Journal article
Taxonomic and functional homogenization of fish assemblages in an Ozark river associated with pasture land use and constructed water bodies
Ecology of freshwater fish
14 Jun 2024
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Comparisons between contemporary and historic surveys are useful in assessing how fish assemblages respond to anthropogenic stressors. When these stressors degrade aquatic environments, assemblages often experience biotic homogenization. The Strawberry River flows through the Ozarks of northern Arkansas and has been subject to both pasture land use conversion and constructed waterbodies which can degrade aquatic environments and alter fish assemblages. We investigated how fish assemblages in the Strawberry River have changed over a 35-year time span in response to pasture land use and constructed waterbodies. We found evidence of both taxonomic and functional homogenization of fish assemblages from the mid-1980s to 2019. This shift towards homogenization was primarily driven by increases in both site occurrence and abundance of generalist centrarchid species (associated with land use practices) and headwater specialist species (likely related to increased intermittency upstream). We created a composite variable using principal component analysis that represented pasture land use and constructed water body metrics because of their close relationship with each other. We found evidence of early functional differentiation associated with this composite variable; however, we found that over time fish assemblages ultimately experienced greater levels of homogenization associated with this same variable. This pattern of biotic homogenization associated with species additions suggests the Strawberry River is at a tipping point along a subsidy stress gradient, and in the future, we expect to see losses of specialist endemic species if conservation actions are not taken.
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Details
- Title
- Taxonomic and functional homogenization of fish assemblages in an Ozark river associated with pasture land use and constructed water bodies
- Creators
- Daniel P. Morrill - Acad Nat Sci, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, Philadelphia, PA 19103 USAJennifer Main - University of Central ArkansasGrace Davenport - Conway School of Landscape DesignGinny L. Adams - University of Central ArkansasSteven Reid Adams - University of Central Arkansas
- Publication Details
- Ecology of freshwater fish
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 16
- Grant note
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; US Fish & Wildlife Service Department of Biology of the University of Central Arkansas
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Fisheries
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001247274200001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85196078729
- Other Identifier
- 991021932095904721
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InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Fisheries
- Marine & Freshwater Biology