Impacts of Small Impoundments On An Intermittent Headwater Stream Community

Hedden, Skyler C.; Renner, Elizabeth A.; Gido, Keith B.; Hase, Kristen J.

doi:10.1894/0038-4909-63.1.34

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Species with drifting larvae may also be adversely affected by fragmented habitat, as some may require large reaches of free-flowing river habitat and be unable to persist when their larvae or eggs drift into a reservoir and are preyed on or settle on the substrate prematurely. This shift in fish assemblage has been supported by multiple studies that have reported extirpations, higher representation of generalists, and shifts in fish assemblages upstream of reservoirs [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Isolation effects and community shifts have also been documented for other aquatic species, including crayfish [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…We did not observe a compelling difference in tributary fish assemblages upstream or downstream of impoundments within our study region. This result represents an anomaly in light of the published literature [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. We offer three explanations to account for this anomaly: (1) the history of land use in the Yazoo Basin, (2) the size of the tributaries investigated, and (3) a fish assemblage consisting mostly of non-migratory species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Most of the studies reporting changes in fish assemblages above reservoirs have been conducted in small basins supporting small reservoirs impounding intermittent or loworder influents [14,18,20,21]. The 4800-14,500 ha reservoirs included in this study had larger tributaries, many of them perennial, which may provide adequate refuge to fish assemblages during droughts or other physicochemical disturbances.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Impact of Dams on Stream Fish Diversity: A Different Result

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Impoundments can drastically change the physical and biological characteristics of fluvial systems. Changes in the physical characteristics, such as reductions in flow, increased sediment deposition, and increased surface area, often influence the system’s biological components, including plant, macroinvertebrate, and fish assemblages. In addition to having direct effects on impounded waterbodies, impoundments can also have wide-ranging effects at the watershed scale, particularly on upstream tributary streams. The purpose of this study was to assess the magnitude of these effects. We analyzed historical data from 26 streams distributed across five sub-basins in the Bluff Hills region of the Yazoo Basin, MS, USA. All five major tributary rivers in this region are impounded by large (11,240–26,143 hectares) reservoirs for flood control. We compared fish assemblages in streams located upstream and downstream of the four reservoirs using PERMANOVA, and contrary to expectations, we found no significant differences between the upstream and downstream assemblages. We explore several possible explanations for this discrepancy and suggest that stream assemblage response to impoundment may be nuanced by the regional species pool, the history of stream conditions in the watershed, and the resistance of the streams to periodic disturbances.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Impact of Dams on Stream Fish Diversity: A Different Result

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Major threats include the construction of impoundments and impassable road crossings that both reduce access to upstream reaches and alteration of those habitats. Restricting access into intermittent habitats disrupts the life history of many stream fish and leads to declines in species richness and densities (Hedden, Renner, Gido, & Hase, 2018). Also, negative impacts occurring in headwater intermittent streams are not only a local issue, as alterations in headwater streams can have broad, cascading ecological influences (Freeman, Pringle, & Jackson, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dispersal drives changes in fish community abundance in intermittent stream networks

Hedden

Gido

2020

River Research & Apps

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Increasing trends in fragmentation and dewatering of streams warrants research on how populations and communities respond to varying water levels and barriers to movement. Although these responses are complicated by many spatial and temporal processes, long‐term datasets might help reveal complex patterns and processes driving variability in species abundances. The objective of this study was to develop a predictive framework for fish community and population responses to varying levels of water availability across six sites in two intermittent stream networks sampled >10 years. We predicted that fishes would emigrate into intermittent reaches during wet conditions; thus, overall abundances within perennial source locations will decline. Accordingly, when intermittent reaches dry, fishes will contract to wetted habitats resulting in high abundance. Observed fish community abundances were highly variable within and among study sites, but four of six sites matched our predictions. A tagging study confirmed these results and demonstrated a substantial proportion of individuals moved away from perennial reaches and into newly wetted intermittent reaches. However, site and species‐specific relationships were variable and likely depended on the habitat, metacommunity dynamics, and life history strategies. Findings suggest that species dispersal dynamics, in addition to recruitment and mortality, should be carefully considered when interpreting species responses to varying water levels, particularly in intermittent stream networks where access to habitat can change drastically with water availability.

show abstract