Associations between benthic fishs and habitat at multiple spatial scales in headwater streams of the Missouri Ozarks.

摘要

Landscape features influence physical habitat (hydrology and morphology) within stream channels by affecting watershed hydrology. Physical habitat and hydrology function as abiotic controls on the abundance of benthic fishes. I examined habitat influences on benthic fishes across scale and season through three main objectives. First, I assessed the relations of watershed scale, reach scale, and mesohabitat scale characteristics to the densities of benthic fishes in riffles, runs, and pools of Ozark headwater streams. Second, I examined the habitat selection of common benthic at the microhabitat (m2 ) scale. Finally, I examined differences in micro and mesohabitat use by benthic fishes between the winter and summer season. For these objectives, I chose fifteen 1st–3rd order, perennial, gaining, warm-water streams throughout the Ozark Highlands. Sampling sites were a 150–200-m reach at the outlet of each catchment area. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)