Landscape Influences on Stream Habitats and Biological Assemblages

Landscape Influences on Longitudinal Patterns of River Fishes: Spatially Continuous Analysis of Fish-Habitat Relationships

Christian E. Torgersen, Colden V. Baxter, Hiram W. Li, and Bruce A. McIntosh

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781888569766.ch23

Abstract.—Longitudinal analysis of the distribution and abundance of river fishes provides a context-specific characterization of species responses to riverscape heterogeneity. We examined spatially continuous longitudinal profiles (35–70 km) of fish distribution and aquatic habitat (channel gradient, depth, temperature, and water velocity) for three northeastern Oregon rivers. We evaluated spatial patterns of river fishes and habitat using multivariate analysis to compare gradients in fish assemblage structure among rivers and at multiple spatial scales. Spatial structuring of fish assemblages exhibited a generalized pattern of cold- and coolwater fish assemblage zones but was variable within thermal zones, particularly in the warmest river. Landscape context (geographic setting and thermal condition) influenced the observed relationship between species distribution and channel gradient. To evaluate the effect of spatial extent and geographical context on observed assemblage patterns and fish–habitat relationships, we performed multiple ordinations on subsets of our data from varying lengths of each river and compared gradients in assemblage structure within and among rivers. The relative associations of water temperature increased and channel morphology decreased as the spatial scale of analysis increased. The crossover point where both variables explained equal amounts of variation was useful for identifying transitions between cool- and coldwater fish assemblages. Spatially continuous analysis of river fishes and their habitats revealed unexpected ecological patterns and provided a unique perspective on fish distribution that emphasized the importance of habitat heterogeneity and spatial variability in fish–habitat relationships.