Contribution of habitat and water quality to the integrity of fish communities in agricultural drainage ditches

Smiley, Peter C.; Gillespie, Robert B; King, Kevin W.; Huang, Chi‐hua

doi:10.2489/jswc.63.6.218a

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…However, water chemistry has been suggested to play a minor role relative to habitat in structuring fish and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities that occupy headwater streams in agricultural regions (Dyer et al, 1997;Fitzpatrick et al, 2001;D'Ambrosio et al, 2009;Leslie et al, 2012). Similar results with fish and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities have also been documented within the watersheds of our study sites (Smiley et al, 2008(Smiley et al, , 2009McKinney, 2012;Sanders, 2012), which will enable us to make direct comparisons regarding the observed habitat relationships of amphibians with those of fishes and aquatic macroinvertebrates. Our analysis will provide novel information on the structure of amphibian communities and populations within channelized agricultural headwater streams and will assist with development of conservation strategies for aquatic biota in these streams (Herzon and Helenius, 2008;Smiley and Gillespie, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Influence of instream habitat and water chemistry on amphibians in channelized agricultural headwater streams

Jordan

Castaneda

Smiley

et al. 2016

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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The widespread use of stream channelization and subsurface tile drainage for removing water from agricultural fields has led to the development of numerous channelized agricultural headwater streams within agricultural watersheds of the Midwestern United States, Canada, and Europe. Channelized agricultural headwater streams have been documented to serve as habitat for amphibians, but information on amphibian habitat relationships within these streams is lacking and needed for developing effective conservation strategies. We quantified instream habitat, water chemistry, and sampled amphibians from seven sites in three channelized streams in Cedar Creek, Indiana in 2008 and 2009 and five sites in five channelized streams in Upper Big Walnut Creek, Ohio in 2009. We conducted an indirect gradient analysis involving the use of principal component analysis and generalized linear mixed effect model analysis to determine which variables had the greatest influence on amphibian community and population structure. Overall, amphibian community and population structure was most strongly correlated with water chemistry rather than instream habitat within channelized agricultural headwater streams in Indiana and Ohio. Eleven of 12 amphibian response variables were most strongly correlated with either a water chemistry gradient of nitrate+nitrite and acetochlor, a gradient of total nitrogen and ammonia, or a gradient of simazine and total phosphorus. Only one amphibian response variable was most strongly correlated with an instream habitat gradient of dissolved oxygen and water depth. Our results suggest that conservation strategies that target reductions of nutrients and herbicides will provide the greatest benefits for amphibians within channelized agricultural headwater streams.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Influence of instream habitat and water chemistry on amphibians in channelized agricultural headwater streams

Jordan

Castaneda

Smiley

et al. 2016

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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“…However, we observed instream habitat had a greater influence on fish community structure than riparian habitat or agricultural chemicals (i.e. nutrients and herbicides) in our previous assessment of fish-habitat relationships in these small streams in Indiana and Ohio (Smiley et al, 2008). Additionally, fish communities in headwater streams of eastern Wisconsin were more strongly correlated with landuse or instream habitat than conductivity, nitrogen, or phosphorus (Fitzpatrick et al, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Our understanding of how fish communities within channelized headwater streams respond to habitat gradients or specific habitat factors is limited. Previous research has confirmed the importance of instream habitat or channel morphology on fish communities within channelized headwater streams (Gorman and Karr, 1978;Lau et al, 2006;Rhoads et al, 2003;Smiley et al, 2008). However, relationships between water chemistry and fish community structure in channelized headwater streams are not well understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, we examined the relationships between water chemistry and selected hydrology variables (i.e. water depth, velocity, wet width) because our previous assessment (Smiley et al, 2008) of fish-habitat relationships from these sites indicated fish communities were more strongly influenced by instream habitat than riparian habitat or water chemistry. Knowing which water chemistry variables are correlated with hydrology will be indicative of the water chemistry and fish relationships that are potentially influenced by hydrology.…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Management implications of the relationships between water chemistry and fishes within channelized headwater streams in the midwestern United States

et al. 2009

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Many headwater streams in the midwestern United States were channelized for agricultural drainage. Conservation practices are implemented to reduce nutrient, pesticide, and sediment loadings within these altered streams. The impact of these practices is not well understood because their ecological impacts have not been evaluated and the relationships between water chemistry and fishes are not well understood. We evaluated relationships between water chemistry and fish communities within channelized headwater streams of Cedar Creek, Indiana, and Upper Big Walnut Creek, Ohio. Measurements of water chemistry, hydrology, and fishes have been collected from 20 sites beginning in 2005. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the relationships between water chemistry and fish communities were weak, but significant (P < 0Ð05). Fish communities exhibited negative relationships with ammonium and nitrate plus nitrite and positive relationships with dissolved oxygen, pH, and metolachlor. The strongest observed relationships occurred within those regression models that included a combination of nutrients, herbicides, and physicochemical variables. Multiple regression analyses also indicated that five water chemistry variables exhibited significant relationships (P < 0Ð05) with hydrology. Our results suggest that if water chemistry is the focus of a conservation plan, then the most effective conservation practices may be those that have a combined influence on nutrients, herbicides, and physicochemical variables. Additionally, the use of a combination of conservation practices to address physical habitat and water chemistry degradation is most likely to provide the greatest benefits for fish communities within channelized headwater streams.

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“…Our understanding of the specific relationship between fish assemblage and compound channels with vegetated benches is only now developing, as papers such as Stammler et al (2008), Smiley et al (2008), and King et al (2008) emerge from studies that examine fish community response to these in-channel habitats. These findings match the notion in community ecology, both within aquatic systems (e.g., Angermeier and Schlosser 1989) and beyond (e.g., Rosenzweig 2002), that habitat heterogeneity may substitute for geographic area with regard to species richness and diversity in species-area curves.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish community response to evolving channel complexity in an agricultural headwater system

Crail¹,

Gottgens²,

Krause³

2011

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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Headwaters in many watersheds in the midwestern United States are often dominated by ditches that are dredged to drain farmland and are maintained as homogeneous channels. These ditches may provide important headwater habitat for fish but are rarely managed as such. With reduced dredging, these ditches tend to stabilize their cross-sectional profile with patchy sediment deposits and plant growth. We tested the impact of such channel complexity on the structure of fish communities in agricultural ditches of the upper Ottawa River (Ohio), a western Lake Erie tributary, by comparing twelve 20 m (66 ft) channel segments with and without such complexity (heterogeneous [Ht] and homogeneous [Ho], respectively). Fish communities were sampled at low water with block seines in each site eleven times between June 2005 and October 2006. Temperature, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and discharge were comparable between Ht and Ho segments during each sampling event. A total of 10,843 fish representing 24 species were identified, assessed for spawning condition and age class, and released. In spite of the large variability in fish community metrics over time, Ht habitat had a higher species richness (Ht = 6.56 ± 0.63, Ho = 4.17 ± 0.63; p = 0.02), Shannon diversity (Ht = 1.33 ± 0.12, Ho = 0.90 ± 0.12; p = 0.03), and number of feeding guilds (Ht = 3.2 ± 0.20, Ho = 2.2 ± 0.20; p = 0.01). Fish abundance and Index of Biotic Integrity showed no significant effect for habitat. The community was dominated by tolerant cyprinids (Pimephales promelas and P. notatus) but also contained 1,514 Etheostoma microperca, a previously undocumented population and species listed as a "State Species of Concern" in Ohio. The majority (73%) of E. microperca were found in Ht segments. In spite of the prevalence of exotic species in other regional aquatic systems, only 0.7% of the total catch belonged to nonnative species. With the majority of headwaters in the midwestern United States consisting of dredged ditches, balancing management for efficient drainage while allowing some level of channel complexity may benefit native fishes and contribute to surprisingly rich communities. Key words: agricultural ditches-channelized streams-fish communities-habitat heterogeneity-vegetated benchesMany drainage districts in the midwestern United States begin in human-created waterways or in natural waterways that have been channelized. These humanmaintained headwater streams, known as agricultural "ditches," are designed to remove excess surface water to improve agricultural yields . Given the perceived homogeneity of such habitat and the ephemeral nature of water in these ditched waterways, it is generally assumed by farmer and scientist alike that these systems support a severely impoverished aquatic community and provide little ecological function (Schlosser 1995; Meyer et al. 2007). Yet, these modified streams often form the headwaters of larger rivers and may serve an important function in fish spawning and refuge or as habitat for sp...

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Contribution of habitat and water quality to the integrity of fish communities in agricultural drainage ditches

Cited by 20 publications

References 1 publication

Influence of instream habitat and water chemistry on amphibians in channelized agricultural headwater streams

Influence of instream habitat and water chemistry on amphibians in channelized agricultural headwater streams

Management implications of the relationships between water chemistry and fishes within channelized headwater streams in the midwestern United States

Fish community response to evolving channel complexity in an agricultural headwater system

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