DESCRIPTIONS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND EXPLANATIONS OF PROCESSES AND PATTERNS STRUCTURING AND MAINTAINING INLAND FISH COMMUNITIES by Cody A. Craig, M.S. A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology May 2020 Committee Members: Timothy H. Bonner, Chair Noland H. Martin Chris Nice Emmanuel Frimpong Keith Gido COPYRIGHT by Cody A. Craig 2020 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication Permission As the copyright holder of this work I, Cody A. Craig, authorize duplication of this work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank my major advisor, Timothy H. Bonner, who has been my mentor throughout my time at Texas State University. I also thank my committee members who provided comments on my dissertation. Thank you to all of my past and present lab mates as well as undergraduates who have helped on all of my projects during my time as a masters and PhD student. This work is truly collaborative in nature and does not represent one person’s accomplishments. Lastly, to my family and friends, without you this would all be pointless. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER I. DRAINAGE BASIN CHECKLISTS AND DICHOTOMOUS KEYS FOR INLAND FISHES OF TEXAS ...........................................................................1 Abstract ........................................................................................................1 Introduction ..................................................................................................2 Methods........................................................................................................4 Results and Discussion ................................................................................6 II. A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK AND APPLICATION FOR ASSESSING AND REPORTING FISH-ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS ...............19 Abstract ......................................................................................................19 Introduction ................................................................................................19 Fish-environment association framework ..................................................22 Application: fish-environment associations of Texas inland fishes .........26 Discussion ..................................................................................................29 III. SPRING FLOW LOST: A HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE OF AN URBAN FISH COMMUNITY .................................39 Abstract ......................................................................................................39 Introduction ................................................................................................40 Methods......................................................................................................43 Results ........................................................................................................50 Discussion ..................................................................................................51 v IV. TESTING EXPECTATIONS OF AN UNDERSTUDIED SPRING FISH COMMUNITY USING MODELS AND HISTORICAL DATA .....................62 Abstract ......................................................................................................62 Introduction ................................................................................................62 Methods......................................................................................................66 Results ........................................................................................................69 Discussion ..................................................................................................70 V. TEMPERATURE-MEDIATED FEEDING BETWEEN SPRING- ASSOCIATED AND RIVERINE-ASSOCIATED CONGENERS, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNITY SEGREGATION ...............................82 Abstract ......................................................................................................82 Introduction ................................................................................................83 Methods......................................................................................................86 Results ........................................................................................................88 Discussion ..................................................................................................89 Conclusions ................................................................................................92 APPENDIX SECTION ......................................................................................................95 LITERATURE CITED ....................................................................................................286 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1.1. Fishes in Texas inland waters .....................................................................................10 1.2. Non-native fishes established in Texas and their continent of origin with respective citation ..................................................................................................16 2.1. Habitat variables and categories used in application of framework ...........................34 2.2. Number of habitats sampled and fishes caught by basin ............................................35 2.3. Summary of habitat variables with minimum, maximum, arithmetic mean, and (±1) standard deviation reported ............................................................................36 3.1. Upper San Antonio River occurrences and abundances of fishes collected by site from 2013 through 2014 ..................................................................................56 3.2. Occurrences and abundances of fishes reported from contemporary (2013 – 2014) and additional (1853 – 2015) fish collections from the upper San Antonio River.........................................................................................................57 3.3. Standard residual z-score (Z residual), degrees of freedom (DF), and P-value for Craig et al. (2016) expected model parameters and observed for fish communities during two time periods in the upper San Antonio River ................59 4.1. Number of Texas Natural History Museum records by major independent drainage basin ........................................................................................................74 4.2. Sample sites within three tributaries of the upper Nueces basin with corresponding latitudes and longitudes ..................................................................75 4.3. Relative abundances (%) by time period for historical and contemporary fish collections within upper Nueces River Basin ........................................................76 4.4. Relative abundances (%) by river for contemporary fish collections within upper Nueces River Basin ......................................................................................78 4.5. Summary of spring-associated fish richness and relative abundance (%) by time period with linear regression r2 and p-values for each regression .................79 vii 5.1. Number of first feeds and mean number of total feeds by batch for Gambusia geiseri and Gambusia affinis at 23 and 30°C ........................................................93 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1.1. Map of Texas with major drainage basins outlined and labeled .................................18 2.1. Flowchart representing the steps in the proposed framework ....................................37 2.2. Demonstration of how quantile categories were created ............................................38 3.1. Shaded area represents the Edwards-Trinity aquifer system in Texas .......................60 3.2. Composite hydrograph of mean daily flow for USGS gaging station 08178000 and 8178050 (r2 = 0.90) .................................................................................................61 4.1. Nueces drainage within Texas ....................................................................................80 4.2. Spring associated richness, relative abundance, and densities based on spring flow discharge per Craig et al. (2016) .............................................................................81 5.1. Gambusia affinis and Gambusia geiseri .....................................................................94 ix ABSTRACT Factors influencing fish community structure are numerous, complex, and interdependent. Structuring