicate that terns may not be reliant on the river as a forage source. Personal <br />observation by the authors who also monitor least tern nesting at the Lexington sandpit and <br />Lexington Island further support that birds no longer forage in this section of the river. A study <br />should be done to see if these birds fulfill their foraging requirements in local sandpit ponds or if <br />they are flying longer distance such as over to the Overton site to forage. <br />Literature Cited <br />Chadwick &Associate, Inc. 1992. Forage fish monitoring study central Platte River, Nebraska, <br />1992. Prepared for Nebraska Public Power District and The Central Nebraska Public <br />Power and Irrigation District. June 1993. Pp.64. <br />Zarr, J. H.. 1984. Biostatistical Analysis, second edition. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, <br />New Jersey 07632.