Synopsis
The distribution of fishes within 23 streams in the eastern and central United States was analyzed for evidence of distinct longitudinal faunal ‘breaks’, and to compare location of the breaks to stream order and longitudinal position of stations within watersheds. On the basis of presence-absence data for fish species, distinct faunal breaks were found in only 8 of the 23 streams. Qualitative faunal breaks were not significantly more common in any particular reach of streams, and the breaks did not correspond to changes in stream order. In 11 of 14 streams for which data on fish abundance were available, quantitative faunal breaks were found, but the locations of these breaks were unrelated to stream order or longitudinal position of stations in streams. Earlier studies have postulated that stream orders may represent distinct biological units for fishes. In contrast, this analysis shows that local fish faunas differ as much within as between adjacent stream orders, and suggests that stream order alone is not a pervasive organizer of lotic fish communities.
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Matthews, W.J. Fish faunal ‘breaks’ and stream order in the eastern and central United States. Environ Biol Fish 17, 81–92 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00001739
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00001739