scholarly journals Assessment and diversity of fish communities in non-wadeable tributaries of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Corey Garland Dunn
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
River System ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
River Systems ◽  
Core Species ◽  
Total Species Richness ◽  
Sampling Protocols ◽  
Connectivity Distance ◽  
Riverine Fish

As the geographical centers of riverscapes, rivers support fish populations at local and basin-wide scales. However, refinements to fish sampling protocols and theories underpinning basin-wide community ecology have been slowed by the inherent complexity and immensity of rivers. I conducted three extensive studies in non-wadeable tributaries of the lower Missouri and middle Mississippi rivers (Missouri, USA) to illuminate processes structuring riverine fish communities. In Chapter 2, I tested the efficacy of a six-gear fish community sampling protocol by repeatedly sampling nine sites in spring, 07, and fall (N = 36 surveys). I identified an efficient four-gear sub protocol that consistently detected 90% of observed species richness at sites and only required 52% of initial survey effort. In comparison, an electrofishing-only protocol detected lower percentages of fish richness, varied seasonally between 07 and fall, and was nearly twice as variable. In Chapters 3 and 4, I contrasted fish communities inhabiting the Grand (10 sites, prairie region) and Meramec (12 sites, Ozark region) river systems. Chapter 3 examined tributary use by large-river specialist fishes (LRS), a guild of fishes that likely disperse into tributaries from the Missouri (Grand R.) and Mississippi (Meramec R.) rivers. I tested whether mean annual discharge consistently structured richness of LRS fishes at sites ([alpha] richness) within tributaries, and if habitat and downriver connectivity to the Missouri and Mississippi rivers explained additional variation in LRS [alpha] richness. Although species-discharge relationships were positive, discharge effect sizes varied between rivers revealing discharge did not consistently structure LRS [alpha] richness. After accounting for river-specific effects of discharge, downriver connectivity explained residual variation in LRS [alpha] richness, indicating dispersal into tributaries likely structured LRS [alpha] richness. Consequently, LRS [alpha] richness solely estimated from discharge might be underestimated in connected network branches and overestimated in isolated mainstem reaches. Chapter 4 expanded the research scope beyond LRS species to test whether regional connectivity (distance to dispersal source) or site-level habitat diversity (multivariate dispersion of nine habitat variables) explained α richness of three stream size guilds at sites: LRS species, headwater species likely sourced from [less than or equal to]3rd Strahler order streams, and core riverine fishes. In both river systems, downriver connectivity (distance upriver from mouth of mainstem river) and habitat diversity positively related to LRS- (R2 = 0.44 in Grand R, 0.91 in Meramec R.) and core-species (R2 = 0.37 in Grand R., 0.57 in Meramec R.) richness, respectively. Headwaters within 25 km of sites positively related to headwater species richness in the Grand River system (R2 = 0.85), but not in the Meramec River system where headwater richness was better explained by an inverse relationship with discharge (R2 = 0.32). Increasing LRS richness (13â€"17 spp.) downriver caused sites supporting the highest total species richness ([greater than or equal to]75th percentiles) to skew towards lower-midcourse reaches, rather than in midcourses where core-species richness and habitat diversity peaked. Because riverine fish richness manifests from regional dispersal and local habitat diversity, conserving areas of high richness will likely require management actions aimed at local and regional scales. Altogether these studies collecting 146 species and 145,147 individuals revealed non-wadeable tributaries are key riverscape elements that provide diverse riverine habitats and corridors for members of multiple regional fish species pools.

Large-scale patterns in species richness and composition of temperate riverine fish communities, south-eastern Australia

2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Gehrke ◽  
John H. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
South Coast ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Large Spatial Scale ◽  
River Types ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Riverine Fish

Riverine fish in New South Wales were studied to examine longitudinal trends in species richness and to identify fish communities on a large spatial scale. Five replicate rivers of four types (montane, slopes, regulated lowland and unregulated lowland) were selected from North Coast, South Coast, Murray and Darling regions. Fishwere sampled during summer and winter in two consecutive years with standardized gear that maximized the range of species caught. The composition of fish communities varied among regions and river types, with little temporal variation. Distinct regional communities converged in montane reaches and diverged downstream. The fish fauna can be classified into North Coast, South Coast, Murray and Darling communities, with a distinct montane community at high elevations irrespective of the drainage division. Species richness increased downstream in both North Coast and South Coast regions by both replacement and the addition of new species. In contrast, species richness in the Darling and Murray regions reached a maximum in the slopes reaches and then declined, reflecting a loss of species in lowland reaches. The small number of species is typical of the freshwater fish faunas of similar climatic regions world-wide. Fish communities identified in this study form logical entities for fisheries management consistent with the ecosystem-focused, catchment-based approach to river management and water reform being adopted in Australia.

Fish community structure in an intermittent river: the importance of environmental stability, landscape factors and within-pool habitat descriptors

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 605 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. S. Beesley ◽  
J. Prince
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
River System ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Underground Water ◽  
Environmental Stability ◽  
Fish Community Structure ◽  
North West ◽  
Distribution Of Fish ◽  
Intermittent River

In rivers worldwide, hydrological persistence and variability (i.e. environmental stability) typically parallel longitudinal changes in habitat. This interaction complicates determination of the hierarchy of mechanisms that structure fish communities along rivers. In this study, we examined fish species richness and presence–absence in pools of an intermittent river system containing underground water storages (Fortescue River, north-west Australia), a system that was predicted to uncouple this relationship. Stability, measured by pool persistence, was unrelated to a pool's maximum depth or its position in the catchment, indicating partial decoupling. However, pool stability remained correlated with habitat diversity and log-transformed surface area. Model selection indicated that species richness was better described by pool stability and the landscape factor stream order than by within-pool habitat descriptors. Permanent pools low in the catchment contained more species than unstable pools in headwater streams. We conclude that the distribution of fish in the Fortescue River is shaped predominantly by processes of extirpation and re-colonisation. Management efforts in this river and similar intermittent systems should focus on the preservation of refuge pools, and limit the construction of barriers that limit dispersal.

scholarly journals Analyzing the Role of Increasing Water Pollution on Species-Richness, Interspecific-Competition and Abundance-Unevenness in Reef-Associated Fish Communities, off Jakarta Bay (Indonesia)

2021 ◽  
pp. 18-43
Author(s):  
Jean Béguinot
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Interspecific Competition ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Feeding Guilds ◽  
Common Trend ◽  
Total Species Richness ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
The One

Not far from the exceptionally rich ‘Coral Triangle’ on the one hand but, on the other hand, exposed to strongly varying degree of anthropogenic environmental stresses, the reef-associated fish assemblages all along ‘Seribu Islands’ (off Jakarta Bay) are, thus, confronted to both positive and negative ecological influences. As such, these fish assemblages offer especially interesting opportunities to analyze these opposite ecological influences, at both the descriptive and the functional points of views. The least-biased numerical extrapolation of a series of recently reported – yet incomplete – samplings has allowed a sub-exhaustive account of both the estimated total species-richness and the completed distribution of species abundances – including the set of those rarer species which had remained unrecorded. Thanks to this numerically completed information, it became possible to tackle some important issues – which otherwise would have remained difficult to address properly. First, a remarkably good correlation was highlighted between the distance of fish assemblages to Jakarta Bay (distance considered as a reliable surrogate to the improvement of environmental conditions for fish assemblages) and a theoretically derived index characterizing the accommodation capacity of sites for fish assemblages. This good correlation suggests that this index offer a way to reliably accounts for the “environmental quality” of marine waters, as appreciated by fish communities. In quite another respect, comparing primary and secondary-feeding guilds, provides still further empirical support to a seemingly common trend according to which the guild of secondary-feeders features usually more species-rich, while exhibiting less interspecific competition intensity at niche overlaps, than does the primary-feeders guild.

scholarly journals Influence of Coral-reef Complexity on Species Richness and the Hierarchical Structuration of Species Abundances in Reef fish Communities: A Case Study in South-east Brazil

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Jean Béguinot
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
Reef Fish ◽  
Habitat Complexity ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Competitive Intensity ◽  
Total Species Richness ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Total Species

Growing complexity of coral habitat is expected to increase resource partitioning among co-occurring reef fish and, thereby, reduce to some extent the mean competitive intensity. This will have associated consequences on the internal structuring of species in reef fish communities, in particular regarding species richness and evenness of species abundances. Accumulating dedicated case studies are necessary, however, to get further empirical confirmations. The present analysis aims to contribute in this respect, comparing reef fish communities associated to two coral-reef settings that markedly differ in their degree of morphological complexity, at Itaipu Sound, Brazil. As the available samplings of these communities remained incomplete, numerical extrapolations were implemented, thereby providing least-bias estimates for both total species richness and the exhaustive distribution of species abundances in both compared reef fish communities. As expected, total species richness increases with greater degree of coral habitat complexity, while the unevenness of species abundances decreases. This decrease in abundance unevenness – reflecting the corresponding relaxation of the mean level of competitive intensity – is partly due to the direct, negative influence of species richness on abundance unevenness, as an overall trend.  Beyond that, however, the relaxation is further strengthened by an additional “genuine” contribution – this time independent from the variation in species richness – and, as such, directly and idiosyncratically attached to the improvement in habitat complexity.

scholarly journals Contemporizing island biogeography theory with anthropogenic drivers of species richness

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Gleditsch ◽  
Jocelyn Behm ◽  
Jacintha Ellers ◽  
Wendy Jesse ◽  
Matthew Helmus
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Island Biogeography ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Positive Relationships ◽  
Relationship Expectations ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
Total Species Richness ◽  
Negative Relationships ◽  
Total Species

Classic ecological theory must explain effects of humans on biodiversity to be more applicable today. We contemporized island biogeographic theory providing native, introduced, and total species richness relationship expectations with natural and anthropogenic metrics of habitat diversity (geographic and economic area) and isolation from source pools (geographic and economic isolation). We assessed these expectations across Caribbean island herpetofauna clades. As expected by the contemporized theory, natural habitat diversity metrics exhibited positive relationships with native and introduced richness, strengthening positive total richness-area relationships. Geographic isolation exhibited negative relationships with native and positive relationships with introduced richness, weakening total richness-isolation relationships. Economic area and isolation exhibited negative and positive relationships, respectively, with native richness but positive and negative relationships, respectively, with introduced richness. Total richness relationships with economic area and isolation were strongest in clades with many introductions. As more species spread globally, these contemporary expectations will increasingly predict Anthropocene island biogeography.

scholarly journals Influence of Coral Architecture on Species Richness and the Hierarchical Structuration of Species Abundances in Reef Fish Communities: A Case Study in the Eastern Tropical Pacific

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Jean Béguinot
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Total Species Richness ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
Hierarchical Structuring ◽  
Complex Architecture ◽  
Total Species

The role of coral reef architecture on species richness and the internal structuration of the associated fish communities has already been addressed several times. The reported results, however, usually remain controversial, possibly because they are based upon incomplete field data issued from partial inventories. Indeed, incomplete samplings are almost unavoidable in practice with such species-rich communities having very uneven distribution of abundances. In this context, the numerical extrapolation of incompletely sampled communities may serve as a reliable surrogate. Accordingly, numerical extrapolations were implemented, here, to compare two fish-communities respectively associated to coral reefs that sharply differ from each-other by their topographic architectures. Both a higher total species richness and a sharper unevenness of species abundances were found to characterize the fish community associated to the more tormented reef habitat exhibiting the more complex architecture. Yet, paradoxically, the true intensity of the underlying process of hierarchical structuring of abundances proves being insensitive to the architecture of coral habitats. This apparent opposition between the unevenness pattern and the underlying structuring process results, in fact, from the additional negative dependence of abundance unevenness upon species richness.

scholarly journals Influence of Fishing Activity on Total Species Richness and Abundance Unevenness in Reef Fish Communities: A Case Study in a Brazilian Tropical Coral Complex

2019 ◽  
pp. 58-76
Author(s):  
Jean Béguinot
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Reef Fish ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Fishing Activity ◽  
Total Species Richness ◽  
Tropical Coral ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
Hierarchical Structuring ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance ◽  
Total Species

The internal organization of reef-fish communities, particularly the species richness and the hierarchical structuring of species abundances, depends on many environmental factors, including fishing intensity and proportion of macroalgal cover which are expected to have determinant influences. However, reported studies on this topic are generally based on incomplete samplings (almost unavoidable in practice when dealing with highly uneven and species-rich communities), so that the derived results can be appreciably skewed. To overcome this difficulty, the incomplete samplings involved in this study were completed numerically through a reliable extrapolation procedure. This precaution provided a safe confirmation that reduced fishing activity and increased macroalgae cover both contribute to enhance the total species richness and to reduce the abundance unevenness in these reef fish communities.  Yet, it is shown that this reduction of abundance unevenness is almost entirely attributable to the increase in species richness.

Dominance determines fish community biomass in a temperate seagrass ecosystem

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Matthius Eger ◽  
Rebecca J. Best ◽  
Julia Kathleen Baum
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Ecosystem Valuation ◽  
Species Abundances

Biodiversity and ecosystem function are often correlated, but there are multiple hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Ecosystem functions such as primary or secondary production may be maximized by species richness, evenness in species abundances, or the presence or dominance of species with certain traits. Here, we combined surveys of natural fish communities (conducted in July and August, 2016) with morphological trait data to examine relationships between diversity and ecosystem function (quantified as fish community biomass) across 14 subtidal eelgrass meadows in the Northeast Pacific (54° N 130° W). We employed both taxonomic and functional trait measures of diversity to investigate if ecosystem function is driven by species diversity (complementarity hypothesis) or by the presence or dominance of species with particular trait values (selection or dominance hypotheses). After controlling for environmental variation, we found that fish community biomass is maximized when taxonomic richness and functional evenness is low, and in communities dominated by species with particular trait values – those associated with benthic habitats and prey capture. While previous work on fish communities has found that species richness is positively correlated with ecosystem function, our results instead highlight the capacity for regionally prevalent and locally dominant species to drive ecosystem function in moderately diverse communities. We discuss these alternate links between community composition and ecosystem function and consider their divergent implications for ecosystem valuation and conservation prioritization.

Diversity and distribution of large branchiopods in Kiskunság (Hungary) in relation to local habitat and spatial factors: implications for their conservation

2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (10) ◽  
pp. 940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liesbet Boven ◽  
Bram Vanschoenwinkel ◽  
Els R. De Roeck ◽  
Ann Hulsmans ◽  
Luc Brendonck
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Species Dispersal ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Spatial Factors ◽  
Large Branchiopods

Large branchiopods are threatened worldwide by the loss and degradation of their temporary aquatic habitats owing to drainage and intensive agriculture. Sound ecological knowledge of their diversity and distribution is a prerequisite to formulate effective conservation measures. In the present study, large branchiopods were collected from 82 temporary freshwater pools belonging to five habitat types in Kiskunság (Hungary). Dormant propagule bank analysis complemented the field survey. Eleven species were found, with large branchiopods occurring in more than half of the study systems. The high regional species richness and occurrence frequency of large branchiopods make Kiskunság a true ‘hot spot’ of large branchiopod diversity. The local environment was more important than spatial factors (isolation) in explaining the presence of the most common species. Dispersal was most likely not limiting for the large branchiopods in the study area and colonisation success of different species was differentially affected by local conditions, possibly invertebrate predation risk and hydroperiod. Meadow pools and wheel tracks contributed most to regional species richness through the presence of rare and exclusive species. To conserve branchiopod diversity, we stress the importance of high habitat diversity in the landscape and the need to conserve neglected habitats such as wheel tracks.

Partial cutting reduces species richness of fungi on woody debris in oak-rich forests

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 1807-1816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Nordén ◽  
Frank Götmark ◽  
Martin Ryberg ◽  
Heidi Paltto ◽  
Johan Allmér
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Fruiting Bodies ◽  
Partial Cutting ◽  
Total Species Richness ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Closed Canopy ◽  
And Control ◽  
Total Species

Partial cutting is increasingly applied in European temperate oak-dominated forests for biofuel harvesting, and to counteract succession in protected stands. Effects on biodiversity of these measures need to be carefully evaluated, and species-rich but neglected taxa such as fungi should be considered. We studied the effects of partial cutting on fungal fruiting bodies on woody debris. In 21 closed canopy forests rich in large oaks in Sweden, on average 25%–30% of the basal area was cut. Fruiting bodies were counted and some were collected in treated and control plots before and after treatment. We found 334 basidiomycete and 47 ascomycete species. Species richness of basidiomycetes declined significantly more in treated plots (on average 26%) than in control plots (on average 13%) between seasons. Species richness of ascomycetes increased by 17% in control plots and decreased by 2% in treated plots. Total species richness was significantly reduced on fine woody debris (1–10 cm in diameter), but not on coarse woody debris (>10 cm). Overall species composition did not change significantly as a result of partial cutting, but red-listed species tended to decrease more in treated plots. We suggest that approximately 30% of the stands should not be thinned, and dead stems and fallen branches should not be removed, to favor saproxylic fungi and their associated fauna.

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