The interaction between water turbidity and visual sensory systems and its impact on freshwater fishes
An aquatic ecosystem’s sensory environment has a profound influence on multiple aspects of the life cycles of its resident species, including mating cues, predation, and sensory systems. This thesis consists of laboratory studies and a meta-analysis that examines how changing aquatic sensory informa...
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ftmemorialuniv:oai:research.library.mun.ca:14616 2023-10-01T03:57:37+02:00 The interaction between water turbidity and visual sensory systems and its impact on freshwater fishes Fitzgibbon, Sylvia 2020-01 application/pdf https://research.library.mun.ca/14616/ https://research.library.mun.ca/14616/1/thesis.pdf en eng Memorial University of Newfoundland https://research.library.mun.ca/14616/1/thesis.pdf Fitzgibbon, Sylvia <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Fitzgibbon=3ASylvia=3A=3A.html> (2020) The interaction between water turbidity and visual sensory systems and its impact on freshwater fishes. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland. thesis_license Thesis NonPeerReviewed 2020 ftmemorialuniv 2023-09-03T06:49:51Z An aquatic ecosystem’s sensory environment has a profound influence on multiple aspects of the life cycles of its resident species, including mating cues, predation, and sensory systems. This thesis consists of laboratory studies and a meta-analysis that examines how changing aquatic sensory information, by reducing visual information through turbidity manipulation, can impact fish species. The laboratory studies focused on the consequences of changes in turbidity on the predator-prey interactions of two native Newfoundland fish species (three-spined stickleback prey, Gasterosteus aculeatus, and predatory brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis). The results illustrated that reducing visibility may give a prey species a sensory advantage over a predator, potentially influencing their dynamics. In order to understand the impacts of turbidity on a larger scale, I undertook a meta-analysis on fluctuations in fish communities in relation to shifts in turbidity due to reservoir creation. The analyses indicated that differential changes in turbidity influence the biodiversity and evenness of the visual subset of the fish community. Understanding how changes to the sensory environment can influence aquatic ecosystems is crucial when providing predictions for the potential outcomes of proposed anthropogenic activities altering water turbidity. Thesis Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland: Research Repository |
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Memorial University of Newfoundland: Research Repository |
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An aquatic ecosystem’s sensory environment has a profound influence on multiple aspects of the life cycles of its resident species, including mating cues, predation, and sensory systems. This thesis consists of laboratory studies and a meta-analysis that examines how changing aquatic sensory information, by reducing visual information through turbidity manipulation, can impact fish species. The laboratory studies focused on the consequences of changes in turbidity on the predator-prey interactions of two native Newfoundland fish species (three-spined stickleback prey, Gasterosteus aculeatus, and predatory brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis). The results illustrated that reducing visibility may give a prey species a sensory advantage over a predator, potentially influencing their dynamics. In order to understand the impacts of turbidity on a larger scale, I undertook a meta-analysis on fluctuations in fish communities in relation to shifts in turbidity due to reservoir creation. The analyses indicated that differential changes in turbidity influence the biodiversity and evenness of the visual subset of the fish community. Understanding how changes to the sensory environment can influence aquatic ecosystems is crucial when providing predictions for the potential outcomes of proposed anthropogenic activities altering water turbidity. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Fitzgibbon, Sylvia |
spellingShingle |
Fitzgibbon, Sylvia The interaction between water turbidity and visual sensory systems and its impact on freshwater fishes |
author_facet |
Fitzgibbon, Sylvia |
author_sort |
Fitzgibbon, Sylvia |
title |
The interaction between water turbidity and visual sensory systems and its impact on freshwater fishes |
title_short |
The interaction between water turbidity and visual sensory systems and its impact on freshwater fishes |
title_full |
The interaction between water turbidity and visual sensory systems and its impact on freshwater fishes |
title_fullStr |
The interaction between water turbidity and visual sensory systems and its impact on freshwater fishes |
title_full_unstemmed |
The interaction between water turbidity and visual sensory systems and its impact on freshwater fishes |
title_sort |
interaction between water turbidity and visual sensory systems and its impact on freshwater fishes |
publisher |
Memorial University of Newfoundland |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://research.library.mun.ca/14616/ https://research.library.mun.ca/14616/1/thesis.pdf |
genre |
Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland |
op_relation |
https://research.library.mun.ca/14616/1/thesis.pdf Fitzgibbon, Sylvia <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Fitzgibbon=3ASylvia=3A=3A.html> (2020) The interaction between water turbidity and visual sensory systems and its impact on freshwater fishes. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland. |
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_version_ |
1778529394058330112 |