Date of Award
Spring 5-10-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife Science
Department
Biological Sciences
College
College of Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics
Committee Chair
Kyler Hecke, PhD
Second Committee Member
Zach Moran, PhD
Third Committee Member
Katie Morris, MS
Program Director
Tom Nupp, PhD
Dean of Graduate College
Michael Bradley, PhD
Abstract
Among South Central Plains ecoregion fish communities, there is limited knowledge of the importance of headwaters yet this information is needed to understand their role in fish communities. I addressed this gap by assessing seasonal changes in fish communities in headwater streams of the Moro Creek watershed, Arkansas. I conducted two studies pertaining to temporal fish community assessments: (i) utilize multi-season, community occupancy models to estimate μ (species probability), Ω (community occupancy mean), and p (detection probability) and (ii) utilize beta diversity (β) analyses to address the diversity across different scales in the headwaters of the Moro Creek Watershed. A total of 37 species from 10 families were observed. Of the many multi-season community occupancy models, we explored the best three selected from our ranking criteria: μ (canopy cover), Ω (canopy cover), p (.); μ (catchment area), Ω (catchment area), p (stream flow); μ (catchment area), Ω (catchment area) and, p (.). The model incorporating canopy cover suggests that μ varied greatly by species, Ω (±SE) varied by season, and that p was constant. Overall, seasonal variation exists at the species and community levels, canopy cover and catchment area are the main drivers of μ and Ω, and stream flow is the main driver of p. Additionally through the β diversity analyses, it suggests that β diversity fluctuates throughout different spatial scales and that at each spatial scale there are different drivers. These patterns of β diversity show that turnover is consistently higher than nestedness and seasonal shifts in environmental factors like stream flow, salinity, and pH also influence β diversity. This research aids in the understanding of ecological influences, fish community dynamic shifts, fish patterns and species richness on a temporal scale, and headwater stream functionality in lowland watersheds.
Recommended Citation
Schnelting, Tara L., "Temporal Assessment of Fish Communities in a South Central Plains Ecoregion Watershed" (2025). ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present. 78.
https://orc.library.atu.edu/etds_2021/78