Abstract
Aquatic vegetation provides many services for aquatic habitats and fish communities. The federally listed fountain darter Etheostoma fonticola, found only in spring systems of the San Marcos and Comal rivers in central Texas, is reported to associate with vegetation for feeding, reproduction, and refuge. Descriptions of associations with vegetation range from preferred to exclusive, whereas other studies describe fountain darters found outside of vegetation. The purposes of this study were to quantify fountain darter occurrences and abundances among vegetated habitats using the concept of obligate and facultative habitat use. Wadeable and non-wadeable habitats among multiple reaches of the San Marcos and Comal rivers were sampled with seines and SCUBA diving methods in the spring and fall from 2014 to 2019. Fountain darters were often associated with aquatic vegetation but demonstrated both obligate and facultative tendencies. Fountain darters occurred in vegetation more than expected among wadeable and non-wadeable habitats in the majority of reaches within the San Marcos and Comal rivers. Among vegetation taxa, they were positively associated with bryophytes and negatively associated with Texas wild rice, but associations with other vegetation taxa varied by river and were possibly influenced by other variables. Current vegetation management in both rivers includes the removal of non-native species and restoration of native vegetation, so understanding the patterns of fountain darter associations with vegetation can guide future management and restoration efforts of these spring systems.
Highlights
Aquatic vegetation provides a variety of ecosystem services for fishes
The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the fountain darter and aquatic vegetation using the 6 yr biomonitoring data set, taken from multiple reaches twice per year, from wadeable and non-wadeable habitats, and within the known range of the fountain darter (6.2 river km [rkm] in the San Marcos River and 7.0 rkm in the Comal River)
San Marcos and Comal rivers originate from voluminous groundwater discharges of the Edwards Aquifer on the eastern edge of Edwards Plateau in central Texas (Kollaus et al 2015)
Summary
Aquatic vegetation provides a variety of ecosystem services for fishes. Aquatic vegetation is positively related to macroinvertebrate diversity, a major food item for fishes (Grenouillet et al 2002, Yofukuji et al 2021), and it creates structural complexity (Montoya-Ospina et al 2020), providing refuge for small fishes (Brusven et al 1990) and cover for large predatory fishes (Casselman & Lewis 1996). Reported preferred habitats are small to large streams and margins of lakes, slack-water habitats with vegetation and detritus (Schenck & Whiteside 1976, Burr & Page 1978, 1979). Eggs are deposited on vegetation, detritus, and rocks with no parental care (Strawn 1956, Burr & Page 1978, 1979)
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