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Ecotone Properties and Influences on Fish Distributions Along Habitat Gradients of Complex Aquatic Systems

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Ecotone Properties and Influences on Fish Distributions Along Habitat Gradients of Complex Aquatic Systems ECOTONE PROPERTIES AND INFLUENCES ON FISH DISTRIBUTIONS ALONG HABITAT GRADIENTS OF COMPLEX AQUATIC SYSTEMS A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Nuanchan Singkran May 2007 © 2007 Nuanchan Singkran ECOTONE PROPERTIES AND INFLUENCES ON FISH DISTRIBUTIONS ALONG HABITAT GRADIENTS OF COMPLEX AQUATIC SYSTEMS Nuanchan Singkran, Ph. D. Cornell University 2007 Ecotone properties (formation and function) were studied in complex aquatic systems in New York State. Ecotone formations were detected on two embayment- stream gradients associated with Lake Ontario during June–August 2002, using abrupt changes in habitat variables and fish species compositions. The study was repeated at a finer scale along the second gradient during June–August 2004. Abrupt changes in the habitat variables (water depth, current velocity, substrates, and covers) and peak species turnover rate showed strong congruence at the same location on one gradient. The repeated study on the second gradient in the summer of 2004 confirmed the same ecotone orientation as that detected in the summer of 2002 and revealed the ecotone width covering the lentic-lotic transitions. The ecotone on the second gradient acted as a hard barrier for most of the fish species. Ecotone properties were determined along the Hudson River estuary gradient during 1974–2001 using the same methods employed in the freshwater system. The Hudson ecotones showed both changes in location and structural formation over time. Influences of tide, freshwater flow, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and water temperature tended to govern ecotone properties. One ecotone detected in the lower-middle gradient portion appeared to be the optimal zone for fish assemblages, but the other ecotones acted as barriers for most fish species. A spatially explicit abundance exchange model (AEM) was developed to predict distribution patterns of five fish species in relation to their population characteristics and habitat preferences across the lentic-lotic ecotones on the two freshwater gradients associated with Lake Ontario. Preference indexes of each target fish species for water depth, water temperature, current velocity, cover types, and bottom substrates were estimated from field observations, and these were used to compute fish habitat preference (HP). Fish HP was a key variable in the AEM to quantify abundance exchange of an associated fish species among habitats on each study gradient. The AEM efficiently determined local distribution ranges of the fish species on one gradient. Results from the model validation showed that the AEM was able to quantify most of the fish species distributions on the second gradient. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Nuanchan Singkran was born in Chantaburi province located in the eastern part of Thailand. After finishing high school, Nuanchan entered the faculty of Science at Chulalongkorn University in 1989 for her undergraduate study in Marine Science with a major in Marine Biology. Study at the Marine Science Department allowed her to obtain broad knowledge of both applied science and ecology, especially the relationship between aquatic creatures and environmental conditions along the coastal zone of Thailand. After graduation, Nuanchan began her career as an environmental reporter for Thai and English newspapers during 1993–1996. During her career as a journalist, Nuanchan received a 2nd place award for an environmental article supporting Eco-Tourism of Thailand in 1993, and the award for outstanding environmental news reporter from the Environmental Siam Association in 1994. Nuanchan’s work in the media provided her a unique opportunity to observe various environmental problems in Thailand. She realized that the deterioration of natural resources in the country comes primarily from public lack of understanding and awareness about the environment. Lack of suitable methodologies to solve problems and weak environmental policy are additionally significant factors that aggravate environmental problems. Although Nuanchan likes the challenge of media work, she needed to be engaged more actively in the problem-solving process. She believed that academic and research work is really the area that would allow her to contribute to public education and in-depth research on specific issues. During 1996–1999, Nuanchan obtained scholarships from the Chin Sophonpanich Foundation for Environment and from the Biodiversity Research Grant to further her Master’s program in the multidisciplinary Department of Environmental Science, Chulalongkorn University. Her Master’s thesis was entitled “Species Composition of iii Fish in Mangrove Canals as Reflected from Coastal Land Use at Trat Bay, Thailand”. Her interest in this topic comes from the fact that a large number of fish species (over 2,000 across the country) have been seriously threatened by human activities, especially the conversion of coastal areas into shrimp farms, urban districts, or industrial zones, all done without proper management. Her Master’s research using fish as a biological indicator revealed that improper land use activities altered the coastal environment, which in turn affected fish and other living communities in coastal systems in terms of both abundance and species diversity. After completing her Master’s degree, Nuanchan received a government scholarship to pursue her PhD program in Natural Resources at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 2001. At Cornell, Nuanchan conducted her dissertation research on influences of ecotone properties (formation and function) on species distributions over spatial and temporal scales. Her research work dealt with both empirical and simulation modeling to determine ecotone formation in complex aquatic systems and ecotone function on fish species assemblages. Additionally, she used a simulation model to spatially and temporally forecast distribution of fish species assemblages across aquatic boundaries. iv For all fish and other creatures across global boundaries v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My graduate committee played vital roles throughout the development of my dissertation research. I am grateful to all of them for giving me the chance to freely design and follow my research ideas. My committee Chair, Dr. Mark B. Bain, not only supported me in any situation during my PhD program at Cornell University, but also shared his philosophy of thinking and was patient in shaping my research work to continue on the right track. Without his strong academic support and other help, my graduate study at Cornell University could not have been completed. As one of my committee, Dr. Patrick J. Sullivan always gave me instructive comments and helpful suggestions that greatly improved the quality of my research work. His simple questions, e.g., “Why is an ecotone is important?” and “How many functions can an ecotone have?” caused me to think deeply, carefully, and quantitatively on my ecotone study. Prof. Daniel P. Loucks is not just one of my committee, but also one of the best teachers I have ever had during my lifetime as a student. Although Prof. Loucks said that he did not know anything about fish and ecology, his contributions to my research work deserve praise. Following his suggestion to take some core courses in his department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, I gained more modeling experience and recovered my mathematical background to achieve my dissertation research. The Royal Thai Government and Thai people whose tax money supported me to study in the USA deserve any credit for my accomplishments. Additionally, my special thanks are due to the Lake Ontario Biocomplexity Project (Natural Science Foundation OCE–0083625), the Hudson River Foundation (GF/01/05), and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, which partly supported my study and research. I thank Prof. Paul A. Delcourt and Prof. Hazel R. vi Delcourt for suggesting ecotone analysis; John Young from ASA Analysis & Communication, Inc. for providing the beach seine fish and habitat data from the Utilities’ Hudson River estuary monitoring program; John Ladd from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for providing the substrate and shoreline data; and the Cornell University’s Geospatial Information Repository for providing submerged aquatic vegetation data. The completion of my graduate program at Cornell University would be impossible without the warm support and encouragement from friends and collaborators. I am thankful to Kristi Arend, Takao Kumazawa, Kathy Mills, James Murphy, Marci Meixler, Emelia Deimezis, Geof Eckerlin, Gail Steinhart, Carol Steinhart, Geoff Steinhart, and all the other people I cannot name here for their support and help during my study period at Cornell. I thank my parents and my husband, Poonrit Kuakul, for their patience and understanding. I am thankful to my senior friends, Dolina Millar, Bruce Anderson, Wandee Anderson, and some sisters and brothers from the Taste of Thai restaurant who made my life in Ithaca not so lonely and never refused to help me in any manner they could. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Biographical sketch iii Dedication v Acknowledgments vi List of figures ix List of tables xii Chapter One Ecotone properties in the freshwater system associated 1 with Lake Ontario, New York. Chapter Two Ecotone properties in the Hudson River estuary system 26 New York. Chapter Three An abundance exchange model of fish assemblage 60 response to changing
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