Gravel chub silt and debris. They are more often found in areas with limited macrophytes and larger root aquatic plants, algae and moss. Because of their need of a specialized clean habitats, the gravel chub is especially vulnerable to various forms of pollution, especially from agriculture practices that create erosion and excessive silt. In past sampling surveys the gravel chub had been found as far north in the Upper Iowa River as Le Roy, Minnesota, but because of excessive amounts of sewage, pesticides and sedimentation of rocks and sand, this is no longer the case. The presence of gravel chubs in a
Gravel chub type of habitat, increasing the turbidity of the current and the amount of silt in rivers and streams. Populations in southern Minnesota are experiencing a great amount of stress due to the large amount sediment deposit from the Mississippi River that disturbs flow regimes. The Minnesota DNR has been continuing to monitor and improve water quality of rivers and streams in southern Minnesota. Iowa and New York also have put extra conservation efforts towards the gravel chub. In Iowa the gravel chub was once threatened, but now abundant all over the state. In New York there has been a strong