Fish Community Response to Reservoir Habitat Enhancement Across Multiple Spatiotemporal Scales
Advisor: Dr. Joseph Parkos
Habitat enhancements are a common management tool used to mitigate the loss of natural physical structure in aging reservoirs. Habitat additions typically concentrate fish; however, how this concentration effect varies over the age and location of the structure and whether these additions increase prey and fish production are poorly understood. I conducted two studies to assess the effects of reservoir habitat additions at different spatial and temporal scales. I measured fish population and prey community responses to a whole-reservoir habitat manipulation, where over 1500 trees were added to the shoreline of a 22-ha reservoir. In the second study, I investigated whether fish relative abundance and assemblage composition varied longitudinally and with time since deployment at synthetic habitat structures in a 4500-ha reservoir. Observed increases in size structure and reproduction indicate that reservoir habitat additions may enhance fish productivity, but the location of added habitats within a reservoir is likely an important driver of fish aggregation
Meeting ID: 826 7631 6940 Password: 051656
