Flow‐Biology Relationships Based on Fish Habitat Guilds in North Carolina

The health of freshwater biota is dependent on streamflow, yet identification of the flow regimes required to maintain ecological integrity remains challenging to states in the United States seeking to establish ecological flows. We tested the relationship between decreases in streamflow and Shannon‐Weaver diversity index of fish species for four flow‐based habitat guilds: riffle, riffle‐run, pool‐run, and pool in North Carolina. We found species that prefer shallow habitats, such as riffles and riffle‐runs were the most sensitive to decreases in streamflow; whereas no significant relationships were found for pool or pool‐run species. The sensitivity to decreases in streamflow was greatest during summer and fall, when streams are naturally lower. When all fish habitat guilds were included in the assessment of flow‐biology relationships, there were no significant relationships to decreases in streamflow. As the sensitivity of fish to reductions in streamflow is not constant across habitat guilds, combining all fish species together for flow‐biology analyses may greatly underestimate the response of fish species to decreases in flow and should be acknowledged when establishing ecological flows.     

Can Warmwater Streams Be Rehabilitated Using Watershed-Scale Standard Erosion Control Measures Alone?

Degradation of warmwater streams in agricultural landscapes is a pervasive problem, and reports of restoration effectiveness based on monitoring data are rare. Described is the outcome of rehabilitation of two deeply incised, unstable sand-and-gravel-bed streams. Channel networks of both watersheds were treated using standard erosion control measures, and aquatic habitats within 1-km-long reaches of each stream were further treated by addition of instream structures and planting woody vegetation on banks (“habitat rehabilitation”). Fish and their habitats were sampled semiannually during 1–2 years before rehabilitation, 3–4 years after rehabilitation, and 10–11 years after rehabilitation. Reaches with only erosion control measures located upstream from the habitat measure reaches and in similar streams in adjacent watersheds were sampled concurrently. Sediment concentrations declined steeply throughout both watersheds, with means ≥40% lower during the post-rehabilitation period than before. Physical effects of habitat rehabilitation were persistent through time, with pool habitat availability much higher in rehabilitated reaches than elsewhere. Fish community structure responded with major shifts in relative species abundance: as pool habitats increased after rehabilitation, small-bodied generalists and opportunists declined as certain piscivores and larger-bodied species such as centrarchids and catostomids increased. Reaches without habitat rehabilitation were significantly shallower, and fish populations there were similar to the rehabilitated reaches prior to treatment. These findings are applicable to incised, warmwater streams draining agricultural watersheds similar to those we studied. Rehabilitation of warmwater stream ecosystems is possible with current knowledge, but a major shift in stream corridor management strategies will be needed to reverse ongoing degradation trends. Apparently, conventional channel erosion controls without instream habitat measures are ineffective tools for ecosystem restoration in incised, warmwater streams of the Southeastern U.S., even if applied at the watershed scale and accompanied by significant reductions in suspended sediment concentration.     

Biological Responses to Contrasting Hydrology in Backwaters of Upper Mississippi River Navigation Pool 25

Water level management in Mississippi River Pool 25 differentially influences off-channel habitats in the mid-pool and lower pool. Hydrologic models indicate lower pool off-channel habitats dry with greater frequency and duration compared to similar habitats at mid-pool. We examined the influence of this contrasting hydrology on substrate characteristics, organic matter, macroinvertebrate, and fish communities in off-channel habitats during 2001–2003. Benthic organic matter standing stocks were stable in mid-pool habitats but lower pool values were variable because of annual differences in moist-soil vegetation production. Generally, small-bodied and multivoltine invertebrate taxa had high community biomass and dominated lower pool habitats, whereas longer-lived and large-bodied taxa were more abundant and had higher community biomass in mid-pool habitats having longer hydroperiods. Fish communities were dominated by cyprinids in both habitats, and mid-pool habitats tended to be higher in overall species richness. Unique fish taxa were collected in each pool, with primarily rheophilic forms in mid-pool habitats and limnophilic forms in lower pool habitats. Results indicate that contrasting hydrology associated with a mid-pool control point directly and indirectly influences biological communities in off-channel habitats. Further, management regimes that promote hydrologic diversity in off-channel habitats may enhance biological diversity at larger spatial and temporal scales.     

Effects of Bioengineered Streambank Stabilization on Bank Habitat and Macroinvertebrates in Urban Streams

Non-structural streambank stabilization, or bioengineering, is a common stream restoration practice used to slow streambank erosion, but its ecological effects have rarely been assessed. We surveyed bank habitat and sampled bank macroinvertebrates at four bioengineered sites, an unrestored site, and a comparatively less-impacted reference site in the urban Peachtree-Nancy Creek catchment in Atlanta, GA, USA. The amount of organic bank habitat (wood and roots) was much higher at the reference site and three of the bioengineered sites than at the unrestored site or the other bioengineered site, where a very different bioengineering technique was used (“joint planting”). At all sites, we saw a high abundance of pollution-tolerant taxa, especially chironomids and oligochaetes, and a low richness and diversity of the bank macroinvertebrate community. Total biomass, insect biomass, and non-chironomid insect biomass were highest at the reference site and two of the bioengineered sites (p < 0.05). Higher biomass and abundance were found on organic habitats (wood and roots) versus inorganic habitats (mud, sand, and rock) across all sites. Percent organic bank habitat at each site proved to be strongly positively correlated with many factors, including taxon richness, total biomass, and shredder biomass. These results suggest that bioengineered bank stabilization can have positive effects on bank habitat and macroinvertebrate communities in urban streams, but it cannot completely mitigate the impacts of urbanization.     

Effects of channel incision on base flow stream habitats and fishes

Channel incision is a widespread phenomenon that results in stream and riparian habitat degradation. Fishes and physical habitat variables were sampled at base flow from three incised stream channels and one reference stream in northwest Mississippi, USA, to quantify incision effects on fish habitat and provide a basis for habitat rehabilitation planning and design. Incised channels were sampled in spring and autumn; the reference channel was sampled only in the autumn. Incised channel habitat quality was inferior to the reference channel despite the presence of structures designed to restore channel stability. Incised channels had physical habitat diversity levels similar to a nonincised reference channel, but contained fewer types of habitat. At base flow, incised channels were dominated by shallow, sandy habitats, moderate to high mean local Froude numbers, and had relatively little organic debris in their beds. In contrast, the reference stream had greater mean water depth, contained more woody debris, and provided more deep pool habitat. Fish assemblages in incised channels were composed of smaller fishes representing fewer species relative to the reference site. Fish species richness was directly proportional to the mean local Froude number, an indicator of the availability of pool habitat.     

PREDICTING INFLUENCES OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT ON THERMAL HABITAT IN A WARM WATER STREAM1

ABSTRACT: Watershed and aquatic ecosystem management requires methods to predict and understand thermal impacts on stream habitat from urbanization. This study evaluates thermal effects of projected urbanization using a modeling framework and considers the biological implications to the fish community. The Stream Network Temperature Model (SNTEMP) was used in combination with the Hydrologic Simulation Program Fortran (HSPF) to assess changes in stream thermal habitat under altered stream‐ flow, shade, and channel width associated with low, medium, and high density urban developments in the Back Creek watershed (Roanoke County, Virginia). Flow alteration by the high density development scenario alone caused minimal heating of mean daily summer base flow (mean +0.1°C). However, when flow changes were modeled concurrently with reduced shade and increased channel width, mean daily temperature increased 1°C. Maximum daily temperatures exceeding the state standard (31°C) increased from 1.1 to 7.6 percent of the time using summer 2000 climatic conditions. Model results suggest that additional urban development will alter stream temperature, potentially limiting thermal habitat and shifting the fish community structure from intolerant to tolerant fish species in Back Creek. More research is needed on the sub‐lethal or chronic effects of increased stream temperature regimes on fish, particularly for those species already living in habitats near their upper limits.     

Differing Modes of Biotic Connectivity within Freshwater Ecosystem Mosaics

We describe a collection of aquatic and wetland habitats in an inland landscape, and their occurrence within a terrestrial matrix, as a “freshwater ecosystem mosaic” (FEM). Aquatic and wetland habitats in any FEM can vary widely, from permanently ponded lakes, to ephemerally ponded wetlands, to groundwater‐fed springs, to flowing rivers and streams. The terrestrial matrix can also vary, including in its influence on flows of energy, materials, and organisms among ecosystems. Biota occurring in a specific region are adapted to the unique opportunities and challenges presented by spatial and temporal patterns of habitat types inherent to each FEM. To persist in any given landscape, most species move to recolonize habitats and maintain mixtures of genetic materials. Species also connect habitats through time if they possess needed morphological, physiological, or behavioral traits to persist in a habitat through periods of unfavorable environmental conditions. By examining key spatial and temporal patterns underlying FEMs, and species‐specific adaptations to these patterns, a better understanding of the structural and functional connectivity of a landscape can be obtained. Fully including aquatic, wetland, and terrestrial habitats in FEMs facilitates adoption of the next generation of individual‐based models that integrate the principles of population, community, and ecosystem ecology.     

Bird distributions relative to remotely sensed habitats in Great Britain: towards a framework for national modelling

This paper develops a comprehensive and objective picture of bird distributions relative to habitats across Britain. Bird species presence/absence data from an extensive field survey and habitat data from the remotely sensed UK Land Cover Map 2000 were analysed in 36,920 tetrads (2 kmx2 km) across Britain (a 65% sample of Britain's c. 240,000 km2). Cluster analysis linked birds to generalised landscapes based on distinctive habitat assemblages. Maps of the clusters showed strong regional patterns associated with the habitat assemblages. Cluster centroid coordinates for each bird species and each habitat were combined across clusters to derive individualised bird-habitat preference indices and examine the importance of individual habitats for each bird species. Even rare species and scarce habitats showed successful linkages. Results were assessed against published accounts of bird-habitat relations. Objective corroboration strongly supported the associations. Relatively scarce coastal and wetland habitats proved particularly important for many birds. However, extensive arable farmland and woodland habitats were also favoured by many species, despite reported declines in bird numbers in these habitats. The fact that habitat-specialists do not or cannot move habitat is perhaps a reason for declining numbers where habitats have become unsuitable. This study showed that there are unifying principles determining bird-habitat relations which apply and can be quantified at the national scale, and which corroborate and complement the cumulative knowledge of many and varied surveys and ecological studies. This 'generality' suggests that we may be able, reliably and objectively, to integrate and scale up such disparate studies to the national scale, using this generalised framework. It also suggests the potential for a landscape ecology approach to bird-habitat analyses. Such developments will be important steps in building models to develop and test the sustainable management of landscapes for birds.     

Marine Habitat Classification for Ecosystem-Based Management: A Proposed Hierarchical Framework

Creating a habitat classification and mapping system for marine and coastal ecosystems is a daunting challenge due to the complex array of habitats that shift on various spatial and temporal scales. To meet this challenge, several countries have, or are developing, national classification systems and mapping protocols for marine habitats. To be effectively applied by scientists and managers it is essential that classification systems be comprehensive and incorporate pertinent physical, geological, biological, and anthropogenic habitat characteristics. Current systems tend to provide over-simplified conceptual structures that do not capture biological habitat complexity, marginalize anthropogenic features, and remain largely untested at finer scales. We propose a multi-scale hierarchical framework with a particular focus on finer scale habitat classification levels and conceptual schematics to guide habitat studies and management decisions. A case study using published data is included to compare the proposed framework with existing schemes. The example demonstrates how the proposed framework’s inclusion of user-defined variables, a combined top-down and bottom-up approach, and multi-scale hierarchical organization can facilitate examination of marine habitats and inform management decisions.     

FORUM: Restoration of Stream Habitats in the Western United States: Restoration as Reexpression of Habitat Capacity

/ Ecological restoration is increasingly invoked as a tool for the maintenance and regeneration of biodiversity. Yet the conceptual foundations and assumptions underlying many restoration management activities are frequently unclear or unstated. Unforeseen, undesirable consequences of restoration activities may emerge as a result. A general conceptual framework for restoration is needed to better accommodate dynamic habitat systems and evolving biota in restoration strategies. A preliminary framework for stream habitat restoration emphasizing stream habitat-biota development is proposed. As developing systems, streams and stream biota exhibit temporal behaviors that change with stream environments. Underlying the dynamic development of streams is potential capacity. Streams express this capacity as an array of habitats over time and across the landscape. Human land uses in the western United States have rapidly altered aquatic habitats and the processes that shape habitat. As a result, the diversity of native fishes and their habitats has been suppressed. Restoration is fundamentally about allowing stream systems to reexpress their capacities. Several steps are provided to guide stream restoration activities. Key tasks include: identification of the historic patterns of habitat development; identification of developmental constraints; relief of those constraints; classification of sensitive, critical, or refuge habitats; protection of the developmental diversity that remains; and monitoring of biotic responses to habitat development. KEY WORDS: Stream habitat; Stream biota; System capacity; System development; Restoration; Classification     

Arthropod Monitoring for Fine-Scale Habitat Analysis: A Case Study of the El Segundo Sand Dunes

/ Arthropod communities from several habitats on and adjacent to the El Segundo dunes (Los Angeles County, CA) were sampled using pitfall and yellow pan traps to evaluate their possible use as indicators of restoration success. Communities were ordinated and clustered using correspondence analysis, detrended correspondence analysis, two-way indicator species analysis, and Ward's method of agglomerative clustering. The results showed high repeatability among replicates within any sampling arena that permits discrimination of (1) degraded and relatively undisturbed habitat, (2) different dune habitat types, and (3) annual change. Canonical correspondence analysis showed a significant effect of disturbance history on community composition that explained 5-20% of the variation. Replicates of pitfall and yellow pan traps on single sites clustered together reliably when species abundance was considered, whereas clusters using only species incidence did not group replicates as consistently. The broad taxonomic approach seems appropriate for habitat evaluation and monitoring of restoration projects as an alternative to assessments geared to single species or even single families.     

Human Disturbance Threats the Red-Listed Macrolichen Seirophora villosa (Ach.) Frödén in Coastal Juniperus Habitats: Evidence From Western Peninsular Italy

In Europe, coastal dune systems with Juniperus spp. (Natura 2000 habitat code 2250) are a priority habitat for conservation according to the Natura 2000 policies. Currently, anthropogenic pressure is threatening the biodiversity of this habitat. While the impact of human pressure on animals and vascular plants is already documented, information is still scanty for other organisms such as epiphytic lichens. The main aim of this study is to test the effect of human disturbance on the occurrence and abundance of the red-listed macrolichen Seirophora villosa. We also tested the effect of human disturbance on the whole community of epiphytic lichens in terms of species richness and composition. The study was performed along the coast of Tuscany by comparing both disturbed and undisturbed Juniperus stands according to a stratified random sampling design. Our results provided evidence that in coastal systems the long-term conservation of the red-listed macrolichen S. villosa and its characteristic community composed by several Mediterranean species of conservation concern depends on the maintenance of undisturbed Juniperus habitats. Results also support the possibility of using S. villosa as an indicator species of habitat conservation importance and habitat integrity since its occurrence is predicted on nestedness in term of species composition, assemblages of species poor disturbed stands being subsets of those of richer undisturbed stands.     

Using Earth Observation to update a Natura 2000 habitat map for a wetland in Greece

The European Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC has defined the need for the conservation of habitats and species with the adoption of appropriate measures. Within the Natura 2000 ecological network of special areas of conservation, natural habitats will be monitored to ensure the maintenance or restoration of their composition, structure and extent. The European Space Agency's GlobWetland project has provided remotely sensed products for several Ramsar wetlands worldwide, such as detailed land cover-land use, water cycle and inundated vegetation maps. This paper presents the development and testing of an operational methodology for updating a wetland's habitat map using the GlobWetland products, and the evaluation of the extent to which GlobWetland products have contributed to the habitat map updating. The developed methodology incorporated both automated and analyst-supervised techniques to photo-interpret, delineate, refine, and evaluate the updated habitat polygons. The developed methodology was proven successful in its application to the wetland complex of the Axios-Loudias-Aliakmon delta (Greece). The resulting habitat map met the European and Greek national requirements. Results revealed that GlobWetland products were a valuable contribution, but source data (enhanced satellite images) were necessary to discriminate spectrally similar habitats. Finally, the developed methodology can be modified for original habitat mapping.     

Biological Assessment to Support Ecological Recovery of a Degraded Headwater System

An assessment of the benthic macroinvertebrate community was conducted to characterize the ecological recovery of a channelized main stem and two small tributaries at the Watershed Research and Education Center (WREC, Arkansas, USA). Three other headwater streams in the same basin were also sampled as controls and for biological reference information. A principal components analysis produced stream groupings along an overall gradient of physical habitat integrity, with degraded reaches showing lower RBP habitat scores, reduced flow velocities, smaller substrate sizes, greater conductivity, and higher percentages of sand and silt substrate. The benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage at WREC was dominated by fast-reproducing dipteran larvae (midge and mosquito larvae) and physid snails, which comprised 71.3% of the total macroinvertebrate abundance over three sampling periods. Several macroinvertebrate assemblage metrics should provide effective targets for monitoring overall improvements in the invertebrate assemblage including recovery towards a more complex food web (e.g., total number of taxa, number of EPT taxa, percent 2 dominant taxa). However, current habitat conditions and the extent of existing degradation, system isolation and surrounding urban or agricultural land-uses might affect the level of positive change to the system. We therefore suggest a preliminary restoration strategy involving the addition of pool habitats in the system. At one pool we collected a total of 29 taxa (dominated by water beetle predators), which was 59% of total number of taxa collected at WREC. Maintaining water-retentive pools to collect flows and maintain water permanence focuses on enhancing known biology and habitat, thus reducing the effects of abiotic filters on macroinvertebrate assemblage recovery. Furthermore, biological assessment prior to restoration supports a strategy primarily focused on improving the existing macroinvertebrate community in the current context of the system, thereby reducing costs associated with active channel restoration. Monitoring future biological recovery and determining the contribution of changing assemblages to specific ecological processes would provide a critical underpinning for adaptive management and ecologically-effective restoration.     

Assessing the Potential for Salmon Recovery via Floodplain Restoration: A Multitrophic Level Comparison of Dredge-Mined to Reference Segments

Pre-restoration studies typically focus on physical habitat, rather than the food-base that supports aquatic species. However, both food and habitat are necessary to support the species that habitat restoration is frequently aimed at recovering. Here we evaluate if and how the productivity of the food-base that supports fish production is impaired in a dredge-mined floodplain within the Yankee Fork Salmon River (YFSR), Idaho (USA); a site where past restoration has occurred and where more has been proposed to help recover anadromous salmonids. Utilizing an ecosystem approach, we found that the dredged segment had comparable terrestrial leaf and invertebrate inputs, aquatic primary producer biomass, and production of aquatic invertebrates relative to five reference floodplains. Thus, the food-base in the dredged segment did not necessarily appear impaired. On the other hand, we observed that off-channel aquatic habitats were frequently important to productivity in reference floodplains, and the connection of these habitats in the dredged segment via previous restoration increased invertebrate productivity by 58%. However, using a simple bioenergetic model, we estimated that the invertebrate food-base was at least 4× larger than present demand for food by fish in dredged and reference segments. In the context of salmon recovery efforts, this observation questions whether additional food-base productivity provided by further habitat restoration would be warranted in the YFSR. Together, our findings highlight the importance of studies that assess the aquatic food-base, and emphasize the need for more robust ecosystem models that evaluate factors potentially limiting fish populations that are the target of restoration.     

Fish diversity,habitat ecology and their conservation and management issues of a tropical River in Ganga basin,India

In the present communication habitat ecology, species diversity; distribution and different indices of fish biodiversity management were studied in a Central India river (River Betwa, a tributary of River Ganga basin approved under India’s first river linking plan). Correlation between fish species richness with the hydrological attributes showed good relationship and water depth, dissolved oxygen and pH were found the most important variables in shaping fish assemblage. Altogether, sixty-three fish species belonging to 20 families and 45 genera were collected from five sampling stations spread along the upstream, mid stream and lower streams. Cyprinids were the most dominated group represented by 26 species belonging to 15 genera, followed by Bagridae (6 species from 3 genera), and Schilbeidae (4 species from 4 genera). The distribution of fish showed interesting pattern and about 10% species were common to all the sites showing long migration range. Shannon-Weiner diversity index showed considerable variation and ranged from 1.89 to 3.51. Out of 63 species status of 10 species were not known due to data deficit, 29 categorized as lower risk, 14 as vulnerable, 8 as endangered, while the remaining two species were introduced. Our study shows that the River supports considerable diversity of the fishes and is important for conservation and about 34% fish fauna is threatened being either vulnerable or endangered. We assessed that the river supports considerable percentage of food fish (89.47), ornamental fish (49.12%) and sport fish (5.26%). Among the eight major types of fish habitats identified along the entire stretch of river, open river, shallow water and deep pools were habitats contributing maximum diversity. Fish species richness (FSR) were significantly different (P < 0.05) in all the habitats except channel confluence and scour pool. Trophic niche model may be useful for assessing altered as well as less altered fish habitat of the tropical rivers. Since this river will be interlinked in near future, this study would be useful for conservation planning and management and also for future assessment after interlinking. Issues related to various threats to aquatic environment and conservation management strategies have been discussed.     

ADDITION OF SPURS TO STONE TOE PROTECTION FOR WARMWATER FISH HABITAT REHABILITATION1

ABSTRACT: Longitudinal stone toe is one of the most reliable and economically attractive approaches for stabilizing eroding banks in incised channels. However, aquatic habitat provided by stone toe is inferior to that provided by spur dikes. In order to test a design that combined features of stone toe and spurs, eleven stone spurs were placed perpendicular to 170 m of existing stone toe in Goodwin Creek, Mississippi, and willow posts were planted in the sandbar on the opposite bank. Response was evaluated by monitoring fish and habitats in the treated reach and an adjacent comparison reach (willow post planting and standard toe without spurs) for four years. Furthermore, physical habitats within the treated reach were compared with seven reaches protected with standard toe on a single date three years after construction. Overall results indicated that spur addition resulted in modest increases in baseflow stony bankline, water width and pool habitat availability, but had only local effects on depth. These relatively small changes in physical habitat were exaggerated seasonally by beaver dams that appeared during periods of prolonged low flow in late Summer and Autumn. Physical changes were accompanied by shifts in fish species composition away from a run-dwelling assemblage dominated by large numbers of cyprinids and immature centrarchids toward an assemblage containing fewer and larger centrarchids. Biological responses were at least partially due to the effects of temporary beaver dams.