Premium
Persistence and Structure of the Fish Assemblage in a Small California Stream
Author(s) -
Moyle Peter B.,
Vondracek Bruce
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1941301
Subject(s) - ecology , habitat , persistence (discontinuity) , biology , niche , species richness , community structure , assemblage (archaeology) , juvenile , invertebrate , ordination , predation , streams , geotechnical engineering , engineering , computer network , computer science
The persistence and structure of a small but morphologically diverse fish assemblage of a California stream was examined to see if it had the characteristics of a deterministically regulated or stochastically regulated community. We evaluated persistence by monitoring the fish populations for 5 yr and examined resource use by measuring summer microhabitats and diets of each species. We also compared the microhabitats and diets of the juveniles and adults of each species to investigate the hypothesis that in stream fish assemblages at low diversity, juvenile fishes essentially function ecologically as separate species. Species composition in each of four stream sections was persistent over the 5—yr period, which included extreme flood conditions. Differences in species composition among sections reflected differences in their physical characteristics. The most abundant species were segregated by habitat, microhabitat, and/or diet. In addition, in all but one species, young—of—year were ecologically segregated from the adults; this increased the functional complexity of the assemblage. The observed fish assemblage thus appears to have the characteristics of a highly structured community, as expected under Connell's “niche diversification hypothesis.” The structure observed is probably characteristic of fish assemblages in cold—water streams throughout North America that contain the same or similar species.