2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
6/08/2017 | 9:15 AM - 9:30 AM | Retrospective Analysis of Fish Communities After Watershed Alteration in the Ouachita River System, Arkansas | 302C
Retrospective Analysis of Fish Communities After Watershed Alteration in the Ouachita River System, Arkansas
Changes in fish communities can be gradual or abrupt after watershed alteration with no return towards earlier structure. The Saline River is one of the longest unregulated rivers in Arkansas (325 km), but anthropogenic activities (e.g., development, logging, and gravel mining) continue to influence fish communities. We quantified temporal changes in fish communities at six local stream reaches over multiple decades (period I [1969-1971], period II [1980-1982], and period III [2016]). At the broadest spatial scale, fish community composition significantly shifted (PERMANOVA: P < 0.01) through time, and similarity percentage analysis (SIMPER) identified a suite of species driving community divergence. Average community dissimilarity was greatest between period I and period III (SIMPER: average dissimilarity = 74%), and three species (Hybognathus nuchalis, Percina vigil-uranidea, and Notropis boops) each contributed to >8% total dissimilarity. Communities most downstream deviated the furthest from period I with no return towards earlier structure and communities upstream moved less through multivariate space. Similar species patterns were observed in the Little Missouri River. Our findings suggest fish communities have transitioned permanently to alternative community states after watershed alteration and communities downstream appear the most affected.
- C02 Fish and Other Aquatic Vertebrates
- C18 Biodiversity
- C11 Community Ecology
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Presenters/Authors
Ginny Adams
(), University of Central Arkansas, gadams@uca.edu;
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Reid Adams
(), University of Central Arkansas, radams@uca.edu;
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Aaron Burgad
(), University of Central Arkansas, aburgad1@cub.uca.edu;
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Michelle Furr
(), University of Central Arkansas, mfleming4@cub.uca.edu;
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