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Spotted Bass Habitat Suitability Related to Fish Occurrence and Biomass and Measurements of Physicochemical Variables
Author(s) -
Layher William G.,
Maughan O. Eugene,
Warde W. D.
Publication year - 1987
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 - 10.1577/1548-8659(1987)7<238:sbhsrt>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - abiotic component , bass (fish) , habitat , environmental science , biomass (ecology) , regression analysis , streams , fishery , ecology , statistics , mathematics , biology , computer network , computer science
Standing stocks (kilograms/hectare) of spotted bass Micropterus punctulatus were graphed against eight abiotic variables measured for Kansas streams. The resulting habitat suit‐ability curve for each variable allowed fish biomass to be normalized to index values (range, 0.0‐1.0) that could be regressed linearly against the abiotic variables. Stepwise multiple‐regression techniques isolated different combinations of variables with differing sample techniques that accounted for much of the variability in spotted bass biomass. When regression models derived from Kansas data were applied to an independent data set from northern Oklahoma streams, the correlation between predicted and observed standing stocks was not significant. Assigning suitability index values to the Oklahoma data set from the Kansas habitat suitability curves resulted in a significant model with a different combination of variables that accounted for 87% of the biomass variability. Apparently, regression models must be developed for differing geographic areas or stream basins, but habitat suitability curves probably are regionally consistent and can be used to develop predictive stream biomass models. The development of such suitability curves may aid in stream management of spotted bass, habitat enhancement, and analysis of impacts from stream alteration.