Life history strategies of stream fishes linked to predictors of hydrologic stability
Abstract Life history theory provides a framework to understand environmental change based on species strategies for survival and reproduction under stable, cyclical, or stochastic environmental conditions. We evaluated environmental predictors of fish life history strategies in 20 streams intersect...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8861 |
| _version_ | 1828809971793395712 |
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| author | Nathaniel P. Hitt Andrew P. Landsman Richard L. Raesly |
| author_facet | Nathaniel P. Hitt Andrew P. Landsman Richard L. Raesly |
| author_sort | Nathaniel P. Hitt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Life history theory provides a framework to understand environmental change based on species strategies for survival and reproduction under stable, cyclical, or stochastic environmental conditions. We evaluated environmental predictors of fish life history strategies in 20 streams intersecting a national park within the Potomac River basin in eastern North America. We sampled stream sites during 2018–2019 and collected 3801 individuals representing 51 species within 10 taxonomic families. We quantified life history strategies for species from their coordinates in an ordination space defined by trade‐offs in spawning season duration, fecundity, and parental care characteristic of opportunistic, periodic, and equilibrium strategies. Our analysis revealed important environmental predictors: Abundance of opportunistic strategists increased with low‐permeability soils that produce flashy runoff dynamics and decreased with karst terrain (carbonate bedrock) where groundwater inputs stabilize stream flow and temperature. Conversely, abundance of equilibrium strategists increased in karst terrain indicating a response to more stable environmental conditions. Our study indicated that fish community responses to groundwater and runoff processes may be explained by species traits for survival and reproduction. Our findings also suggest the utility of life history theory for understanding ecological responses to destabilized environmental conditions under global climate change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T09:04:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-85837030e5f043b9a2264c292a35f820 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T09:04:50Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-85837030e5f043b9a2264c292a35f8202022-12-22T00:29:43ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582022-05-01125n/an/a10.1002/ece3.8861Life history strategies of stream fishes linked to predictors of hydrologic stabilityNathaniel P. Hitt0Andrew P. Landsman1Richard L. Raesly2U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior Eastern Ecological Science Center Kearneysville West Virginia USANational Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Williamsport Maryland USADepartment of Biology Frostburg State University Frostburg Maryland USAAbstract Life history theory provides a framework to understand environmental change based on species strategies for survival and reproduction under stable, cyclical, or stochastic environmental conditions. We evaluated environmental predictors of fish life history strategies in 20 streams intersecting a national park within the Potomac River basin in eastern North America. We sampled stream sites during 2018–2019 and collected 3801 individuals representing 51 species within 10 taxonomic families. We quantified life history strategies for species from their coordinates in an ordination space defined by trade‐offs in spawning season duration, fecundity, and parental care characteristic of opportunistic, periodic, and equilibrium strategies. Our analysis revealed important environmental predictors: Abundance of opportunistic strategists increased with low‐permeability soils that produce flashy runoff dynamics and decreased with karst terrain (carbonate bedrock) where groundwater inputs stabilize stream flow and temperature. Conversely, abundance of equilibrium strategists increased in karst terrain indicating a response to more stable environmental conditions. Our study indicated that fish community responses to groundwater and runoff processes may be explained by species traits for survival and reproduction. Our findings also suggest the utility of life history theory for understanding ecological responses to destabilized environmental conditions under global climate change.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8861freshwater fishhydrologykarstlife historystreams |
| spellingShingle | Nathaniel P. Hitt Andrew P. Landsman Richard L. Raesly Life history strategies of stream fishes linked to predictors of hydrologic stability Ecology and Evolution freshwater fish hydrology karst life history streams |
| title | Life history strategies of stream fishes linked to predictors of hydrologic stability |
| title_full | Life history strategies of stream fishes linked to predictors of hydrologic stability |
| title_fullStr | Life history strategies of stream fishes linked to predictors of hydrologic stability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Life history strategies of stream fishes linked to predictors of hydrologic stability |
| title_short | Life history strategies of stream fishes linked to predictors of hydrologic stability |
| title_sort | life history strategies of stream fishes linked to predictors of hydrologic stability |
| topic | freshwater fish hydrology karst life history streams |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8861 |
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