ISSN:
1573-5117
Keywords:
fish
;
Index of Biotic Integrity
;
mesohabitats
;
Belgium
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract We investigated the influence of mesohabitats on fish communities and on attributes of a multimetric index of fish integrity in the River Meuse basin. Three consecutive 150 m sectors in a Meuse tributary (Ourthe, Belgium), each divided in two or three sub-sections presenting various percentages of mesohabitats (riffles, runs and pools), were sampled by electrofishing. In each sub-section, relative and absolute biomasses of each fish species were estimated. The presence of limnophilic cyprinids was inversely correlated (r 2 = 0.70 and 0.56 for absolute and relative biomass, respectively) with the percentage of riffles. Salmonids preferred runs and their absolute biomass was highly dependent (r 2 = 0.71) on the proportion of this mesohabitat, whereas biomass of limnophilic cyprinids was highly correlated (r 2 = 0.75 and r 2 = 0.82 for absolute and relative biomass, respectively) with pools. A positive correlation (r 2 = 0.58) was established between relative biomass of predators and the percentage of this mesohabitat. An IBI was calculated for the three sectors on the basis of results from the entire Meuse catchment. Scores of most metrics showed low variation among sectors but values of two metrics (% of individuals as tolerant, % of individuals as ubiquitous spawners) were greatest in sector 2, where pools predominated. Further, the lowest IBI score (51/65, integrity class: fair to good) was recorded in sector 2 where pools dominated, while sector 1 (where runs dominated) obtained the highest score (63/65, integrity class: excellent). Sector 3 which has a balanced proportion of riffles and runs obtained an intermediate score (57/65). Considering the response of IBI to the natural variation of mesohabitat proportions, it appears that an accurate sampling requires the prospection of a variety of mesohabitats (with a majority of runs) for the evaluation of river quality.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00018117
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