Similarities in Fish Distribution and Water Quality Patterns in Streams of Arkansas: Congruence of Multivariate Analyses

Abstract

Patterns in the distribution of fishes throughout Arkansas were congruent with patterns in a concomitant long-term suite of water quality variables. For 70 of 101 previously defined stream drainage units, a 10-yr compilation of 14 water-quality variables was used to generate axes by principal components analysis and detrended correspondence analysis that summarize overall patterns in water quality of the drainage units. The primary axes from these multivariate analyses, based on water quality, were compared to a multivariate axis generated on the basis of abundance of native fishes within the drainage units. Regardless of the specific multivariate method employed, primary axes based on water quality were highly concordant with the axis based on distribution of fishes. Comparison of these large water quality and fish abundance data sets shows spatial distribution of stream fishes within this midwestern state to be significantly related to an aggregate of water-quality conditions. The fish species associated with each faunal region are indicated, as are the suites of water-quality variables related to occurrence of fishes.