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Fish and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Densities in Small Streams with and without American Eels
Author(s) -
Stranko Scott A.,
Ashton Matthew J.,
Hilderbrand Robert H.,
Weglein Sara L.,
Kazyak David C.,
Kilian Jay V.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1080/00028487.2014.889750
Subject(s) - benthic zone , streams , anguillidae , crayfish , fishery , anguilla rostrata , predation , trophic level , environmental science , fish <actinopterygii> , ecology , biology , computer network , computer science
The American Eel Anguilla rostrata has been excluded from many streams along the Atlantic slope of the USA because of movement barriers such as large dams. Loss of this formerly common top predator has the potential to influence many aspects of headwater streams. We used existing survey data for a landscape‐scale comparison of fish, benthic macroinvertebrate, and crayfish densities at 95 sites where American Eel access was excluded by dams and 74 sites containing eels. Benthic fish densities were significantly lower at eel‐containing sites, whereas benthic macroinvertebrate densities were significantly higher. Densities of nonbenthic fish, non‐eel top predators, and crayfish were not different between eel occurrence categories. While these initial results are correlative, we believe that American Eel may be capable of influencing lower trophic levels, and their presence may produce noticeable changes to headwater stream ecosystems.