MULTI-SCALE RESOURCE SELECTION OF NIANGUA DARTERS IN THE OSAGE RIVER BASIN, MISSOURI _______________________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School University of Missouri-Columbia _______________________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science _____________________________________________________ by JACOB D. A. FAULKNER Dr. Craig P. Paukert, Thesis Supervisor MAY 2015 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the thesis entitled Multi-scale resource selection of Niangua darters in the Osage River basin, Missouri Presented by Jacob D. A. Faulkner, a candidate for the degree of Master of Science, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. ______________________________________ Dr. Craig P. Paukert ______________________________________ Dr. Joshua J. Millspaugh ______________________________________ Dr. Michael A. Urban ______________________________________ Dr. Douglas C. Novinger ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Craig P. Paukert for this opportunity as well as his guidance and patience throughout this project. I would like to thank my committee members: Drs. Douglas C. Novinger, Joshua J. Millspaugh, and Michael A. Urban for their insight that undoubtedly improved the resulting product. I would like to thank my field technicians Travis Schepker and Scott Childers for their unwavering effort throughout field data collection. I would like to thank the graduate students and faculty within the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, specifically: Jonathan Spurgeon, Landon Pierce, and Emily Pherigo for occasional field assistance and intellectual input that helped to improve this research. I would like to thank Thomas Bonnot for statistical guidance and advice. I would like to thank Dr. Joanna B. Whittier for assistance with data collection and management. I would like to thank the Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center, United States Geological Survey for funding. Last but not least, I would like to thank my wife and family for their support through this process. Without them I would not be where I am today. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. ii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... vii DESCRIPTION OF CHAPTERS ...................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: FACTORS AFFECTING THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF NIANGUA DARTERS IN THE OSAGE RIVER BASIN, MISSOURI .......................... 1 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 2 METHODS .................................................................................................................. 5 Study Area ............................................................................................................. 5 Fish Sampling ........................................................................................................ 6 Resource Sampling ................................................................................................ 7 Analysis................................................................................................................ 10 RESULTS .................................................................................................................. 12 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................ 14 LITERATURE CITED .............................................................................................. 22 CHAPTER 2: SEASONAL MICROHABITAT SELECTION OF NIANGUA DARTERS .......................................................................................................................................... 39 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... 39 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 40 iii METHODS ................................................................................................................ 42 Study Area ........................................................................................................... 42 Fish Sampling ...................................................................................................... 43 Microhabitat Variables......................................................................................... 44 Analysis................................................................................................................ 45 RESULTS .................................................................................................................. 48 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................ 50 LITERATURE CITED .............................................................................................. 57 iv LIST OF TABLES CHAPTER 1 Table 1: Parameters used in Niangua darter resource selection models at the macrohabitat-, reach-, and watershed- scale in sampled streams of the Osage River Basin, Missouri, 2010-2011. ....................................................................................................... 31 Table 2: Number of parameters (K), AICc (corrected for small samples size), change in AICC, and Akaike weight for models hypothesized to influence resource selection of Niangua darters at the macrohabitat-, reach-, and watershed-scale (see Table 1) in sampled streams of the Osage River Basin, Missouri, 2010-2011. ................................. 33 Table 3: Coefficients and standard error for parameters contained in top-ranked models at the macrohabitat-, reach-, and watershed-scale where Niangua darters were detected or not detected within sampled streams of the Osage River Basin, Missouri, 2010-2011... 34 Table 4: Mean, standard error (SE), and range for continuous variables at the macrohabitat-, reach-, and watershed-scale (see Table 1) where Niangua darters were detected or not detected within sampled streams of the Osage River Basin, Missouri, 2010-2011. ....................................................................................................................... 35 Table 5: Number of parameters (K), AICc (corrected for small samples size), change in AICC, and Akaike weight for models predicting the presence of Niangua darters within reaches where we obtained one year of water temperature data (n=31), within the Osage River Basin, Missouri, 2010-2011. .................................................................................. 36 CHAPTER 2 Table 1: Microhabitat parameters measured at used and available Niangua darter locations in studied reaches of the Little Niangua River and Starks Creek, Missouri, 2011-2012. ....................................................................................................................... 63 Table 2: A priori resource selection models for adult Niangua darters in the Little Niangua River and Starks Creek, Missouri, 2011-2012. ................................................. 64 Table 3: Mean and standard error for depth (cm) and velocity (m s-1) at 60% depth of random available locations within studied reaches of the Little Niangua River and Starks Creek, Missouri, 2011-2012. ........................................................................................... 65 Table 4: AICc ranking of models hypothesized to influence microhabitat selection of adult Niangua darters in studied reaches of the Little Niangua River and Starks Creek, Missouri, 2011-2012. ....................................................................................................... 66 Table 5: Coefficients and standard error for parameters contained in top-ranked models of adult Niangua darters selection among seasons within studied reaches of the Little Niangua River and Starks Creek, Missouri, 2011-2012. Category E4 (76-100%) and Deep Pool categories are excluded as the reference. ....................................................... 67 v LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER 1 Figure 1: Sampled and unsampled reaches within the Osage Ecological Drainage Unit, Missouri, 2010-2011. Black triangles indicate randomly selected reaches where Niangua darters were detected and white triangles where they were not detected. Reaches sampled by the Missouri Department of Conservation are indicated by grey triangles. Unsampled reaches are depicted in black (dry streambed), grey (denied access), or white circles (underwater visibility <1 m). The transparent grey polygons indicate the current range of the Niangua darter. ........................................................................................................... 37 Figure 2: Relative probability of occurrence of Niangua darters based on macrohabitat depth in sampled streams of the