Elizabeth Culp, Shawna M. Fix, Joshua Ennen, Jon Davenport, Kristen Cecala
Abiotic filters like high gradients or hydraulic drops play an integral role in excluding species from interacting with some headwater communities. When humans manipulate the ecosystems to install small ponds in the headwaters of river networks, they allow stocked species of fishes to escape and bypass these filters creating novel communities already under stress from other environmental changes. We investigated a novel headwater community to assess if and how escaped Lepomis spp. compete with a native headwater fish, Chrosomus tennesseensis (Tennessee Dace). We designed an ex situ mesocosm study to test the effects of exploitative and interference competition by two species—L. macrochirus and L. cyanellus—on C. tennesseensis. We observed strong intraspecific competition that exceeded the effects of both Lepomis spp. on C. tennesseensis. Although one individual was always a clear winner in intraspecific interactions, morphology at the beginning of the experiment could not explain why one individual was more successful than another. We also observed marginally higher growth rate in C. tennesseensis when Lepomis spp. were caged rather than free-swimming indicating that introduced Lepomis spp. likely impact headwater fishes through exploitative and interference competition in addition to the potential of predation at large size differences. More research is needed to understand the breadth and magnitude of potential problems posed by the unintentional introduction of stocked fishes to low-order streams.
{"title":"Investigating Ex Situ Competitive Interactions in a Novel Fish Community with Implications for the Introduction of Sunfish (Lepomis spp.) in Headwater Streams","authors":"Elizabeth Culp, Shawna M. Fix, Joshua Ennen, Jon Davenport, Kristen Cecala","doi":"10.1643/i2022002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1643/i2022002","url":null,"abstract":"Abiotic filters like high gradients or hydraulic drops play an integral role in excluding species from interacting with some headwater communities. When humans manipulate the ecosystems to install small ponds in the headwaters of river networks, they allow stocked species of fishes to escape and bypass these filters creating novel communities already under stress from other environmental changes. We investigated a novel headwater community to assess if and how escaped Lepomis spp. compete with a native headwater fish, Chrosomus tennesseensis (Tennessee Dace). We designed an ex situ mesocosm study to test the effects of exploitative and interference competition by two species—L. macrochirus and L. cyanellus—on C. tennesseensis. We observed strong intraspecific competition that exceeded the effects of both Lepomis spp. on C. tennesseensis. Although one individual was always a clear winner in intraspecific interactions, morphology at the beginning of the experiment could not explain why one individual was more successful than another. We also observed marginally higher growth rate in C. tennesseensis when Lepomis spp. were caged rather than free-swimming indicating that introduced Lepomis spp. likely impact headwater fishes through exploitative and interference competition in addition to the potential of predation at large size differences. More research is needed to understand the breadth and magnitude of potential problems posed by the unintentional introduction of stocked fishes to low-order streams.","PeriodicalId":507721,"journal":{"name":"Ichthyology & Herpetology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139229138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tyler L. Brock, Claire M. Crookston, Christopher K. Beachy, Carlos D. Camp
Urspelerpes brucei (Patch-nosed Salamander) is a miniaturized lungless salamander (family Plethodontidae) native to select headwater tributaries of the Tugaloo River along the border of Georgia and South Carolina. Due to the rarity and relatively recent discovery of this species, many aspects of its biology are unstudied. In particular, there has not yet been any description of its larval skeleton. We provide the first description of larval osteology for U. brucei, and we compared cleared and stained specimens of U. brucei close to the minimum size at metamorphosis to similarly sized specimens of Eurycea cirrigera (Southern Two-lined Salamander). Our results showed that the skull and long bones of U. brucei are more heavily ossified at smaller sizes than in E. cirrigera. In addition, U. brucei possesses more robust vomers and pterygoids, coronoids that are already incorporated into the dentary, and an ossified os thyroideum. These discrepancies in ossification suggest that the skeletons of U. brucei complete development at smaller sizes than E. cirrigera, a result likely tied to heterochronic accelerations of mineralization and sexual maturation in U. brucei. Taken together, these factors appear to help explain how U. brucei has developed and maintained its small body size.
{"title":"Rapid Ossification Helps Explain Small Body Size in Urspelerpes brucei (Caudata: Plethodontidae)","authors":"Tyler L. Brock, Claire M. Crookston, Christopher K. Beachy, Carlos D. Camp","doi":"10.1643/h2022083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1643/h2022083","url":null,"abstract":"Urspelerpes brucei (Patch-nosed Salamander) is a miniaturized lungless salamander (family Plethodontidae) native to select headwater tributaries of the Tugaloo River along the border of Georgia and South Carolina. Due to the rarity and relatively recent discovery of this species, many aspects of its biology are unstudied. In particular, there has not yet been any description of its larval skeleton. We provide the first description of larval osteology for U. brucei, and we compared cleared and stained specimens of U. brucei close to the minimum size at metamorphosis to similarly sized specimens of Eurycea cirrigera (Southern Two-lined Salamander). Our results showed that the skull and long bones of U. brucei are more heavily ossified at smaller sizes than in E. cirrigera. In addition, U. brucei possesses more robust vomers and pterygoids, coronoids that are already incorporated into the dentary, and an ossified os thyroideum. These discrepancies in ossification suggest that the skeletons of U. brucei complete development at smaller sizes than E. cirrigera, a result likely tied to heterochronic accelerations of mineralization and sexual maturation in U. brucei. Taken together, these factors appear to help explain how U. brucei has developed and maintained its small body size.","PeriodicalId":507721,"journal":{"name":"Ichthyology & Herpetology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139230532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maxwell J. Bernt, Aaron H. Fronk, Kory M. Evans, James S. Albert
Secondary sexual dimorphism is relatively common in the ghost knifefishes (Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae), with males of several species growing greatly elongated snouts (e.g., Compsaraia samueli, Parapteronotus hasemani), while others develop enlarged, protruding teeth on either the lower jaw (Sternarchorhynchus spp.) or both jaws (Sternarchogiton nattereri). Of the four known species of Sternarchogiton, sexual dimorphism has so far only been reported in S. nattereri. Here we report that in an additional species, S. labiatus, mature males possess similar enlarged, external teeth on the dentary and premaxilla. We document this condition in three specimens collected during the high-water spawning season from the río Nanay near Iquitos, Peru. We analyze this morphology using high-resolution X-ray microcomputed tomography. Additionally, we use genetic sequence data to demonstrate that specimens bearing external teeth are genetically indistinguishable from those with the phenotype of S. labiatus. Finally, we review and summarize the current knowledge of sexual dimorphism within the Apteronotidae.
第二性二形现象在鬼刀鱼（Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae）中比较常见，有几个物种的雄鱼长着大大的长鼻（例如：Compsaraia samueli、Parapteronotus hasemani），而其它物种的下颌（Sternarchorhynchus spp.）或双颌（Sternarchogiton nattereri）则长着增大、突出的牙齿。在已知的 4 个 Sternarchogiton 物种中，迄今只有 S. nattereri 有性二形的报道。在这里，我们报告了另一个物种拉比阿特斯（S. labiatus），成熟雄性的牙盘和前下颌上有类似的增大外齿。我们记录了在秘鲁伊基托斯附近的纳奈河（río Nanay）高水位产卵季节采集的三个标本的这种情况。我们利用高分辨率 X 射线微计算机断层扫描技术对这种形态进行了分析。此外，我们还利用基因序列数据证明，长有外齿的标本在基因上与具有拉比托斯鱼表型的标本没有区别。最后，我们回顾并总结了目前对Apteronotidae性二态的认识。
{"title":"Sexual Dimorphism in the Electric Knifefish Sternarchogiton labiatus (Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae) with a Hypermorphic Snout and Oral Jaws","authors":"Maxwell J. Bernt, Aaron H. Fronk, Kory M. Evans, James S. Albert","doi":"10.1643/i2022028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1643/i2022028","url":null,"abstract":"Secondary sexual dimorphism is relatively common in the ghost knifefishes (Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae), with males of several species growing greatly elongated snouts (e.g., Compsaraia samueli, Parapteronotus hasemani), while others develop enlarged, protruding teeth on either the lower jaw (Sternarchorhynchus spp.) or both jaws (Sternarchogiton nattereri). Of the four known species of Sternarchogiton, sexual dimorphism has so far only been reported in S. nattereri. Here we report that in an additional species, S. labiatus, mature males possess similar enlarged, external teeth on the dentary and premaxilla. We document this condition in three specimens collected during the high-water spawning season from the río Nanay near Iquitos, Peru. We analyze this morphology using high-resolution X-ray microcomputed tomography. Additionally, we use genetic sequence data to demonstrate that specimens bearing external teeth are genetically indistinguishable from those with the phenotype of S. labiatus. Finally, we review and summarize the current knowledge of sexual dimorphism within the Apteronotidae.","PeriodicalId":507721,"journal":{"name":"Ichthyology & Herpetology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139248517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Stiassny, Cooper Keane, José J. M. M. Mbimbi, B. F. Melo
A time-calibrated phylogeny, based on nuclear ultraconserved elements and including representatives of all major alestid lineages, strongly supports two distantly related clades within the currently accepted concept of Brycinus. The first, which includes the type species of the genus, B. macrolepidotus (herein Brycinus), and a second, composed of taxa previously referred to as the B. nurse group (herein Brachyalestes), are both resolved as monophyletic. These results provide strong evidence for the restriction of the genus Brycinus to nine species, and for the revalidation of the genus Brachyalestes to accommodate 20 valid species. Within Brachyalestes, a new species from the Lulua River basin, initially misidentified as Brycinus kingsleyae, is described and resolved as sister to the widespread, central Congolese lowland species, Brachyalestes bimaculatus. Within Brachyalestes, a subclade mostly restricted to the Central Congo basin is estimated to have undergone diversification within the last 10 million years, suggesting that Late Neogene riverine reorganization likely influenced their allopatric speciation. The split of the new species, endemic to high elevation tributaries of the Lulua River, from its lowland sister species, Brachyalestes bimaculatus, suggests a Late Miocene/Early Pliocene colonization into the upland river ecosystems of the Katanga plateau in the southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo.
{"title":"Phylogenomics and Morphology of the African Fish Genus Brycinus with Revalidation of Brachyalestes and Description of a New Species from the Congo Basin (Teleostei: Alestidae)","authors":"M. Stiassny, Cooper Keane, José J. M. M. Mbimbi, B. F. Melo","doi":"10.1643/i2023033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1643/i2023033","url":null,"abstract":"A time-calibrated phylogeny, based on nuclear ultraconserved elements and including representatives of all major alestid lineages, strongly supports two distantly related clades within the currently accepted concept of Brycinus. The first, which includes the type species of the genus, B. macrolepidotus (herein Brycinus), and a second, composed of taxa previously referred to as the B. nurse group (herein Brachyalestes), are both resolved as monophyletic. These results provide strong evidence for the restriction of the genus Brycinus to nine species, and for the revalidation of the genus Brachyalestes to accommodate 20 valid species. Within Brachyalestes, a new species from the Lulua River basin, initially misidentified as Brycinus kingsleyae, is described and resolved as sister to the widespread, central Congolese lowland species, Brachyalestes bimaculatus. Within Brachyalestes, a subclade mostly restricted to the Central Congo basin is estimated to have undergone diversification within the last 10 million years, suggesting that Late Neogene riverine reorganization likely influenced their allopatric speciation. The split of the new species, endemic to high elevation tributaries of the Lulua River, from its lowland sister species, Brachyalestes bimaculatus, suggests a Late Miocene/Early Pliocene colonization into the upland river ecosystems of the Katanga plateau in the southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo.","PeriodicalId":507721,"journal":{"name":"Ichthyology & Herpetology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139250638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jacinda Berokoff, Iván de la Hera, Michael S. Reichert
Photographic mark–recapture is a recently developed method that uses photographs of naturally occurring body patterns to identify individual animals. This method may be especially appropriate for amphibians because they are difficult to externally mark for individual recognition. However, the reliability of the method depends on whether or not the considered pattern differs consistently among individuals over time. We took pictures of the black and yellow thigh pattern of Cope's Gray Treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) across two years to test whether this trait was consistent enough that individuals could be recognized from photographs, using automated photo recognition in Wild-ID software. We tested the performance of this program using sample sets of photos taken at three different timescales: photos from the same night, different nights within a year, and two different years. We also tested whether the likelihood of correct identifications decreased with increasing sample size. Overall, photographic mark–recapture produced a very high percentage of correct identifications across all timescales and sample sizes. Thus, we conclude that the use of this inexpensive and non-invasive technique on the thigh color pattern of H. chrysoscelis is a highly effective method for individual recognition. El marcaje–recaptura fotográfico es un método de reciente desarrollo que emplea fotografías de patrones corporales distintivos que aparecen de forma natural para identificar a los animales individualmente. Este método puede ser particularmente apropiado en anfibios ya que son difíciles de marcar externamente para su reconocimiento individual. Sin embargo, la fiabilidad del método depende del potencial que tiene el patrón considerado para diferir de forma consistente entre individuos a lo largo del tiempo. Se tomaron fotografías del patrón negro-amarillo del muslo en la rana arbórea Hyla chrysoscelis a lo largo de dos años para testar si este rasgo era suficientemente consistente como para que los individuos fueran reconocidos a partir de fotografías empleando el programa automático de foto reconocimiento Wild-ID. Examinamos el rendimiento del programa usando series muestrales de fotografías tomadas a tres escalas temporales distintas: fotografías tomadas durante la misma noche, entre noches dentro del mismo año, y entre dos años. También se exploró si la probabilidad de identificaciones correctas se redujo al incrementar el tamaño muestral. En general, la captura–recaptura fotográfica produjo un alto porcentaje de identificaciones correctas en todas las escalas temporales y tamaños muestrales. Así, concluimos que el uso de esta técnica barata y no invasiva en el patrón de color del muslo de H. chrysoscelis es un método altamente efectivo para el reconocimiento individual.
{"title":"Image Processing of Thigh Color Pattern Is an Effective Method for Identifying Individual Cope's Gray Treefrogs, Hyla chrysoscelis","authors":"Jacinda Berokoff, Iván de la Hera, Michael S. Reichert","doi":"10.1643/h2023020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1643/h2023020","url":null,"abstract":"Photographic mark–recapture is a recently developed method that uses photographs of naturally occurring body patterns to identify individual animals. This method may be especially appropriate for amphibians because they are difficult to externally mark for individual recognition. However, the reliability of the method depends on whether or not the considered pattern differs consistently among individuals over time. We took pictures of the black and yellow thigh pattern of Cope's Gray Treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) across two years to test whether this trait was consistent enough that individuals could be recognized from photographs, using automated photo recognition in Wild-ID software. We tested the performance of this program using sample sets of photos taken at three different timescales: photos from the same night, different nights within a year, and two different years. We also tested whether the likelihood of correct identifications decreased with increasing sample size. Overall, photographic mark–recapture produced a very high percentage of correct identifications across all timescales and sample sizes. Thus, we conclude that the use of this inexpensive and non-invasive technique on the thigh color pattern of H. chrysoscelis is a highly effective method for individual recognition. El marcaje–recaptura fotográfico es un método de reciente desarrollo que emplea fotografías de patrones corporales distintivos que aparecen de forma natural para identificar a los animales individualmente. Este método puede ser particularmente apropiado en anfibios ya que son difíciles de marcar externamente para su reconocimiento individual. Sin embargo, la fiabilidad del método depende del potencial que tiene el patrón considerado para diferir de forma consistente entre individuos a lo largo del tiempo. Se tomaron fotografías del patrón negro-amarillo del muslo en la rana arbórea Hyla chrysoscelis a lo largo de dos años para testar si este rasgo era suficientemente consistente como para que los individuos fueran reconocidos a partir de fotografías empleando el programa automático de foto reconocimiento Wild-ID. Examinamos el rendimiento del programa usando series muestrales de fotografías tomadas a tres escalas temporales distintas: fotografías tomadas durante la misma noche, entre noches dentro del mismo año, y entre dos años. También se exploró si la probabilidad de identificaciones correctas se redujo al incrementar el tamaño muestral. En general, la captura–recaptura fotográfica produjo un alto porcentaje de identificaciones correctas en todas las escalas temporales y tamaños muestrales. Así, concluimos que el uso de esta técnica barata y no invasiva en el patrón de color del muslo de H. chrysoscelis es un método altamente efectivo para el reconocimiento individual.","PeriodicalId":507721,"journal":{"name":"Ichthyology & Herpetology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139248235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Since the early 1990s, > 3,000 ha of wetlands (and adjacent prairie) have been restored on the row-crop agricultural landscape of Winnebago County, Iowa, U.S.A. From 2014–2016, we surveyed 45 wetlands among 19 easements for occupancy by Eastern Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum) and used radio-telemetry to measure their patterns of movement and habitat use. Rates of occupancy increased with wetland age, from < 25% for wetlands 1–2 years old to ∼75% for wetlands > 11 years old. A two-year survey (2014 and 2015) of ten wetlands restored in 2013 showed that nine were occupied after two years; we did not find a relationship between distance to the nearest salamander population and occupancy of newly restored wetlands by salamanders. We tracked 30 salamanders after they left their breeding wetlands for an average of 69±37 d (range = 14–109 d) and relocated them a total of 393 times. Typically, once a salamander left its breeding wetland, it traveled 50–350 m over several days, found a suitable burrow, then remained for much of the rest of the season. Mean daily distances traveled by salamanders were 7.9±5.6 m (range = 0–135 m); the range of maximum straight-line distances moved was 26–659 m; only one individual salamander traveled in a statistically linear path, relative to a random walk. While ∼90% of the landscape was composed of row-crop fields, salamanders used protective grassy habitats (e.g., restored prairie, road ditches) on ∼88% of our observations. Only three salamanders used row-crop fields, and two of them were killed by heavy equipment. Regardless of the terrestrial habitat types used by salamanders, we found them underground on 336 (84.8%) of our observations.
{"title":"Response of Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma t. tigrinum) to Wetland Restoration in a Midwestern Agricultural Landscape, U.S.A.","authors":"P. Bartelt, Alyse T. DeVries, Robert W. Klaver","doi":"10.1643/h2020083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1643/h2020083","url":null,"abstract":"Since the early 1990s, > 3,000 ha of wetlands (and adjacent prairie) have been restored on the row-crop agricultural landscape of Winnebago County, Iowa, U.S.A. From 2014–2016, we surveyed 45 wetlands among 19 easements for occupancy by Eastern Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum) and used radio-telemetry to measure their patterns of movement and habitat use. Rates of occupancy increased with wetland age, from < 25% for wetlands 1–2 years old to ∼75% for wetlands > 11 years old. A two-year survey (2014 and 2015) of ten wetlands restored in 2013 showed that nine were occupied after two years; we did not find a relationship between distance to the nearest salamander population and occupancy of newly restored wetlands by salamanders. We tracked 30 salamanders after they left their breeding wetlands for an average of 69±37 d (range = 14–109 d) and relocated them a total of 393 times. Typically, once a salamander left its breeding wetland, it traveled 50–350 m over several days, found a suitable burrow, then remained for much of the rest of the season. Mean daily distances traveled by salamanders were 7.9±5.6 m (range = 0–135 m); the range of maximum straight-line distances moved was 26–659 m; only one individual salamander traveled in a statistically linear path, relative to a random walk. While ∼90% of the landscape was composed of row-crop fields, salamanders used protective grassy habitats (e.g., restored prairie, road ditches) on ∼88% of our observations. Only three salamanders used row-crop fields, and two of them were killed by heavy equipment. Regardless of the terrestrial habitat types used by salamanders, we found them underground on 336 (84.8%) of our observations.","PeriodicalId":507721,"journal":{"name":"Ichthyology & Herpetology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139253256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fred Van Dyke, Benjamin W. van Ee, Seth Harju, Joshua W. Budi, Thomas B. Sokolowski, B. Keas
Biotic indices (bioindicators) can be individual species, species groups, or communities of species used to assess habitat quality. But, to be used effectively, managers require basic information on species used as indicators, including species distribution, differentiation between similar species, and environmental conditions associated with species presence. We addressed these problems concurrently in two related species, the Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdii) and the Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus), as habitat quality indicators in the Manistee River in Michigan, USA. We determined the abundance and distribution of these species and related their presence to concurrent in-stream measurements of temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, turbidity, and stream quality score based on macroinvertebrate diversity. Cladistic analyses of CO1 supported recognition of Mottled Sculpin and Slimy Sculpin as distinct species and confirmed initial field identification to species using morphological characteristics. Both species were most abundant in headwater regions, decreased downstream, and were sympatric at 5 of 12 (42%) locations. Mottled Sculpin were associated with lower conductivity, pH, and stream quality scores. Slimy Sculpin were associated with higher levels of DO and lower levels of turbidity. As a management indicator species of the US Forest Service, Mottled Sculpin alone may be ineffective as a habitat quality indicator, but concurrent use of Mottled Sculpin and Slimy Sculpin as a related-species complex might allow sufficient coverage to permit assessment of stream quality if species-specific differences in environmental tolerances are precisely determined.
{"title":"Distinguishing and Employing Two Species of Fish in Assessment of Stream Quality","authors":"Fred Van Dyke, Benjamin W. van Ee, Seth Harju, Joshua W. Budi, Thomas B. Sokolowski, B. Keas","doi":"10.1643/i2021132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1643/i2021132","url":null,"abstract":"Biotic indices (bioindicators) can be individual species, species groups, or communities of species used to assess habitat quality. But, to be used effectively, managers require basic information on species used as indicators, including species distribution, differentiation between similar species, and environmental conditions associated with species presence. We addressed these problems concurrently in two related species, the Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdii) and the Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus), as habitat quality indicators in the Manistee River in Michigan, USA. We determined the abundance and distribution of these species and related their presence to concurrent in-stream measurements of temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, turbidity, and stream quality score based on macroinvertebrate diversity. Cladistic analyses of CO1 supported recognition of Mottled Sculpin and Slimy Sculpin as distinct species and confirmed initial field identification to species using morphological characteristics. Both species were most abundant in headwater regions, decreased downstream, and were sympatric at 5 of 12 (42%) locations. Mottled Sculpin were associated with lower conductivity, pH, and stream quality scores. Slimy Sculpin were associated with higher levels of DO and lower levels of turbidity. As a management indicator species of the US Forest Service, Mottled Sculpin alone may be ineffective as a habitat quality indicator, but concurrent use of Mottled Sculpin and Slimy Sculpin as a related-species complex might allow sufficient coverage to permit assessment of stream quality if species-specific differences in environmental tolerances are precisely determined.","PeriodicalId":507721,"journal":{"name":"Ichthyology & Herpetology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139251412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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