Landscape geomorphology and local‐riverine features influence Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus) spawning habitat suitability in Arctic Alaska
Abstract Landscape‐level geomorphic processes influence the spatial and temporal arrangement of fish habitats in freshwater ecosystems and fishes move across riverscapes, selecting a suite of habitats to maximise fitness. Here, we explore the influence of geomorphology on stream channel attributes a...
Published in: | Ecology of Freshwater Fish |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eff.12657 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/eff.12657 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/eff.12657 |
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crwiley:10.1111/eff.12657 2024-06-02T08:01:57+00:00 Landscape geomorphology and local‐riverine features influence Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus) spawning habitat suitability in Arctic Alaska Leppi, Jason C. Falke, Jeffrey A. Rinella, Daniel J. Wipfli, Mark S. Seitz, Andrew C. Whitman, Matthew S. National Science Foundation U.S. Bureau of Land Management U.S. Geological Survey 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eff.12657 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/eff.12657 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/eff.12657 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Ecology of Freshwater Fish volume 31, issue 4, page 622-639 ISSN 0906-6691 1600-0633 journal-article 2022 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/eff.12657 2024-05-03T11:33:46Z Abstract Landscape‐level geomorphic processes influence the spatial and temporal arrangement of fish habitats in freshwater ecosystems and fishes move across riverscapes, selecting a suite of habitats to maximise fitness. Here, we explore the influence of geomorphology on stream channel attributes and assess Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus ) spawning habitat potential in the Colville River in Arctic Alaska. Using high‐resolution digital surface models (5 m 2 ), we quantified the stream network extent and summarised channel habitat attributes continuously across the drainage network. Next, we developed an intrinsic potential (IP) model for Broad Whitefish by using geomorphic channel parameters previously understood to be associated with spawning habitats (channel width, median substrate size and channel braiding) to estimate the potential of streams across the Colville River watershed to provide spawning habitat. Our model results show the majority of habitat with high IP (≥0.6) was located within the braided sections of the main channel, which encompass >1548 km, but only 2% of the total channel network. The IP model was tested by tracking radio‐tagged Broad Whitefish using aerial surveys. Prespawn fish moved into the watershed starting mid‐July and mostly used habitat with moderate to very high IP in the middle and lower watershed. Several individuals were relocated in smaller multichannels with vegetated bars that contained very low IP (≤0.2), suggesting that other factors, such as hyporheic flow, may also influence spawning habitat selection. Our study demonstrates that IP modelling offers a useful method to quantify spawning habitat potential in data‐poor riverscapes, providing useful information for managers to assess potential anthropogenic impacts and develop conservation plans to protect essential Broad Whitefish habitat. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Alaska Wiley Online Library Arctic Ecology of Freshwater Fish |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Landscape‐level geomorphic processes influence the spatial and temporal arrangement of fish habitats in freshwater ecosystems and fishes move across riverscapes, selecting a suite of habitats to maximise fitness. Here, we explore the influence of geomorphology on stream channel attributes and assess Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus ) spawning habitat potential in the Colville River in Arctic Alaska. Using high‐resolution digital surface models (5 m 2 ), we quantified the stream network extent and summarised channel habitat attributes continuously across the drainage network. Next, we developed an intrinsic potential (IP) model for Broad Whitefish by using geomorphic channel parameters previously understood to be associated with spawning habitats (channel width, median substrate size and channel braiding) to estimate the potential of streams across the Colville River watershed to provide spawning habitat. Our model results show the majority of habitat with high IP (≥0.6) was located within the braided sections of the main channel, which encompass >1548 km, but only 2% of the total channel network. The IP model was tested by tracking radio‐tagged Broad Whitefish using aerial surveys. Prespawn fish moved into the watershed starting mid‐July and mostly used habitat with moderate to very high IP in the middle and lower watershed. Several individuals were relocated in smaller multichannels with vegetated bars that contained very low IP (≤0.2), suggesting that other factors, such as hyporheic flow, may also influence spawning habitat selection. Our study demonstrates that IP modelling offers a useful method to quantify spawning habitat potential in data‐poor riverscapes, providing useful information for managers to assess potential anthropogenic impacts and develop conservation plans to protect essential Broad Whitefish habitat. |
author2 |
National Science Foundation U.S. Bureau of Land Management U.S. Geological Survey |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Leppi, Jason C. Falke, Jeffrey A. Rinella, Daniel J. Wipfli, Mark S. Seitz, Andrew C. Whitman, Matthew S. |
spellingShingle |
Leppi, Jason C. Falke, Jeffrey A. Rinella, Daniel J. Wipfli, Mark S. Seitz, Andrew C. Whitman, Matthew S. Landscape geomorphology and local‐riverine features influence Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus) spawning habitat suitability in Arctic Alaska |
author_facet |
Leppi, Jason C. Falke, Jeffrey A. Rinella, Daniel J. Wipfli, Mark S. Seitz, Andrew C. Whitman, Matthew S. |
author_sort |
Leppi, Jason C. |
title |
Landscape geomorphology and local‐riverine features influence Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus) spawning habitat suitability in Arctic Alaska |
title_short |
Landscape geomorphology and local‐riverine features influence Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus) spawning habitat suitability in Arctic Alaska |
title_full |
Landscape geomorphology and local‐riverine features influence Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus) spawning habitat suitability in Arctic Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Landscape geomorphology and local‐riverine features influence Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus) spawning habitat suitability in Arctic Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Landscape geomorphology and local‐riverine features influence Broad Whitefish ( Coregonus nasus) spawning habitat suitability in Arctic Alaska |
title_sort |
landscape geomorphology and local‐riverine features influence broad whitefish ( coregonus nasus) spawning habitat suitability in arctic alaska |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eff.12657 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/eff.12657 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/eff.12657 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Alaska |
op_source |
Ecology of Freshwater Fish volume 31, issue 4, page 622-639 ISSN 0906-6691 1600-0633 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/eff.12657 |
container_title |
Ecology of Freshwater Fish |
_version_ |
1800746454258548736 |