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Submergence Responses of Cool‐Season Annual Plants and Potential for Fish Habitat
Author(s) -
Coppola Giancarlo,
Miranda Leandro E.,
Colvin Michael E.,
Hatcher Hunter R.,
Lashley Marcus A.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1002/nafm.10359
Subject(s) - habitat , biology , lolium multiflorum , growing season , agronomy , triticale , vegetation (pathology) , ecology , environmental science , medicine , pathology
Abstract The artificial water regimes of flood control reservoirs limit vegetation establishment in littoral zones and produce mudflats with limited habitat for juvenile fishes. One strategy to enhance habitat on mudflats is to sow cool‐season plants to provide submerged structure when inundated. However, how the structure of these plants persists following inundation has not been evaluated. To investigate the species‐specific responses of plants to inundation, we submerged six cool‐season annual plant cultivars in outdoor flow‐through tanks and monitored maximum height and density of plant structures over time. Time‐to‐event analyses and generalized linear models characterized differences in structural persistence between cultivars over time. Plantings degraded rapidly if inundated before plants matured. However, mature plants of Marshall ryegrass Lolium multiflorum and triticale Triticosecale provided dense structure that persisted for 3 months. As Marshall ryegrass degraded, the stem density decreased and produced wide gaps relative to triticale, which remained dense and complex. Differences in plant architecture during the senescence process following submergence may influence fish species and size class use. Our results indicate that cool‐season grasses have high potential as habitat enhancers due to long‐term persistence, and differences in plant structural characteristics may provide flexibility for managers to attract target fish species.