Abstract
Stream pH and stream habitat have both been identified as important environmental features influencing total fish biomass in streams, but few studies have evaluated the relative influence of habitat and pH together. We measured total fish biomass, stream habitat, and stream pH in sixteen sites from three tributary systems in the northeastern United States. The habitat metrics included total pool area, a cover score, large wood frequency, and stream temperature. We created and compared nine linear models relating total fish biomass in summer to stream pH and stream habitat using Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) analysis. The best (most parsimonious) models included pool area and stream pH. These results and a separate comparison of three regressions (low-flow pH, pool area, and these two metrics together versus total fish biomass) suggest that both habitat and stream buffering capacity affect the total biomass of fish in northeastern US headwater streams. When stream pH is adequate (low-flow pH greater than at least 5.7), physical habitat is likely to be more important, but under lower pH conditions, habitat is likely to be less effective in accounting for the total biomass of fish in these streams. This work demonstrates the continued effects of stream acidification in the northeastern US and more generally, it illustrates the importance of considering both physical and chemical conditions of a stream when evaluating the factors influencing fish communities.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Travis Andrews for help in data collection and field work. Barry Baldigo, Doug Burns, Kate Macneale, Annika Walters, the associate editor, and three anonymous reviewers provided numerous useful comments to improve this manuscript. We thank the Adirondack League Club for access to study sites in the Adirondack Mountains. We thank Lenny Gerardi of Vermont Fish and Wildlife and Jamie Shanley of the U.S. Geological Survey for their help in accessing sites in Vermont. Funding for this study was provided by the Keickhefer Adirondack Fellowship, by an EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowship, and by the Biogeochemistry and Environmental Biocomplexity NSF IGERT grant at Cornell University. This publication does not reflect the view of any funding agency.
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Warren, D.R., Mineau, M.M., Ward, E.J. et al. Relating fish biomass to habitat and chemistry in headwater streams of the northeastern United States. Environ Biol Fish 88, 51–62 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9617-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9617-x