Stream Habitat Modelling for Conserving a Threatened Headwater Fish in the Upper Cumberland River, Kentucky

Abstract

The conservation of stream biodiversity requires more explicit knowledge on the distribution of aquatic species within the context of their specific environmental settings and stresses. Although species distribution models (SDMs) have been widely used for organisms occupying contiguous spatial extents, the implementation of SDMs in relatively complex and segmented riverine networks is still at its early stage. In this study, we explicitly modelled the headwater stream habitat for the threatened blackside dace (Phoxinus cumberlandensis) endemic to the upper Cumberland River, Kentucky, USA. An occurrence record data set, along with variables describing stream properties and land use impacts, was used to predict the fish habitat suitability at the stream segment level. An approach combining geographic information systems and the maximum entropy species distribution modelling (MaxEnt) was adopted. Results demonstrated that natural conditions and land use disturbances, respectively, form the primary and secondary environmental constraints on the species' habitat. We generated regional‐scale management‐friendly maps showing subwatershed habitat suitability and locations of the clustered suitable habitats (hotspots) and thus set an example for spatially explicit management of threatened and endangered riverine species. This study demonstrates the usefulness of SDMs for stream network–based environments in the facilitation of biogeographic conservation efforts and studies. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Headwater Streams and Wetlands are Critical for Sustaining Fish, Fisheries, and Ecosystem Services

“…; Liang et al. ; Lowe and Likens ; also see The importance of headwaters for imperiled species ). Fish inhabiting wetlands located outside of floodplains may benefit from greater availability of food resources compared to habitats in other aquatic ecosystems (Snodgrass et al.…”

“…Although fish abundance and diversity generally are lower in headwater systems compared to downstream reaches (Schlosser 1987), species composition can be distinct from the rest of the network (Paller 1994). Further, headwaters often support ecological specialist as well as threatened taxa not found elsewhere within the river network (DeRolph et al 2015;Liang et al 2013;Lowe and Likens 2005; also see The importance of headwaters for imperiled species). Fish inhabiting wetlands located outside of floodplains may benefit from greater availability of food resources compared to habitats in other aquatic ecosystems (Snodgrass et al 2001;Baber et al 2002).…”

Incorporating fragmentation and non‐native species into distribution models to inform fluvial fish conservation

“…), and distributions modeled within distinct periods allow investigation into drivers of recent range loss (Liang et al. ; Worthington et al. ).…”

Natural abiotic factors more than anthropogenic perturbation shape the invasion of Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki)

“…Mosquitofish have been generally neglected in similar models, except by Lauzeral et al (2011) who noted some climate niche shifts. Our SDM is one of the first in which anthropogenic landscape features were considered for a freshwater species (see also Markovic et al 2012, Liang et al 2013, Maloney et al 2013. We hope to improve our understanding of factors mediating mosquitofish invasion and to identify areas where mosquitofish may already be present or is likely to invade.…”