Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2003. / Includes bibliography.

Relationships between fish assemblage composition and substrate variation is poorly understood in large rivers. Information on fishes occurrence and behavior and substrate variation were examined in field observations for the Middle Wabash River and fine scale artificial streams experiments. The results from field observations suggested strong concordance for variation in abundance of fishes with habitat variation among sites, resulting in a longitudinal river gradient as dominant in the Middle Wabash River. In addition, shifts in fish behavior within artificial stream experiments demonstrated that species-specific habitat selection behaviors were influenced by interactions within a fish assemblage. The combination of artificial stream experiments and field observations can identify fine scale trends that bioassessment surveys cannot tease apart, and highlighting the need to examine species-habitat relationships at more than one scale. / Department of Biology

Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) and Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP), require the use of habitat preference curves to model the habitat requirements of fish. The accuracy of these curves has been questioned, particularly when they are applied outside the geographic area for which they were developed. Depth, velocity, substrate, and cover preference curves were developed for adult and juvenile smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) in Wet Beaver Creek, Arizona, and were compared to those from previous habitat preference studies in Virginia, Oklahoma, and Arizona. Curves for fishes in Wet Beaver Creek also were compared to curves developed using information from the scientific literature. Additionally, curves were developed for adult and subadult roundtail chub (Gila robusta) in Wet Beaver Creek, and adult roundtail chub and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) in Fossil Creek. The curves for adult roundtail chub were compared between these two locations. Velocity and depth preference curves, for both adult and juvenile smallmouth bass, appeared transferrable among locations. Minor differences between the depth curves were attributable to sampling techniques. Substrate preference curves were not transferrable; smallmouth bass seemed to use whatever substrates were locally available. No conclusion concerning the transferability of cover curves could be made because the definitions used for cover varied widely among investigators. Depth, velocity and substrate preferences of roundtail chub differed between the two streams studied, even though these streams were in the same drainage. The differences may have been related to the presence of smallmouth bass in Wet Beaver Creek; smallmouth bass were not present in Fossil Creek. Habitat preference curves based on depth, velocity, substrate, and cover parameters were developed for razorback suckers in Fossil Creek. No curves have been developed previously for razorback suckers in the lower Colorado River Basin; therefore, no comparisons were possible. This species was probably introduced into Fossil Creek and the habitat preference defined in this study may not represent razorback suckers throughout their range. Razorback suckers do not appear to have successfully spawned in Fossil Creek. This lack of success may reflect the absence of suitable habitat or simply indicate the fish have not reached sexual maturity.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2004. / Title from title page screen (viewed May 13, 2004). Thesis advisor: J. Larry Wilson. Document formatted into pages (viii, 58 p. : col. ill., col. maps). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-57).

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The local substrate composition of large rivers varies with local current velocity and high flow events. We evaluated effects of hydrology on local substrate variation for 28 Wabash River sites from 2005-08, and subsequent variation in fish assemblages using multivariate analyses. Sites were 500-m in length and fish were collected by boat electrofisher. Substrate collection methods were compared by way of habitat pole, developed by Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), and substrate grabs. We characterized hydrologic variation with the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) software. We determined important driving variables of fish assemblages, substrates, and hydrology with Principle Components Analysis. Temporal effects of hydrology and substrate variation on taxonomic and functional fish assemblages were determined by repeated measures ANOVA. The analyses resulted in annual variation in fish assemblage structure, substrates and hydrologic variation. Significant relationships were found for fish assemblage structure, substrate variation, and hydrologic variation. . Our Mantel tests resulted in significant concordance among hydrology, local substrate variation, and fish assemblage structure variables in years 2005, 2006, and 2008, but not in 2007. These results demonstrated that Wabash River fish assemblages respond to substrate variation and substrate variation is controlled largely by hydrology. A comparison of substrate quantification approaches demonstrated that the habitat pole and substrate grabs are both effective ways to describe fish assemblages but the costs of grabs outweigh the cost of the pole method. / Department of Biology