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- Title
Relating stream physical habitat condition and concordance of biotic productivity across multiple taxa.
- Authors
Sullivan, S. Mažeika P.; Watzin, Mary C.
- Abstract
To explore the potential of assessments of stream geomorphic condition and habitat quality in evaluating lotic productivity, we investigated concordance of stream biotic productivity (aquatic macroinvertebrates, crayfish, fish, and belted kingfishers (Ceryle alcyon)) and their physical habitat correlates in 18 streams in the Champlain Valley, Vermont, USA. Pearson correlation analysis indicated significant concordance between macroinvertebrate density and fish biomass (r = 0.76), between the density of macroinvertebrates in the orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera and fish biomass (r = 0.81), and between fish biomass and kingfisher brood weight (r = 0.54). We used principal component analysis followed by linear regression to investigate relationships between physical habitat condition and biotic productivity and to identify key components of physical habitat condition assessments. Our analysis supported the combined use of geomorphic and habitat assessments as a comprehensive indicator of stream physical habitat condition. We found relationships between habitat assessment scores and productivity measures of all taxa except crayfish, suggesting similar responses to physical condition across trophic levels. Our results encourage the use of additional taxa, in addition to widely used macroinvertebrate metrics, as indicators of the composite effects of physical habitat impairment in stream ecosystems.
- Subjects
KINGFISHERS; FISHES; BIOMASS; BIOTIC communities; CRAYFISH; BELTED kingfisher; STATISTICAL correlation; MAYFLIES; STONEFLIES
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences, 2008, Vol 65, Issue 12, p2667
- ISSN
0706-652X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1139/F08-165