Spatial Structure and Temporal Variation of Fish Communities in the Upper Mississippi River System


Book Description

Variation in community composition (presence/absence data) and structure (relative abundance) of Upper Mississippi River fishes was assessed using data from the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program collected from 1994 to 2002. Community composition of fishes varied more in space than through time. We found substantial variation in community composition across two spatial scales: large-scale differences between upper and lower river reaches and small-scale differences among individual regional trend areas (RTA). Community structure (relative abundance data) of fishes also varied more through space than through time. We found substantial variation in fish community structure at three spatial scales: (1) large-scale differences between upper and lower river reaches, (2) differences among individual RTA, and (3) differences among habitat strata, with backwaters having a distinct community structure relative to the main channel and side channels. When averaged across all RTA, fish community structure in 1994 and 1995 was distinct from all other years, possibly as a result of the 1993 Flood. Fish community structure observations for each RTA and year correlated with the environmental variables measured at each sample site. A canonical approach revealed that the combination of Secchi depth, water temperature, current velocity, and vegetation abundance had the greatest correlation with community structure.




Distribution and Relative Abundance of Upper Mississippi River Fishes


Book Description

A total of 163 species of fish have been collected and identified from the Upper Mississippi River since record keeping began late in the 19th century. Records of occurrence appearing in this document have been obtained from a variety of sources, including personal notations by field biologists, agency reports, published reports in the scientific literature on the distribution of fishes in various regions, and more recent habitat and community fish sampling initiated by the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP). This document is meant to provide a consolidated listing of species that presently occur, have occurred, or have been collected in the Upper Mississippi River. Rankings were assigned concerning distribution and relative abundance of those species throughout the river.







Introductory Fisheries Analyses with R


Book Description

A How-To Guide for Conducting Common Fisheries-Related Analyses in R Introductory Fisheries Analyses with R provides detailed instructions on performing basic fisheries stock assessment analyses in the R environment. Accessible to practicing fisheries scientists as well as advanced undergraduate and graduate students, the book demonstrates the flexibility and power of R, offers insight into the reproducibility of script-based analyses, and shows how the use of R leads to more efficient and productive work in fisheries science. The first three chapters present a minimal introduction to the R environment that builds a foundation for the fisheries-specific analyses in the remainder of the book. These chapters help you become familiar with R for basic fisheries analyses and graphics. Subsequent chapters focus on methods to analyze age comparisons, age-length keys, size structure, weight-length relationships, condition, abundance (from capture-recapture and depletion data), mortality rates, individual growth, and the stock-recruit relationship. The fundamental statistical methods of linear regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and nonlinear regression are demonstrated within the contexts of these common fisheries analyses. For each analysis, the author completely explains the R functions and provides sufficient background information so that you can confidently implement each method. Web Resource The author’s website at http://derekogle.com/IFAR/ includes the data files and R code for each chapter, enabling you to reproduce the results in the book as well as create your own scripts. The site also offers supplemental code for more advanced analyses and practice exercises for every chapter.




Habitats and Biota of the Gulf of Mexico: Before the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill


Book Description

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. The Gulf of Mexico is an open and dynamic marine ecosystem rich in natural resources but heavily impacted by human activities, including agricultural, industrial, commercial and coastal development. The Gulf of Mexico has been continuously exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons for millions of years from natural oil and gas seeps on the sea floor, and more recently from oil drilling and production activities located in the water near and far from shore. Major accidental oil spills in the Gulf are infrequent; two of the most significant include the Ixtoc I blowout in the Bay of Campeche in 1979 and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010. Unfortunately, baseline assessments of the status of habitats and biota in the Gulf of Mexico before these spills either were not available, or the data had not been systematically compiled in a way that would help scientists assess the potential short-term and long-term effects of such events. This 2-volume series compiles and summarizes thousands of data sets showing the status of habitats and biota in the Gulf of Mexico before the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Volume 2 covers historical data on commercial and recreational fisheries, with an analysis of marketing trends and drivers; ecology, populations and risks to birds, sea turtles and marine mammals in the Gulf; and diseases and mortalities of fish and other animals that inhabit the Gulf of Mexico.




Centrarchid Fishes


Book Description

Centrarchid fishes, also known as freshwater sunfishes, include such prominent species as the Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass and Bluegill. They are endemic to Eastern North America where they form part of a multi-million dollar sports fishing industry, but they have also been widely introduced around the globe by recreational anglers, in aquaculture programs and by government fisheries agencies. Centrarchid Fishes provides comprehensive coverage of all major aspects of this ecologically and commercially important group of fishes. Coverage includes diversity, ecomorphology, phylogeny and genetics, hybridization, reproduction, early life history and recruitment, feeding and growth, ecology, migrations, bioenergetics, physiology, diseases, aquaculture, fisheries management and conservation. Chapters have been written by well-known and respected scientists and the whole has been drawn together by Professors Cooke and Philipp, themselves extremely well respected in the area of fisheries management and conservation. Centrarchid Fishes is an essential purchase for all fish biologists, ecologists, fisheries managers and fish farm personnel who work with centrarchid species across the globe.




The Missouri River Ecosystem


Book Description

The Missouri River Ecosystem: Exploring the Prospects for Recovery resulted from a study conducted at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The nation's longest river, the Missouri River and its floodplain ecosystem experienced substantial environmental and hydrologic changes during the twentieth century. The context of Missouri River dam and reservoir system management is marked by sharp differences between stakeholders regarding the river's proper management regime. The management agencies have been challenged to determine the appropriate balance between these competing interests. This Water Science and Technology Board report reviews the ecological state of the river and floodplain ecosystem, scientific research of the ecosystem, and the prospects for implementing an adaptive management approach, all with a view toward helping move beyond ongoing scientific and other differences. The report notes that continued ecological degradation of the ecosystem is certain unless some portion of pre-settlement river flows and processes were restored. The report also includes recommendations to enhance scientific knowledge through carefully planned and monitored river management actions and the enactment of a Missouri River Protection and Recovery Act.




The Allometry of Growth and Reproduction


Book Description

The technique of allometry investigates the effects of size on such variables as food intake, energy requirements, growth rates and age at first reproduction. This book brings together much of what is known about the consequences of size and provides a new and mathematically rigorous framework within which many quantitative predictions are made and tested using published and unpublished data. Explanations are proposed for many previously unexplained phenomena such as why in some species females are thousands of times heavier than males, whereas in no species are males more than about eight times heavier than females. The models presented afford a synthesis of the effects of size and open up pathways for further theoretical investigation and experimental testing. Care has been taken to give verbal presentations of all the mathematical conclusions to ensure that the text is widely intelligible.