Synopsis
The upper Speed River, on which a dam was under construction, was surveyed through fourteen qualitative and six quantitative collections to determine the distribution of fishes in the river above Guelph, Ontario and in a tributary, Luteral Creek. At the quantitative localities the removal method was used to estimate density and standing crop of all species. At three of these localities age and growth of the dominant species were determined and total ecological production calculated.
Two approaches to the estimation of production for the 0–1 age class were compared and found to result in differences of 33–39% in the estimates of total production, thus illustrating the extent to which methodology may affect such estimates
The dominant species in the river were, Semotilus atromaculatus, Notropis cornutus, Pimephales notatus, Rhinichthys atratulus, Hypentelium nigricans, Catostomus commersoni, Ambloplites rupestris, Micropterus dolomieui and Etheostoma flabellare. Density ranged from 11126 to 74765 individuals per hectare and standing crop from 32.4 to 190.0 kg ha−1. Production values at the three localities were 15, 19 and 54 kg ha−1 yr−1 , and are low compared with estimates for other fluvial systems. Comparison with a 1951 survey of the Speed River revealed considerable changes in the composition and distribution of fish species. The ranges of several cold-water species had contracted towards the headwaters, whereas several warm-water species had extended their ranges up the river
Similar content being viewed by others
References cited
Balon, E. K. 1962. Age and growth of the chub in the Orava River and in the Orava Valley Reservoir in the years following its filling (with methodological notes). Prace Laboratoria rybarstva 1: 79–104. (In Slovak).
Balon, E. K. 1974. Fish production of a tropical ecosystem. pp. 249–676. In: E. K. Balon & A. G. Coche (ed.) Lake Kariba: a man-made tropical ecosystem in Central Africa, Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague.
Balon, E. K. 1979. Early ontogeny of the lake charr, Salvelinus (Christivomer) namaycush. pp. 485–562. In: E. K. Balon (ed.) Charrs: salmonid fishes of the genus, Salvelinus, Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague.
Balon, E. K., W.T. Momot & H. A. Regier. 1977. Reproductive guilds of percids: results of the paleogeographical history and ecological succession. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 34: 1910–1921.
Balon, E. K. & T. Penczak. 1979. The dwarfed charr of Dösener See, an alpine lake in Austria, pp. 000–000. In: E. K. Balon (ed.) Charrs: salmonid fishes of the genus Salvelinus, Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague.
Beamish, R. J. & H. H. Harvey. 1969. Age determination in the white sucker. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 26: 633–638.
Bishop, J. E. 1973. Limnology of a small Malayan River, Sungai Gombak. Monogr. Biol. 22. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague. 485 pp.
Bohlin, T. & B. Sundstrom. 1977. Influence of unequal catchability on population estimates using the Lincoln index and the removal method applied to electrofishing. Oikos 28: 123–129.
Burrows, R. E. 1951. An evaluation of methods of egg enumeration. Prog. Fish-Cult. 13: 79–85.
Chadwick, E. M. P. 1976. Ecological fish production in a small Precambrian shield lake. Env. Biol. Fish. 1: 13–60.
Chorley, R. J. 1969. The drainage basin as the fundamental geomorphic unit. pp. 37–59. In: R. J. Chorley (ed.) Physical hydrology, Methuen & Co., G.B.
Clady, M. D. 1975. Early survival and recruitment of smallmouth bass in northern Michigan. J. Wildl. Manag. 39: 194–200.
Clady, M. D. 1977. Abundance and production of young largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and yellow perch in two infertile Michigan lakes. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 106: 57–63.
Edwards, R. J. 1978. The effect of hypolirnnion reservoir releases on fish distribution and species diversity. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 107: 71–77.
Emlen, J. M. 1973. Ecology: An evolutionary approach. Addison Wesley Publ. Co., Ontario. 493 pp.
Fee, E. 1965. Life history of the northern common shiner, Notropis cornutus frontalis in Boone county, Iowa. Iowa Acad. Sci. 72: 272–281.
Fraser, J. C. 1972. Regulated discharge and the stream environment. pp. 263–285. In: Oglesby, R. T., C. A. Carlson & J. A. McCann (ed.) River ecology and man, Academic Press, New York.
Gerking, S. D. 1949. Characteristics of stream fish populations. Invest. Ind. Lakes & Streams 3: 283–309.
Gorman, O. T. & J. R. Karr. 1978. Habitat structure and stream fish communities. Ecology 59: 507–515.
Hall, J. B. & W. Pople. 1968. Recent vegetational changes in the Lower Volta River. Ghana. J. Sci. 8: 24–29.
Hallam, J. C. 1959. Habitat and associated fauna of four species of fish in Ontario streams. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 16: 147–173.
Harrel, R. C. & T. C. Dorris. 1968. Stream order, morphometry, physicochemical conditions, and community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates in an intermittent stream system. Amer. Mid1. Natur. 80: 220–251.
Harrel, R. C., B. J. Davis & T. C. Dorris. 1967. Stream order and species diversity of fishes in an intermittent Oklahoma stream. Amer. Mid1. Natur. 78: 428–436.
Hawkes, H. A. 1975. River zonation and classification pp. 312–374. In: B. A. Whitton (ed.) River Ecology, Blackwell Scientific Publ., London.
Hopkins, C. L. 1971. Production of fish in two small streams in the north island of New Zealand. N.Z. J. Marine & Freshwater Res. 5: 280–290.
Horton, R. E. 1945. Erosional development of streams and their drainage basins; hydrophysical approach to quantitative morphology. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 56: 275–370.
Hubbs, C. L. & R. M. Bailey. 1938. The smallmouthed bass. Cranbrook Inst. Sci. Bull. 10: 1–92.
Hubbs, C. L. & G. P. Cooper. 1936. Minnows of Michigan. Cranbrook Inst. Sci. Bull. 8: 1–84.
Hunt, R. L. 1966. Production and angler harvest of wild brook trout in Lawrence Creek, Wisconsin. Wis. Conserv. Dept. Tech. Bull. 35: 1–52.
Hunt, R. L. 1974. Annual production by brook trout in Lawrence Creek during eleven successive years. Wisc. Dept. Nat. Res. Tech. Bull. 82: 1–29.
Johnson, M. G. 1965. Estimates of fish populations in warmwater streams by the removal method. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 94: 350–357.
Jones, F. J., W. D. Pearson & L. C. Fitzpatrick. 1977. Production of a fish taxocene in a Texas pond. Env. Biol. Fish. 2: 241–259.
Junge, C. & J. Libovársky. 1965. Effects of size selectivity on population estimates based on successive removals with electrical fishing gear. Zool. Listy 14: 171–178.
Karr, J. R. 1964. Age, growth, fecundity and food habits of fantail darters in Boone County. Iowa. Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci. 71: 274–280.
Karr, J. R. & I. J. Schlosser. 1978. Water resources and the land water interface. Science 201: 229–234.
Kitchell, J. F., D. J. Stewart & D. Weininger. 1977. Percid habitat: the river analogy. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 34: 1936–1940.
Kuehne, R. A. 1962. A classification of streams, illustrated by fish distribution in an eastern Kentucky creek. Ecology 43: 608–614.
Lake, C. T. 1936. The life history of the fan-tailed darter, Catonotus flabellaris flabellaris (Rafinesque). Amer. Midl. Natur. 17: 816–830.
Larimore, R. W. 1961. Fish population and electrofishing success in a warm-water stream. J. Wildl. Manage. 25: 1–12.
Larimore, R. W. & P. W. Smith. 1963. Fishes of Champaign County, Illinois, as affected by 60 years of stream changes. Illinois Nat. Hist. Surv. Bull. 28: 299–382.
LeCren, E. D. 1969. Estimates of fish population and production in small streams in England. pp. 269–280. In: T. Northcote (ed.) Symposium on salmon and trout in streams, MacMillan Lect., Institute of Fisheries, Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver.
LeCren, E. D. 1972. Fish production of freshwaters. Symp. zool. Soc. Lond. 29: 115–133.
Lelek, A. 1963. Contribution to the knowledge of the quantitative occurrence of fishes inhabiting some sections of Rokytna River. Zool. Listy 12: 25–42. (In Czech).
Lelek, A. 1974. Toward a method of evaluation of fish populations in streams based on successive fish removals. European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission, Symposium 38, Aviemore, Scotland. 8 pp.
Leslie, P. H. & D. H. S. Davis. 1939. An attempt to determine the absolute number of rats on a given area. J. Anim. Ecol. 8: 94–113.
Lotrich, V. A. 1973. Growth, production and community composition of fishes inhabiting a first-, second-, and third order stream of eastern Kentucky. Ecol. Monogr. 43: 377–397.
Mahon, R. & E. K. Balon. 1976. Fish production in Lake Kariba: reconsidered. Env. Biol. Fish. 1: 71–82.
Mahon, R. & E. K. Balon. 1977. Ecological fish production in Long Pond, a lakeshore lagoon on Long Point, Lake Erie. Env. Biol. Fish. 2: 261–284.
Mann, K. H. 1965. Energy transformations by a population of fish in the river Thames. J. Anim. Ecol. 34: 253–275.
Mann, R. H. K. 1971. The populations, growth and production of fish in four small streams in southern England. J. Anim. Ecol. 40: 155–190.
Margalef, R. 1963. On certain unifying principles in ecology. Amer. Natur. 97: 357–374.
Marshall, N. 1939. Annulus formation in scales of the common shiner, Netropis cornutus chrysocephalus (Rafinesque). Copeia 1939: 148–154.
Mathews, C. P. 1971. Contribution of young fish to total production of fish in the river Thames near Reading. J. Fish Biol. 3: 157–180.
Mišík, V. 1960. Ichthyofauna of the drainage canals of the itny Island. Biologia (Bratislava) 15: 671–679. (Inn Slovak).
Mišík, V. 1964. Estimation of the quantitative occurrence and standing crop of mudminnow (Umbra krameri) and pike (Esox lucius) in the canals of the itny Island in Slovakia. Věst. Čs. zool. spol. 28: 357–368. (In Slovak).
Mortensen, E. 1977. Population survival, growth and production of trout Salmo trutta in a small Danish strewm. Oikos 28: 9–15.
Naiman, R. J. 1976. Productivity of a herbivorous pupfish population (Cyprinodon nevadensis) in a warm desert stream. J. Fish. Biol. 9: 125–137.
Noble, R. L. 1965. Life history and ecology of western blacknose dace, Boone County, Iowa, 1963–1964. Iowa Acad. Sci. 72: 282–293.
O'Connor, J. F. & G. Power. 1976. Production by brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in four streams in the Matamek watershed, Quebec. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 33: 6–18.
Omand, D. N. 1951. A study of populations of fish based on catch effort statistics. J. Wildl. Manag. 15: 88–89.
Osmond, D. S. 1971. Biology survey of the Speed-Eramosa River, 1970–1971. Biology Branch, Dept. Ont. Water Res. Comm. 23 pp.
Parker, R. E. 1973. Introductory statistics for biology. Studies in Biology 43: 122 pp.
Penczak, T. & M. Zalewski. 1974. Distribution of fish numbers and biomass in barbel region of the river and the adjoining old river-beds. Ekol. pol. 22: 107–119.
Penczak, T., M. Zalewski & M. Molinski. 1976. Production of pike, roach and chub, in a selected fragment of Pilica River (barbel region). Pol. Arch. Hydrobiol. 23: 139–153.
Pflieger, W. L. 1966. Reproduction of the smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) in a small Ozark stream, Amer. Mid1. Natur. 76: 410–418.
Powles, P. M., D. Parker & D. Reid. 1977. Growth, maturation, and apparent and absolute fecundity of creek chub, Semotilus atromaculatus (Mitchill), in the Kawartha lakes region, Ontario. Can. J. Zool. 55: 843–846.
Raney, E. C. & E. A. Lachner. 1946. Age, growth, and habits of the hog sucker, Hypentelium nigricans (LeSeur) in New York. Amer. Midl. Natur. 36: 76–86.
Regier, H. A. 1962. Validation of the scale method for estimating age and growth of bluegills. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 91: 362–374.
Regier, H. A. & E. B. Cowell. 1972. Application of ecosystem theory, succession, diversity, stability, stress, and conservation. Biol. Cons. 4: 83–88.
Ricker, W. E. 1946. Production and utilization of fish populations. Ecol. Monogr. 16: 374–391.
Ricker, W. E. 1975. Computation and interpretation of biological statistics of fish populations. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 191. 382 pp.
Ridley, J. E. & J. A. Steel. 1975. Ecological aspects of river impoundments. pp. 565–587. In: B. A. Whitton (ed.) River Ecology, Studies in Ecology 2, Blackwell Scientific Publ., London.
Scott, W. B. & E. J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fish. Res. Board Can. Bull. 184. 966 pp.
Seber, G. A. F. & E. D. LeCren. 1967. Estimating population parameters from catches large relative to the population. J. Anim. Ecol. 36: 631–643.
Sheldon, A. L. 1968. Species diversity and longitudinal succession in stream fishes. Ecology 49: 193–198.
Shelford, V. E. 1911. Ecological succession. I. Stream fishes and the method of physiographic analysis. Biol. Bull. 21: 9–34.
Small, J. W. Jr. 1975. Energy dynamics of benthic fishes in a small Kentucky stream. Ecology 56: 827–840.
Spence, J. A. & H. B. N. Hynes. 1971a. Differences in benthos upstream and downstream of an impoundment. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 28: 35–43.
Spence, J. A. & H. B. N. Hynes. 1971b. Differences in fish populations upstream and downstream of a mainstream impoundment. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 28: 45–46.
Staples, D. J. 1975. Production biology of the upland bully Philyprodon breviceps Stokell in a small New Zealand lake. III. Production, food consumption and efficiency of food utilization. J. Fish Biol. 7: 47–69.
Sternin, V. G., I. V. Nikonorov, & Yu. K. Bumeister. 1976. Electrical fishing, theory and practice. Halsted Press, N.Y. 316 pp.
Stott, B., J. W. V. Elsdon & J. A. A. Johnston. 1963. Homing behaviour in gudgeon (Gobio gobio (L.)). Anim. Behav. 11: 93–96.
Strahler, A. N. 1954. Quantitative geomorphology of erosional landscapes, C-R. 19th Intern. Geol. Cong., Algiers, 1952, sec. 13. pt. 3: 341–354.
Sullivan, C. R. 1956. The importance of size grouping in population estimates employing electric shockers. Prog. FishCult. 18: 188–190.
Vessel, M. F. & S. Eddy. 1949. A preliminary study of the egg production of certain Minnesota fishes. Minn. Bur. Fish. Res. Invest. Rep. 26: 1–26.
Vladykov, V. D. 1956. Fecundity of wild speckled trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Quebec lakes. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 13: 799–841.
Water Survey of Canada. 1976. Water temperatures of selected streams in Ontario. Water Survey of Canada, Water Resources Branch, Inland Waters Directorate, Guelph, Ontario. 279 pp.
Waters, T. F. 1969. The turnover ratio in production ecology of freshwater invertebrates. Amer. Natur. 103: 173–185.
Westman, J. R. 1938. Studies on the reproduction and growth of the bluntnose minnow, Hyborhynchus notanus (Rafinesque). Copeia 1938: 57–60.
Whiteside, B. G. & R. M. McNatt. 1972. Fish species diversity in relation to stream order and physicochemical conditions in the Plum Creek drainage basin. Amer. Midl. Natur. 88: 90–100.
Williams, G. C. 1959. Ovary weights of darters: a test of the alleged association of parental care with reduced fecundity in fishes. Copeia 1959: 18–24.
Winberg, G. G. 1956. Rate of metabolism and food requirements of fishes. Fish. Res. Board Can. Trans. Ser. 194.
Winn, H. E. 1958. Comparative reproductive behavior and ecology of fourteen species of darters. Ecol. Monogr. 28: 155–191.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mahon, R., Balon, E.K. & Noakes, D.L.G. Distribution, community structure and production of fishes in the upper Speed River, Ontario: a preimpoundment study. Environ Biol Fish 4, 219–244 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005480
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005480