Influence of agriculture on in-stream habitat and fish community structure in Piedmont watersheds of the Chattahoochee River System

AbstractFish community structure, morphological characteristics, functional composition, and life history attributes in relation to three aquatic habitats, backwater shoreline (BWS), main channel borders (MCB), and side channel borders (SCB) in Pool 4 of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) were assessed. Fish communities were sampled annually using standardized electrofishing techniques from 1994 to 2004. We found significant differences in community composition and abundance, and the clearest pattern was that diversity and fish community structure in BWS were different from those in both MCB and SCB. We also found morphological characteristics, functional composition, and life-history differences among the habitats, with fish communities from BWS having a number of different characteristics from both MCB and SCB. Temporal changes in fish abundance, community structure, morphological, functional and life-history attributes from each habitat may reflect both human impact and environmental factors on the Upper Mississippi River System.

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The effect of a large-scale irrigation scheme on the fish community structure and integrity of a subtropical river system in South Africa

Ecological Indicators ◽

10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.05.005 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 69 ◽

pp. 533-539 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

W. Malherbe ◽

V. Wepener ◽

J.H.J. van Vuren

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Community Structure ◽

Fish Community ◽

Large Scale ◽

River System ◽

Fish Community Structure ◽

Irrigation Scheme

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Fish community structure, habitat complexity, and soundscape characteristics of patch reefs in a tropical, back-reef system

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps12829 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 609 ◽

pp. 33-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

RP Lyon ◽

DB Eggleston ◽

DR Bohnenstiehl ◽

CA Layman ◽

SW Ricci ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Habitat Complexity ◽

Fish Community ◽

Back Reef ◽

Fish Community Structure ◽

Patch Reefs ◽

Reef System

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Dissolved oxygen and temperature best predict deep-sea fish community structure in the Gulf of California with climate change implications

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps13240 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 637 ◽

pp. 159-180

Author(s):

ND Gallo ◽

M Beckwith ◽

CL Wei ◽

LA Levin ◽

L Kuhnz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Community Structure ◽

Community Composition ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Gulf Of California ◽

Fish Community ◽

Demersal Fish ◽

Fish Community Structure ◽

Explained Variance

Natural gradient systems can be used to examine the vulnerability of deep-sea communities to climate change. The Gulf of California presents an ideal system for examining relationships between faunal patterns and environmental conditions of deep-sea communities because deep-sea conditions change from warm and oxygen-rich in the north to cold and severely hypoxic in the south. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) remotely operated vehicle (ROV) ‘Doc Ricketts’ was used to conduct seafloor video transects at depths of ~200-1400 m in the northern, central, and southern Gulf. The community composition, density, and diversity of demersal fish assemblages were compared to environmental conditions. We tested the hypothesis that climate-relevant variables (temperature, oxygen, and primary production) have more explanatory power than static variables (latitude, depth, and benthic substrate) in explaining variation in fish community structure. Temperature best explained variance in density, while oxygen best explained variance in diversity and community composition. Both density and diversity declined with decreasing oxygen, but diversity declined at a higher oxygen threshold (~7 µmol kg-1). Remarkably, high-density fish communities were observed living under suboxic conditions (<5 µmol kg-1). Using an Earth systems global climate model forced under an RCP8.5 scenario, we found that by 2081-2100, the entire Gulf of California seafloor is expected to experience a mean temperature increase of 1.08 ± 1.07°C and modest deoxygenation. The projected changes in temperature and oxygen are expected to be accompanied by reduced diversity and related changes in deep-sea demersal fish communities.

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