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| Title: | The Influence of Physical Habitat factors on a Near-Shore Fish Community in the Lower Muskegon River, Michigan |
| Authors: | David, Solomon |
| Keywords: | muskegon river |
| Issue Date: | Apr-2008 |
| Abstract: | The Muskegon River is the second largest tributary to Lake Michigan, and supports a diversity of habitats and fish communities of ecological and economic importance. I hypothesized that spatial heterogeneity in physical habitat characteristics of the river was the major factor affecting fish community composition and species densities in the lower Muskegon River. I further hypothesized that fish community composition and species densities varied temporally due to specific life history patterns as well as seasonal changes in physical habitat. To address these hypotheses, I obtained seasonal estimates of fish abundance at shoreline habitats within mainstem reaches of 5 habitat strata in a 22-km section in the Muskegon River, 64 km upstream from Lake Michigan. I used DC electrofishing and pass depletion methods to estimate fish abundance and species densities at 30 sites (300 m2 in area) within the study area, in summer, fall, and spring from 2001 to 2002. The near-shore fish community of the lower Muskegon River was comprised of 43 species representing 15 families. Functional group classification of the fish community indicated dominant groups were omnivore and benthic invertivore trophic guilds, and species preferring moderate current velocity and rubble substrate. Most species belonged to the warm-water guild, and the majority of fishes were species intolerant of siltation. The fish community varied among strata only in summer 2001 and spring 2002, although several individual species varied among strata in different seasons. Canonical Correspondence Analysis indicated temperature and current velocity explained the most variability in species densities among strata. Fish community composition and species densities varied seasonally due to specific life history patterns, including spawning (spring) and outmigration of adfluvial and potamodromous fishes (spring and summer), as well as seasonal changes in temperature and current velocity. |
| Appears in Collections: | Dissertations and Theses (Ph.D. and Master's)
Natural Resources and Environment, School of (SNRE)
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Files in This Item:
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Description |
Size | Format | |
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| Solomon David Masters Thesis - FINAL version.pdf | | 810Kb | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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