Reservoir fish assemblage structure across an aquatic ecotone: Can river‐reservoir interfaces provide conservation and management opportunities?

River‐reservoir interfaces have been described as aquatic ecotones and contain strong environmental gradients of depth, turbidity and trophic resource abundance. These transitional habitats have traditionally been excluded by riverine and reservoir management schemes despite their prevalence in mode...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fisheries management and ecology 2021-02, Vol.28 (1), p.1-13
Main Authors: Pennock, Casey A., Hines, Brian A., Elverud, Darek S., Francis, Travis A., McKinstry, Mark C., Schleicher, Benjamin J., Gido, Keith B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Annual variations
Bass
Benthos
Conservation
Ecotones
Environmental gradient
Fish
Freshwater fishes
Habitat selection
Habitats
Inflow
Interfaces
Lake Powell
Lakes
non‐native species
Omnivores
Piscivores
razorback sucker
Relative abundance
Reservoir management
Reservoirs
Rivers
River‐reservoir inflow
San Juan River
Shorelines
Spawning
Species
transition zone
Turbidity
Water inflow
Water levels
Wildlife conservation
Xyrauchen texanus
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Summary:River‐reservoir interfaces have been described as aquatic ecotones and contain strong environmental gradients of depth, turbidity and trophic resource abundance. These transitional habitats have traditionally been excluded by riverine and reservoir management schemes despite their prevalence in modern riverscapes. By systematically sampling shoreline habitats along a river‐reservoir interface gradient from riverine to lacustrine zones with trammel nets in 2018–2019, strong patterns were identified in total species captured and individuals captured in the San Juan River‐Lake Powell inflow, USA. Changes in assemblage structure were driven mainly by increases in relative abundance of benthic omnivores towards the riverine zone, including imperiled razorback sucker, Xyrauchen texanus (Abbott), but also by increases in predatory species, such as striped bass, Morone saxatilis (Walbaum). Inter‐annual variation in species distributions along the river‐reservoir interface gradient was likely influenced by variation in reservoir water level that differed by nearly 12 m between years. River‐reservoir interfaces provide high‐quality feeding and potentially spawning areas for both benthic omnivores and piscivores, and these areas should be considered in management and conservation efforts for species using these habitats.
ISSN:0969-997X
1365-2400
DOI:10.1111/fme.12444