Post-defaunation recovery of fish assemblages in southeastern blackwater streams

Journal Article · Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Ecology; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/1940320· OSTI ID:6279803

Meffe, G K ^[1]; Sheldon, A L ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Lab., Aiken, SC (USA)
2. Univ. of Montana, Missoula (USA)

The authors analyzed fish assemblage structure at 37 sites in South Carolina streams before and nearly one year after experimental defaunation to test assemblage resiliency. Decreases in stream depth and width in the second year reflected an intervening drought, but habitat structure remained highly correlated between years. Fish assemblages recovered well over four scales of analysis. Total fishes sampled, collective assemblage properties (species richness, density, biomass, and mean mass of fish), local assemblage structure, and single-species attributes generally did not significantly differ after defaunation, as determined by species- and individual-abundance correlations, detrended correspondence analysis, and a proportional similarity index. These assemblages were not randomly structured units, but were largely deterministic systems highly predictable from local habitat structure.

• DOE Contract Number: AC09-76SR00819
• OSTI ID: 6279803
• Journal Information: Ecology; (USA), Vol. 71:2; ISSN 0012-9658
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
BIOLOGICAL RECOVERY
DROUGHTS
ECOLOGY
FISHES
HABITAT
SAVANNAH RIVER
SPECIES DIVERSITY
STREAMS
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ECOSYSTEMS
RECOVERY
RIVERS
SURFACE WATERS
VERTEBRATES
540310* - Environment
Aquatic- Basic Studies- (1990-)
550100 - Behavioral Biology