Spatial Variation in Fish Assemblages across a Beaver-Influenced Successional Landscape

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Ecological Society of America is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Ecology.Abstract. Beavers are increasingly viewed as "ecological engineers," having broad effects on physical, chemical, and biological attributes of north-temperate landscapes. We examine the influence of both local successional processes associated with beaver activity and regional geomorphic boundaries on spatial variation in fish assemblages along the Kabetogama Peninsula in Voyageurs National Park, northern Minnesota, USA. Fish abundance and species richness exhibited considerable variation among drainages along the peninsula. Geological barriers to fish dispersal at outlets of some drainages has reduced fish abundance and species richness. Fish abundance and species richness also varied within drainages among local environments associated with beaver pond succession. Fish abundance was higher in upland ponds than in lowland ponds, collapsed ponds, or streams, whereas species richness was highest in collapsed ponds and streams. Cluster analyses based on fish abundance at sites classified according to successional environment indicated that four species (northern redbelly dace, Phoxinus eos; brook stickleback, Culaea inconstans; finescale dace, P. neogaeus; and fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas), were predominant in all successional environments. Several less abundant species were added in collapsed ponds and streams, with smaller size classes of large lake species (e.g., black crappie, Pomoxis nigromaculatus; smallmouth bass, Micropertus dolomieui; yellow perch, Perca flavescens; and burbot, Lota lota) being a component of these less abundant species. The addition of smaller size classes of large lake species indicates that dispersal of early life-history stages from Kabetogama Lake played a role in determining the species richness and composition of less abundant species in successional environments on the peninsula.Furthermore, collapsed-pond and stream environments closer to Kabetogama Lake had higher species richness than similar successional sites located farther from the lake. Cluster analyses based on fish abundance at sites classified according to drainage indicated that species composition among drainages was influenced both by the presence or absence of geological barriers to fish dispersal and the nonrandom distribution of collapsed ponds and streams. Based on these results, we present a hierarchical conceptual model suggesting how geomorphic boundaries and beaver pond succession interact to influence fish assemblage attributes. The presence of a productive and diverse fish assemblage in headwater streams of north-temperate areas requires the entire spatial and t...

The impacts of beaversCastorspp. on biodiversity and the ecological basis for their reintroduction to Scotland,UK

“…, Snodgrass & Meffe , Smith & Mather ). Temporal heterogeneity is also created due to the creation and abandonment of beaver impoundments, and the differing effects of beaver ponds of different ages; this has further positive impacts on fish biodiversity (Schlosser & Kallemeyn ). Restoring degraded watercourses through impoundment and increasing the abundance of dead wood also increases total fish biomass present within a stream reach (Acuna et al.…”

Beaver dams shift desert fish assemblages toward dominance by non‐native species (Verde River, Arizona, USA)

“…It seems likely that longevity of beaver ponds may affect their ecological function, and several studies have demonstrated that fish assemblage in beaver pond habitats varies with pond age (Snodgrass & Meffe 1998;Schlosser & Kallemeyn 2000). We found that beaver dams were generally larger and more abundant in the upper mainstem than in the tributaries, and mainstem ponds appeared older and more complex.…”

“…Previous research has shown that beaver pond habitat can have substantial consequences for stream fish populations: individual species, particularly salmonids, have shown higher growth, survival or abundance within beaver ponds relative to unimpounded stream habitat (Murphy et al 1989), and some species preferentially select beaver pond habitats during certain life stages or environmental conditions (e.g., Schlosser 1995). Beaver ponds can influence composition of fish assemblages at scales ranging from individual ponds (Snodgrass & Meffe 1999) to entire drainages (Schlosser & Kallemeyn 2000). Beaver ponds can influence composition of fish assemblages at scales ranging from individual ponds (Snodgrass & Meffe 1999) to entire drainages (Schlosser & Kallemeyn 2000).…”

9.12 Influence of Aquatic and Semi-Aquatic Organisms on Channel Forms and Processes

“…This process is then reversed with the failure of beaver dams (Andersen and Shafroth, 2010). The spatial and temporal mosaic of beaver-dam construction and destruction is evident in beaver-impacted landscapes and has been found to be important in describing both fish abundance and species richness (Schlosser and Kallemeyn, 2000). On a regulated river in the Sonoran Desert, Andersen and Shafroth (2010) found that the ratio of lentic:lotic habitat along a 58-km river fell from 19:1 to o3:1 after 7 years of favorable flows.…”