Structure of an Indiana Stream Fish Association: Choosing an Appropriate Model

• Published in: The American naturalist Vol. 124; no. 4; pp. 561 - 572
• Main Author: Herbold, Bruce
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL University of Chicago Press 01-01-1984
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Benthos; Biological and medical sciences; Community structure; Correlations; Ecological competition; Fish; Fresh water ecosystems; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Rain; Species; Species diversity; Streams; Synecology; Freshwater environment; Vertebrata; Indiana; Biocenosis; United States; Pisces; Niche; Mathematical model; Structure
• ISSN: 0003-0147; 1537-5323
• DOI: 10.1086/284295

The results of Grossman et al. (1982), which suggest that the stream fishes association described by Whitaker (1976) is not discernably different from random, is found to be an artifact of mixing together species of different parts of the stream. Analysis of covarying species as the basis of identification of community components suggests that the riffle-inhabiting fishes and pool-dwelling fishes comprise two independent associations. Riffle-inhabiting species are closely correlated with the total number of other fishes collected and with May rainfall. Population flux of the species within this group is significantly concordant and each species feeds in a different manner than the rest. Populations of pool-dwelling species show no significant concordance in their variation from year to year, show no similarity in their response to rainfall patterns and are all feeders on the benthos. I conclude that only the "niche diversification" hypothesis (Connell 1978) is in accord with these observations for the riffle-inhabiting species and that only the "intermediate disturbance" hypothesis (Connell 1978) conforms to the patterns observed for pool dwellers.