Diel patterns in spatial distribution of fish assemblages in lentic and lotic habitat in a regulated river

Diel patterns in spatial distribution of fish assemblages in lentic and lotic habitat in a regulated river

Fish assemblages in large rivers are governed by spatio‐temporal changes in habitat conditions, which must be accounted for when designing effective monitoring programmes. Using boat electrofishing surveys, this study contrasts species richness, catch per unit effort (CPUE), total biomass, and spati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:River research and applications Vol. 36; no. 7; pp. 1014 - 1023
Main Authors: Wegscheider, Bernhard, Linnansaari, Tommi, Wall, Craig C., Gautreau, Mark D., Monk, Wendy A., Dolson‐Edge, Rebecca, Samways, Kurt M., Curry, R. Allen
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-09-2020
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:
Accuracy
Biomass
biomonitoring
Boats
Catch per unit effort
Community composition
Design improvements
Distribution
Diurnal variations
Electric fishing
Fish
fish community
Geographical distribution
Habitat changes
habitat modification
Habitats
Hydroelectric power
hydropower
Monitoring
Night
Polls & surveys
regulated rivers
River regulations
Rivers
Spatial distribution
Species richness
Surveys
Temporal variations
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Summary:Fish assemblages in large rivers are governed by spatio‐temporal changes in habitat conditions, which must be accounted for when designing effective monitoring programmes. Using boat electrofishing surveys, this study contrasts species richness, catch per unit effort (CPUE), total biomass, and spatial distribution of fish species in the Saint John River, New Brunswick, Canada, sampled during different diel periods (day and night) and macrohabitats (hydropower regulated river and its reservoir) in the vicinity of the Mactaquac (hydropower) Generating Station. Taxa richness, total CPUE, and total biomass were significantly higher during night surveys, resulting in marked differences in community composition between the two diel periods. Furthermore, the magnitude of diel differences in catch rate was more pronounced in lentic than in lotic macrohabitats. The required sampling effort (i.e., number of sites) to increase accuracy and precision of CPUE estimates varied widely between fish species, diel periods, and macrohabitats and ranged from 15 to 185 electrofishing sites. Determining a correction factor to contrast accuracy and precision of day‐ with night‐time surveys provide useful insights to improve the design of long‐term monitoring programmes for fish communities in large rivers. The study also shows the importance of multihabitat surveys to detect differences in the magnitude of diel changes in fish community metrics.
Bibliography:Funding information
New Brunswick Power; NSERC's Collaborative Research and Development programme (CRDPJ: 462708‐13)
ISSN:1535-1459
1535-1467
DOI:10.1002/rra.3615