Abstract
Freshwaters are important, interconnected, and imperiled. Aquatic ecosystems, including freshwater fishes, are closely tied to the terrestrial ecosystems they are embedded within, yet available spatially explicit datasets have been underutilized to determine associations between freshwater fishes and forested areas. Here, we determined the spatial co-occurrence between freshwater fish distributions and forests within 2129 watersheds of the conterminous United States. We identified 21% of freshwater fishes as associated with forested areas, and 2% as strictly present only in highly forested areas (75–100% forested). The northern coasts and southeast regions, both heavily forested, showed the largest numbers of forest-associated fishes in highly forested areas and fish species richness. Fish associated with low-forested areas occurred in the southwest and central plains. Imperiled fishes were relatively evenly distributed among percent forest categories, which was distinctly different from patterns for all fishes. The identification of forest-associated fishes provides insights regarding species-specific landscape contexts. Determining these large-scale patterns of freshwater biodiversity is necessary for conservation planning at regional levels, especially in highly impacted freshwater ecosystems.
Highlights
Freshwater aquatic biodiversity is declining at rates that exceed either marine or terrestrial ecosystems, and freshwater fish experienced the highest extinction rate of the 20th century [1,2,3]
In the United States, freshwater protections are often associated with land ownership, which is linked to land management rather than to multi-ownership watershed-scale management
We presented the most spatially resolute and coincident datasets of fish species richness and forested area available across the conterminous United States to assess forest association among fishes
Summary
Freshwater aquatic biodiversity is declining at rates that exceed either marine or terrestrial ecosystems, and freshwater fish experienced the highest extinction rate of the 20th century [1,2,3]. At regional or local scales, a mosaic of riparian protections is present, reflecting differing local, state, and federal policies for different land uses and ownerships that follow the ribbon of the river network [10,11]. These efforts can overlap, or they can leave gaps leading to a lack of coordinated work in the protection of continuous stretches of freshwater for aquatic ecosystems [12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
