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Seasonal and spatial variation in a prairie stream‐fish assemblage
Author(s) -
Ostrand K. G.,
Wilde G. R.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
ecology of freshwater fish
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1600-0633
pISSN - 0906-6691
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0633.2002.00005.x
Subject(s) - abundance (ecology) , spatial variability , ecology , relative species abundance , spatial distribution , streams , species diversity , seasonality , environmental science , biology , geography , computer network , statistics , remote sensing , mathematics , computer science
– Stream‐fish assemblage and environmental data for 13 sites in the upper Brazos River, Texas, USA during 1997 and 1998 were used to assess the relationship between environmental conditions, and seasonal and spatial variation in fish species abundance and distribution patterns. There was considerable spatial variation in environmental conditions among sites. Spatial variation in species diversity and species composition was related to variation in conductance (salinity), depth and current velocity among sites and streams. Species diversity increased downstream and species composition shifted from primarily cyprinodontids upstream to cyprinids downstream. Among all dominant species, spatial components of variation in fish abundance were greater than seasonal components, suggesting that assemblage structure is determined more by average or persistent differences in environmental conditions among sites than by seasonal variation in environmental conditions.