Spatial Structure and Temporal Variation of Fish Communities in the Upper Mississippi River System

摘要

Variation in community composition (presence/absence data) and structure (relative abundance) of Upper Mississippi River fishes was assessed using data from the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program collected from 1994 to 2002. Community composition of fishes varied more in space than through time. We found substantial variation in community composition across two spatial scales: large-scale differences between upper and lower river reaches and small-scale differences among individual regional trend areas (RTA). Community structure (relative abundance data) of fishes also varied more through space than through time.