Date of Award
5-2022
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science - Environmental Sciences
Department
Environmental Science
First Advisor
Carmen G. Montana
Second Advisor
Christopher M. Schalk
Third Advisor
Matthew W. McBroom
Fourth Advisor
Yanli Zhang
Abstract
Stream communities are structured by environmental processes that vary in strength across different spatiotemporal scales. Therefore, revealing how stream fish communities are influenced by environmental gradients may clarify how communities respond to disturbance associated with anthropogenic change. I investigated the relative role environmental variables play in the processes that structure the taxonomic and functional diversity of stream fish communities, as well as historical trends in occurrence and local habitat associated with a species of greatest conservation need within east Texas. The results of this study indicate that stream sites with more habitat complexity and stability support a more taxonomically and functionally diverse fish assemblage, while alterations in local habitat may be limiting the occurrence of rare minnow species within edges of its native Texas range. My research highlights the importance of environmental variables in the stream fish assembly process, and increases the ability to predict species distributional responses associated with environmental change.
Repository Citation
Swanson, Jake R., "Fish Community Assembly At Multiple Spatial Scales In East Texas Streams" (2022). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 440.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/440
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Included in
Biodiversity Commons, Integrative Biology Commons, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons
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