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Relation of urbanization to stream fish assemblages and species traits in nine metropolitan areas of the United States

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Abstract

We examined associations of fish assemblages and fish traits with urbanization and selected environmental variables in nine major United States metropolitan areas. The strongest relations between fishes and urbanization occurred in the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama; Boston, Massachusetts; and Portland, Oregon. In these areas, environmental variables with strong associations (rs ≥ 0.70) with fish assemblages and fish traits tended to have strong associations with urbanization. Relations of urbanization with fish assemblages and fish traits were weaker in Denver, Colorado; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Milwaukee-Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Raleigh, North Carolina. Environmental variables associated with fishes varied among the metropolitan areas. The metropolitan areas with poor relations may have had a limited range of possible response because of previous landscape disturbances. Given the complexities of urban landscapes in different metropolitan areas, our results indicate that caution is warranted when generalizing about biological responses to urbanization.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the many past and present biologists and hydrologists with the NAWQA Program who diligently collected the data used in these analyses. Comments from Michael Meador (U.S. Geological Survey) and David Walters (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and several anonymous reviewers greatly improved this manuscript.

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  1. U.S. Geological Survey, Placer Hall, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA, 95819-6129, USA

    Larry R. Brown & Jason T. May

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, 3039 Amwiler Road, Atlanta, GA, 30360-2824, USA

    M. Brian Gregory

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  1. Larry R. Brown
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Correspondence to Larry R. Brown.

Appendix 1. Frequency of occurrence of fish species in nine metropolitan areas of the U.S. Introduced species are designated by superscripts.

Appendix 1. Frequency of occurrence of fish species in nine metropolitan areas of the U.S. Introduced species are designated by superscripts.

Table 9 Frequency of occurrence of fish species captured in nine metropolitan areas of the U.S
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Brown, L.R., Gregory, M.B. & May, J.T. Relation of urbanization to stream fish assemblages and species traits in nine metropolitan areas of the United States. Urban Ecosyst 12, 391–416 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-009-0082-2

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