Introduced Species and Abiotic Factors Affect Longitudinal Variation in Small Fish Assemblages in the Wind River Watershed, Wyoming

Abstract

ABSTRACT We assessed longitudinal variation in small fish assemblages in the Wind River watershed upstream from Boysen Reservoir, Wyoming and into the reservoir. Twenty-six species were found in the study area, and 12 of the species were believed to have been introduced since settlement by Europeans. Additions and losses of fish species occurred with downstream progression, especially the addition of introduced species. Introduced species increased from 25% of the total number of species in the upper-most river segment (31.5–35.3 km upstream from the reservoir), to 46% in the river segment immediately upstream from the reservoir, to 48% in the reservoir. The most abundant species in the riverine portion of the watershed was the introduced sand shiner (Notropis stramineus). The results suggest that cyprinid species introduced to the upstream watershed and Boysen Reservoir are influencing small fish assemblages upstream from the reservoir and may be impacting native fishes, particularly native cyprinids.