By James C. Petersen
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Fish communities from 22 reaches at 18 stations
in the Ozark Plateaus were sampled in 1993,
1994, and 1995. The 18 stations were chosen to
represent selected combinations of major environmental
factors (geology/physiographic area, land
use, and basin size). Additional physical, chemical,
and biological factors also were measured for
each of the 22 reaches and the influence of these
factors upon the fish communities was investigated.
Fish community samples collected at the 22
reaches identified differences in these communities
that can be attributed to differences in land use
and related water-quality and habitat characteristics.
Communities from agriculture reaches tended
to have more species, increased relative abundance
of stonerollers and members of the sucker family,
and decreased relative abundance of members of
the sunfish and darter families. Several groups of
environmental factors (concentrations of nutrients,
organic carbon, suspended sediment, and dissolved
oxygen; measures related to ionic strength;
measures related to riparian vegetation; measures
related to substrate; and measures related to stream
size) appear to be related to land-use differences
and fish community differences.
Three multivariate analysis techniques (two
ordination techniques and a classification technique)
yielded similar results when applied to the
fish community data. Fish communities from
reaches with more similar land use in their basins
and with similar drainage areas generally were
grouped closer together in the analysis. Water
quality, substrate, stream morphology, and riparian
measures appear to be affecting fish communities
at these reaches.
The relations between land use, stream size,
and fish communities have implications for waterquality
assessments of Ozark streams. Compared
to other parts of the United States, many fish species
live in the Ozark Plateaus. At least 19 of these
species are endemic to the Ozarks area. Many of
these species are intolerant of habitat or waterchemistry
degradation. This characteristic makes
fish a useful tool for assessing water-chemistry
and other habitat conditions of streams.
Several environmental factors can contribute
to differences in fish communities. Elevated
nutrient concentrations and greater canopy angles
can increase periphyton production. Greater canopy
angles can raise water temperatures and, if
they reflect less woody vegetation along the banks
of streams, can be associated with greater streambank
erosion. Elevated suspended sediment concentrations
and finer and more embedded
substrates can reduce benthic macroinvertebrate
populations, decrease spawning success of many
fish species, and decrease protection of benthic
fish from water velocities and predators.
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