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Nursery habitat characteristics of an invasive, omnivorous fish

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Abstract

Understanding habitat use and reproductive biology of invasive species is essential to predicting invasions, designing early detection programs, and developing management plans. The rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus; Linnaeus, 1758) is an omnivorous fish native to Europe and western Asia that has been translocated to several countries in western Europe, New Zealand, North America, and Africa. However, little is known about early life history of rudd, particularly in invaded ecosystems, limiting our ability to predict invasions and create early detection and control programs. The upper Niagara River has the most abundant population of rudd in North America and has been the focus of several ecological investigations. Our study identified critical nursery habitats by determining which nearshore habitat factors were most strongly associated with presence of age-0 rudd. We found that emergent vegetation was the most important habitat characteristic associated with the presence of age-0 rudd. When emergent vegetation was not present, rudd were more likely to be present at sites with abundant submerged aquatic vegetation. Additionally, the odds of rudd presence decreased as distance to the nearest wetland increased. These findings can be used to create habitat-driven predictive models of rudd invasion and guide early detection programs for rudd outside their native range.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Leonard Cheskiewicz, Jacob Gaskill, Michael Guinan, Trevor Gronda, Matthew Gunderson, Christina Killourhy, Kyle Lemmon, Andrew Panczykowski, Breanne Thomas, Kyle Urban, and Justin Zimmerman from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Lake Superior State University, Chris Legard and Michael Wilkinson from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and Joshua Fisher from the Buffalo State College Great Lakes Center for their assistance in sampling. Alexander Karatayev and Mark Clapsadl provided substantial support through use of their facilities at the Buffalo State-SUNY Great Lakes Center. Susan Bergeron from Coastal Carolina University assisted with collection of spatial data. This project was funded by the Niagara River Greenway Ecological Fund. The authors are grateful to have been supported by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Coastal Carolina University, and Lake Superior State University. This publication is a contribution of Lake Superior State University’s Center for Freshwater Research and Education.

Funding

This project was funded by the Niagara River Greenway Ecological Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Coastal and Marine Systems Science, Coastal Carolina University, 107 Chanticleer Drive East, Conway, SC, 29526, USA

    Garrett M. Herigan

  2. Department of Biology, Coastal Carolina University, 107 Chanticleer Drive East, Conway, SC, 29526, USA

    Derek P. Crane

  3. Center for Freshwater Research and Education, Lake Superior State University, 650 W. Easterday Avenue, Sault Ste. Marie, MI, 49783, USA

    Kevin L. Kapuscinski

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  1. Garrett M. Herigan
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Correspondence to Garrett M. Herigan.

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Sampling of fishes was conducted under State University of New York Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocol number 130401, and as approved by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

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Herigan, G.M., Crane, D.P. & Kapuscinski, K.L. Nursery habitat characteristics of an invasive, omnivorous fish. Hydrobiologia 848, 5135–5146 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04697-5

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