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The Ecological Niche of Darters (Pisces:Percidae) Across Multiple Scales in the Ohio River Basin

Crail, Todd D.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1344985634

Abstract Details

2012, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, Biology (Ecology).
The ecological niche is a theoretical construction used to understand the factors that drive species distributions. Niche theory allows ecologists to visualize and discuss patterns relating organisms to surrounding environmental and biotic constraints, and henceforth quantify processes leading to the presence or absence of that organism. The North American darters (Percidae: Etheostomatinae) are an ideal focal community in which to test ecological niche theory. Darters are speciose (~250 species), recently derived (< 55 million years), and many species occur in syntopic populations in distinctive river habitat known as riffles. In my first study, I addressed interspecific interactions among darters and the role of those interactions in shaping the realized niche of species as measured by individual species’ resources use. Significant differences in the resource utilization of species (25 of 28 species interactions) were evident, implying resource partitioning. Interspecific competition between closely related species strongly influenced the resource utilization of species at local scales (significant in 30 of 33 comparisons) and unrelated species caused shifts in darter resource utilization by competing for the same resources. In my second study, I broadened the geographic scale to study intraspecific interactions among darter species. Specialist species occupied conditions that were a reduced portion of the conditions available at the landscape scale, while generalists occupied any condition available. Specialist competitors shifted the resources utilization of other species more often than they shifted in the presence of generalist species. Intraspecific classes exhibited varying numbers of significant differences in resources utilization using local mean estimations of resources utilization by class among species. I found few significant differences in resources utilization among intraspecific classes (sex and ontogeny) within most species. However, E. maculatum, the most specialized species, exhibited many significant differences between adults and juveniles, and implied a strong ontogenic shift. In my third study, I addressed the specifics of spotted darter distributions and the role of common species in shaping spotted darter’s ecological niche. Competitor species, such as E. blennioides, E. caeruleum and E. variatum, occupied significantly less percentages of cobble than spotted darters, and significant shifts in resource use for spotted darter and competitor species were found for many environmental resources. Juvenile spotted darters also significantly partitioned habitat axes from adult male (4 of 5) and adult female (3 of 6) spotted darters. I then applied the framework to a complex conservation issue on the Pigeon River restoration in North Carolina and Tennessee, where benthic fish species are currently being reintroduced. I found that strongly benthic-associated species, such as Etheostoma darters and Cottus carolinae, were associated with different substrate classes, while weakly pelagic species, such as Percina darters, were associated with depth. E. blennioides, E. rufilineatum and C. carolinae showed significant expansion (p < 0.05) in their use of each percent substrate size in the Pigeon River relative to reference conditions, which may suggest competitive release. My research has contributed valuable data on the distribution of Etheostoma darters at multiple scales in the Ohio River and beyond, which will lead to a greater probability of success for conservation efforts of benthic fishes.
Jonathan Bossenbroek (Advisor)
Johan Gottgens (Advisor)
Timothy Fisher (Committee Member)
Krause Ann (Committee Member)
Neely David (Committee Member)
150 p.
Ecology
community; competition; partitioning;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Crail, T. D. (2012). The Ecological Niche of Darters (Pisces:Percidae) Across Multiple Scales in the Ohio River Basin [Doctoral dissertation, University of Toledo]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1344985634

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Crail, Todd. The Ecological Niche of Darters (Pisces:Percidae) Across Multiple Scales in the Ohio River Basin. 2012. University of Toledo, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1344985634.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Crail, Todd. "The Ecological Niche of Darters (Pisces:Percidae) Across Multiple Scales in the Ohio River Basin." Doctoral dissertation, University of Toledo, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1344985634

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

toledo1344985634
475
© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Toledo and OhioLINK.