Andrew Dewitt, geospatial science graduate student in the department of geography, geology and planning at Missouri State University, was awarded best student presentation by the Missouri Chapter of the American Fisheries Society for his poster, “Channel Morphology and Substrate Variability in the James River, Southwest Missouri.” The award was given at the Missouri Natural Resource Conference held Feb. 1-3, where Dewitt presented his research.

“A watershed-scale geomorphic study of the James River basin of southwest Missouri’s Ozarks is currently lacking, and there are few studies available that quantify Ozark stream characteristics in general,” Dewitt said in his abstract. “Geomorphic regime equations have proven useful for stream restoration and habitat improvement designs and for comparing watersheds in different regions. The purpose of this research is to develop a comprehensive set of equations that quantify the relationship between channel morphology and drainage area.”

Dewitt is in his final semester in the geospatial science program and has studied geographic information systems, hydrology and fluvial geomorphology. He is a graduate assistant for the Ozarks Environmental and Water Resources Institute and worked on several projects including the biosolids water quality study, big river sediment contamination project and James River channel assessment.

For more information, contact Dr. Robert Pavlowsky at (417) 836-8473