Factors Influencing Fish Community Structure on the Little Miami River Headwaters Upstream from Clifton, Ohio.
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The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
2002
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1380554631 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu13805546312021-08-03T06:19:24Z Factors Influencing Fish Community Structure on the Little Miami River Headwaters Upstream from Clifton, Ohio. Greene, Matthew James Aquatic Sciences Evolution and Development The fish community structure was studied in the headwaters of the Little Miami River as it extends upstream of Clifton, Ohio. The primary objectives of this research were to determine 1) if changes have occurred in fish species composition based on comparisons between current and historical fish surveys, 2) if fish assemblages are influenced by the amount of wooded riparian cover and silt amount, and 3) if other factors such as nutrient levels, temperature, and dissolved oxygen concentration are affecting the fish community.During the summer of 2000 fish surveys and water analyses were conducted, while in the summer of 2001 physicochemical analysis and evaluation of the fish community were investigated in conjunction with both the terrestrial and aquatic habitat. In 2001, fish were sampled from 20 sites, of which 10 were wooded (closed) and 10 were non-wooded (open). These same 20 sites were also evaluated for percent silt in the stream substrate. Thirteen sites were considered to have low silt content, whereas seven sites had high percent silt.Fish species co-occurring and interacting together among various habitat types were determined using the Index of Affinity. Fish assemblages at sampled sites were analyzed using the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) and Shannon Diversity Index (H'). T-tests were used to compare mean community metrics between sites with wooded riparian cover and sites without. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the influence of percent silt on community structural metrics IBI, H', number of species per site, and relative number of individuals per site. Influence of riparian cover presence or absence, percent silt low or high, dissolved oxygen concentration, and temperature on individual species of fish were analyzed using pooled t-tests, Fisher's Exact Test, and correlation analysis.The Index of Affinity revealed 15 species forming primary (species co-occurring >50% of the time forming the largest group) and secondary (co-occurring >50% of the time and not part of the largest group) associations in wooded habitats. Non-wooded habitats had only 11 species forming primary and secondaryassociations. Fifteen species occurred at low silt sites, while 12 occurred at high silt sites.Fish sampling revealed 28 species present in 2000, and 24 of those same 28 present in 2001. Based on historical records prior to 1960 this is a 38-47% reduction in fish species. Sections of stream with a wooded riparian zone consistently showed a greater number of individuals; however, these sites did not significantly influence community structure metrics. Fish community composition was significantly influenced by the percentage of silt on the stream bottom. Sites with low silt had higher IBI, H', number of species per site, and relative number of individuals than high silt sites. The abundance of stoneroller minnow (Campostoma anomalum), rainbow darter (Etheostoma caerleum), and greenside darter (Etheostoma blennioides) were significantly influenced by silt load (p<0.05). Green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) abundance was negatively related to temperature (r = -0.445, p = 0.05), while abundance of the Johnny darter (Etheostoma nigrum) was negatively related to temperature (r = -0.503, p = 0.02) and dissolved oxygen concentration (r = - 0.554, p = 0.01). 2002 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1380554631 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1380554631 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
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NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Aquatic Sciences Evolution and Development |
| spellingShingle |
Aquatic Sciences Evolution and Development Greene, Matthew James Factors Influencing Fish Community Structure on the Little Miami River Headwaters Upstream from Clifton, Ohio. |
| author |
Greene, Matthew James |
| author_facet |
Greene, Matthew James |
| author_sort |
Greene, Matthew James |
| title |
Factors Influencing Fish Community Structure on the Little Miami River Headwaters Upstream from Clifton, Ohio. |
| title_short |
Factors Influencing Fish Community Structure on the Little Miami River Headwaters Upstream from Clifton, Ohio. |
| title_full |
Factors Influencing Fish Community Structure on the Little Miami River Headwaters Upstream from Clifton, Ohio. |
| title_fullStr |
Factors Influencing Fish Community Structure on the Little Miami River Headwaters Upstream from Clifton, Ohio. |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Factors Influencing Fish Community Structure on the Little Miami River Headwaters Upstream from Clifton, Ohio. |
| title_sort |
factors influencing fish community structure on the little miami river headwaters upstream from clifton, ohio. |
| publisher |
The Ohio State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2002 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1380554631 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT greenematthewjames factorsinfluencingfishcommunitystructureonthelittlemiamiriverheadwatersupstreamfromcliftonohio |
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