Fish Assemblage Variability in a Florida Spring

• Published in: Southeastern naturalist (Steuben, Me.) Me.), 2010-12, Vol.9 (4), p.649-672
• Main Authors: Work, Kirsten, Gibbs, Melissa, Peters, Brenda, French, Laura
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fauna; Fish; Flow velocity; Freshwater; Freshwater fishes; Lepisosteus; Natural springs; Oxygen; Predators; River water; Spring water; Streams
• ISSN: 1528-7092; 1938-5412
• DOI: 10.1656/058.009.0402

Florida springs are generally characterized as static ecosystems with unique faunal and floral assemblages that persist under relatively stable physical and chemical conditions. We sampled the fish fauna of Volusia Blue Spring to determine whether this presumption would withstand scrutiny at a higher temporal resolution and over time. We sampled by seining or snorkeling at five stations along the 320-m run weekly or bimonthly from October 2000 to September 2004. This four-year study consisted of 1152 samples that produced approximately 164,000 observations of 30 species of fish on 72 sampling trips. Concurrent water quality samples were collected at 14 sites along the center of the run and at each of the seine sites. Virtually anoxic water discharged from the spring head, but this water accumulated oxygen as it traveled the run. Fish density and species composition also changed dramatically along the length of the run. Species that tolerate low oxygen concentrations, such as poeciliids, dominated the assemblage at the spring head. Species that use patches of algae or small backwater areas, such as fundulids, were prominent in the middle reach of the run. Larger species, such as centrarchids and Lepisosteus spp., were abundant in the lower reach of the run. Within these broad patterns, most species exhibited great variability in density, probably due to the influence of variable emigration of potential predators, and also perhaps smaller species, from the St. Johns River.