Habitat Suitability and Fish Production: A Model Evaluation for Rock Bass in Two Virginia Streams

Pajak, Paul; Neves, Richard J.

doi:10.1577/1548-8659(1987)116<839:hsafp>2.0.co;2

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 139: [325][326][327][328][329][330][331][332][333][334][335][336][337][338]2010 Ó Copyright by the American Fisheries Society 2009 DOI: 10.1577/T08-238.1 [Article] 1993; Ricciardi and Rasmussen 1999). The difficulty from a conservation and management standpoint is selecting appropriate habitat metrics to quantify, particularly because of myriad species-specific habitat requirements and life history strategies (Pajak and Neves 1987;Aadland 1993;Vadas and Orth 2000).…”

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confidence: 99%

Habitat Suitability of the Carolina Madtom, an Imperiled, Endemic Stream Fish

2010

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The Carolina madtom Noturus furiosus is an imperiled stream ictalurid that is endemic to the Tar and Neuse River basins in North Carolina. The Carolina madtom is listed as a threatened species by the state of North Carolina, and whereas recent distribution surveys have found that the Tar River basin population occupies a range similar to its historical range, the Neuse River basin population has shown recent significant decline. Quantification of habitat requirements and availability is critical for effective management and subsequent survival of the species. We investigated six reaches (three in each basin) to (1) quantify Carolina madtom microhabitat use, availability, and suitability; (2) compare suitable microhabitat availability between the two basins; and (3) examine use of an instream artificial cover unit. Carolina madtoms were located and their habitat was quantified at four of the six survey reaches. They most frequently occupied shallow to moderate depths of swift moving water over a sand substrate and used cobble for cover. Univariate and principal components analyses both showed that Carolina madtom use of instream habitat was selective (i.e., nonrandom). Interbasin comparisons suggested that suitable microhabitats were more prevalent in the impacted Neuse River basin than in the Tar River basin. We suggest that other physical or biotic effects may be responsible for the decline in the Neuse River basin population. We designed instream artificial cover units that were occupied by Carolina madtoms (25% of the time) and occasionally by other organisms. Carolina madtom abundance among all areas treated with the artificial cover unit was statistically higher than that in the control areas, demonstrating use of artificial cover when available. Microhabitat characteristics of occupied artificial cover units closely resembled those of natural instream microhabitat used by Carolina madtoms; these units present an option for conservation and restoration if increased management is deemed necessary. Results from our study provide habitat suitability criteria and artificial cover information that can inform management and conservation of the Carolina madtom.

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confidence: 99%

Habitat Suitability of the Carolina Madtom, an Imperiled, Endemic Stream Fish

2010

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“…The bulk of production in any population usually originates from young‐of‐the‐year fish (Halyk & Balon, ; Neves & Pardue, ; Pajak & Neves, ); thus, any increases or decreases in recruitment or young‐of‐the‐year production may alter total assemblage production (Casselman, ; Lobón‐Cerviá et al., ). Whiteoak Creek (P = 0.15 g m −2 year −1 ), Roaring Creek (P = 0.53 g m −2 year −1 ) and Scapecat Branch (P = 0.64 g m −2 year −1 ) had low abundances of younger age class fish, which is also most likely contributing to lower overall fish assemblage production at these sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The bulk of production in any population usually originates from young-of-the-year fish (Halyk & Balon, 1983;Neves & Pardue, 1983;Pajak & Neves, 1987); thus, any increases or decreases in recruitment or young-of-the-year production may alter total assemblage production (Casselman, 2002;Lobón-Cerviá et al, 2011). Whiteoak…”

Section: Assemblage Production P/b and Evennessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish assemblage production estimates in Appalachian streams across a latitudinal and temperature gradient

Myers

Dolloff

Webster

et al. 2017

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

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Production of biomass is central to the ecology and sustainability of fish assemblages.The goal of this study was to empirically estimate and compare fish assemblage production, production-to-biomass (P/B) ratios and species composition for 25 secondto third-order streams spanning the Appalachian Mountains (from Vermont to North Carolina) that vary in their temperature regimes. Fish assemblage production estimates ranged from 0.15 to 6.79 g m −2 year, and P/B ratios ranged from 0.20 to 1.07.There were no significant differences in mean assemblage production across northern cold-water, southern cold-water and southern cool-water streams (p = .35). Two warm-water streams, not included in these comparisons, had the highest mean production and biomass values. Mean assemblage P/B was significantly higher in northern cold-water streams relative to southern cold-water and cool-water streams (p = .01). Species evenness in production declined with stream temperature and differed significantly across the lower latitude cold-water, cool-water and warm-water streams and the higher latitude (i.e. more northern) cold-water streams. Our fish assemblage production estimates and P/B ratios were both lower and higher compared to previously published estimates for similar stream habitats. This study provides empirical fish assemblage production estimates to inform future research on southern Appalachian streams and on the potential impacts of varying temperature regimes on cold-water, cool-water and warm-water fish production in the coming decades as climate change continues to threaten fish assemblages. K E Y W O R D Sassemblage composition, assemblage evenness, biomass, P/B ratios, secondary production

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“…The lake sturgeon HSM was initially developed for medium-sized, slow-flowing rivers in northern Ontario (Moose River basin; Threader et al 1998). Differences in populations or variability in habitats across geographical areas (Pajak and Neves 1987;Fausch et al 1988;O'Neil et al 1988;Glozier et al 1997;Vismara et al 2001;Strakosh et al 2003) may also account for the low predictive power of adult and juvenile sturgeon foraging in the Ottawa River. Adult and juvenile foraging habitats are based primarily on substrate, which we used as a surrogate for prey (i.e., macroinvertebrates).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictive Value of a Lake Sturgeon Habitat Suitability Model

Haxton

Findlay

Threader

2008

N American J Fish Manag

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Although many fish habitat suitability models (HSMs) have been developed and used in wildlife management and conservation planning, comparatively few have been independently validated. Given the importance of such models in habitat management and conservation policy, the extent to which they accurately predict population parameters (e.g., abundance or recruitment) is a critical issue. Here we apply an HSM recently developed for lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens in northern rivers to three reaches of the Ottawa River, using measurements of the model's key variables (substrate type, water depth, and velocity) to generate spatially explicit predictions of habitat suitability. We then test the predictive power of the model by comparing lake sturgeon catch per unit effort (CUE) when using short‐set gill nets in areas predicted to have good (habitat suitability index values >0.6) and poor (values < 0.3) adult and juvenile foraging habitats. Consistent with model predictions, significantly more lake sturgeon were caught at sites within river reaches predicted to be of high quality than at those predicted to be of low quality. Moreover, the average CUE at the reach scale correlated positively with the average predicted habitat foraging quality. On the other hand, the predictive power was generally low, such that most of the variation in CUE was unexplained by the fitted models. These results suggest that although the lake sturgeon HSM developed for northern rivers has some predictive power in other contexts, the uncertainty of its predictions is still rather high. We suggest that (1) considerably more effort be devoted to the independent validation of both existing HSMs and those still in development and (2) in the absence of independent validation and bona fide estimates of their predictive power, such models be used circumspectly in conservation management and planning.

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Habitat Suitability and Fish Production: A Model Evaluation for Rock Bass in Two Virginia Streams

Cited by 14 publications

References 27 publications

Habitat Suitability of the Carolina Madtom, an Imperiled, Endemic Stream Fish

Habitat Suitability of the Carolina Madtom, an Imperiled, Endemic Stream Fish

Fish assemblage production estimates in Appalachian streams across a latitudinal and temperature gradient

Predictive Value of a Lake Sturgeon Habitat Suitability Model

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