Longitudinal Structure of Fish Communities and Species Habitat Associations in Green Bay, Lake Michigan Tributaries PDF Download

Author: Cynthia I. Nau
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fish communities
Languages : en
Pages : 168

Get Book Here

Book Description
Small, lower-order (1st-3rd) tributaries of the Great Lakes, including those of Green Bay and Lake Michigan, have been largely understudied relative to the open water and large rivers in the region. Nonetheless, recent research suggests that these aquatic ecosystems may play a vial role as reproductive, nursery, and foraging habitat for the highly varied assemblage of fish species resident to the area. Diverse stream geomorphology and anthropogenic influences have resulted in a high degree of variation in stream condition across the watersheds of the region. This large environmental gradient allows for exploration of the ecology of resident fish species in relation to abiotic variability. The objective of this study is to quantify the diversity, distribution, and habitat selection of resident fishes at a fine spatial scale. This assessment has been carried out on seven Green Bay tributaries and two Lake Michigan tributaries of varying stream condition. Fish and habitat surveys were conducted over a one-kilometer reach, which was further divided into 20-meter sub-reaches using block nets. Results suggest that the fish community is a unique function of each tributary. Species diversity is reflective of instream habitat characteristics. Individual species distributions were also found to be associated with varying habitat features. The detailed nature of this study will serve to inform restorative management actions, maximizing benefit to individual streams and fish species. Understudied non-game fishes may especially profit from this habitat association knowledge by allowing restoration projects to account for their species-specific requirements. Due to the vast amount of variation found in the Green Bay sub-watershed, these species to habitat relationships may be applicable to tributaries across the Great Lakes region.