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Isolating causal pathways between flow and fish in the regulated river hierarchy

Journal Article · · Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  2. Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States)
  3. Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Unregulated river systems are organized in a hierarchy in which large-scale factors (i.e., landscape and segment scales) influence local habitats (i.e., reach, meso-, and microhabitat scales), and both differentially exert selective pressures on biota. Dams, however, create discontinua in these processes and change the hierarchical structure. We examined the relative roles of hydrology and other instream factors, within a hierarchical landscape context, in organizing fish communities in regulated and unregulated tributaries to the Upper Tennessee River, USA. We also used multivariate regression trees to identify factors that partition fish assemblages based on trait similarities, irrespective of spatial scale. Then, we used classical path analysis and structural equation modeling to evaluate the most plausible hierarchical causal structure of specific trait-based community components, given the data. Both statistical approaches suggested that river regulation affects stream fishes through a variety of reach-scale variables, not always through hydrology itself. Though we observed different changes in flow, temperature, and biotic responses according to regulation types, the most predominant path in which dam regulation affected biota was via temperature alterations. Diversion dams had the strongest effects on fish assemblages. Diversion dams reduced flow magnitudes, leading to declines in fish richness but increased temperatures, leading to lower abundances in equilibrium species and nest guarders. Peaking and run-of-river dams increased flow variability, leading to lower abundances in nest-guarding fishes. Flow displayed direct relationships with biotic responses; however, results indicated that changes in temperature and substrate had equal, if not stronger, effects on fish assemblage composition. The strength and nature of relationships depended on whether flow metrics were standardized for river size. Here, we suggest that restoration efforts in regulated rivers focus on improving flow conditions in conjunction with temperature and substrate restoration.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1265850
Journal Information:
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Journal Name: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 72; ISSN 0706-652X
Publisher:
NRC Research PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
dam
fish
hydrology
hydropower
landscape ecology
stream ecology