Structure of Littoral-zone Fish Communities in Relation to Habitat, Physical, and Chemical Gradients in a Southern Reservoir

Abstract

How the distribution and abundance of organisms vary across environmental gradients can reveal factors important in structuring aquatic communities. We sampled the littoral-zone fish community in a large reservoir (Lake Texoma) on the Texas–Oklahoma (U.S.A.) border that has pronounced environmental gradients from up- to downlake and between major tributary arms. Our objective was to evaluate the predictability of the littoral-zone fish-community structure from a suite of environmental variables. A stepwise multiple-regression model, with environmental factors at independent variables, explained 64% of the variation in fish species richness across sample sites. The number of species was positively associated with water-column productivity and total Kjedahl nitrogen, and negatively associated with Secchi depth and benthic productivity. Canonical correspondence analysis, with environmental factors as independent variables, explained 63% of the variation in fish-community structure across sites. Equal proportions of the variation in community structure were explained by variables that have strong gradients within the reservoir (e.g., Secchi depth and water-column productivity) and those that represent local habitat variables (e.g., shoreline aspect and substrate type).