Category Archives: Conservation of Freshwater Fishes

Freshwater fishes are among the most imperiled groups globally with rates of decline comparable to declines in tropical rainforest species. Research in the PoeschLab focuses on developing a better understanding of the mechanisms for the decline of freshwater organisms. This research has four main themes, including: 1) threats to freshwater species at risk, 2) stream augmentation and hydrologic alteration, 3) climate change impacts to freshwater fishes, and 4) the spread and impact of invasive species. To achieve our research goals we utilize a variety of expertise in the PoeschLab and the University of Alberta. This includes expertise in: movement ecology and telemetry, assessing foodwebs using stable isotope analysis, population genetics and environmental DNA (eDNA) and morphology and swim performance.

Poesch, M.S., Dextrase, A.J., Schwalb, A.N., and J. Ackerman (2010) Secondary invasion of the round goby into high diversity Great Lakes tributaries and species at risk hotspots: Potential new concerns for endangered freshwater species. Biological Invasions 12: 1269-1284.

Abstract:

The round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) first invaded North America in 1990 when it was discovered in the St. Clair River. Despite more than 15 years of potential invasion, many Great Lakes’ lotic systems remained uninvaded. Recently, we captured the round goby from several Great Lakes tributaries known as species-at-risk hotspots. With a combination of field sampling of round gobies and literature review of the impact of round gobies on native taxa, we assess the potential impacts of the secondary invasion to native species using three mechanisms: competition; predation; and indirect impacts from the loss of obligate mussel hosts. We estimate that 89% (17/19) of benthic fishes and 17% (6/36) of mussels that occur in these systems are either known or suspected to be impacted by the secondary invasion of round goby. In particular, we note that the distribution of potential impacts of round goby invasion was largely associated with species with a conservation designation, including seven endangered species (1 fish, 6 mussels). As these recent captures of round goby represent novel occurrences in high diversity watersheds, understanding the potential impacts of secondary invasion to native biota is fundamental to prevent species declines and to allow early mitigation.

Featured In: Fisheries 34(9): 421 (Link), & several media outlets.

Citation: Poesch, M.S., Dextrase, A.J., Schwalb, A.N., and Ackerman, J. 2010. Secondary invasion of the round goby into high diversity Great Lakes tributaries and species at risk hotspots: Potential new concerns for endangered freshwater species. Biological Invasions 12: 1269-1284. 

Also Read:

Edgar M.*, Hanington P., Lu R., Proctor H., Zurawell R., Kimmel N. and M.S. Poesch (2022) The First Documented Occurrence and Life History Characteristics of the Chinese Mystery Snail (Cipangopaludina chinensis, Mollusca: Viviparidae) in Alberta, Canada. BioInvasions Records 11(2): 449-460.

Poesch, M.S., Walker, S.C., and D.A. Jackson (2009) Functional diversity indices can be driven by methodological choices and species richness. Ecology 90(2): 341-346.

Abstract:

Functional diversity is an important concept in community ecology because it captures information on functional traits absent in measures of species diversity. One popular method of measuring functional diversity is the dendrogram-based method, FD. To calculate FD, a variety of methodological choices are required, and it has been debated about whether biological conclusions are sensitive to such choices. We studied the probability that conclusions regarding FD were sensitive, and that patterns in sensitivity were related to alpha and beta components of species richness. We developed a randomization procedure that iteratively calculated FD by assigning species into two assemblages and calculating the probability that the community with higher FD varied across methods. We found evidence of sensitivity in all five communities we examined, ranging from a probability of sensitivity of 0 (no sensitivity) to 0.976 (almost completely sensitive). Variations in these probabilities were driven by differences in alpha diversity between assemblages and not by beta diversity. Importantly, FD was most sensitive when it was most useful (i.e., when differences in alpha diversity were low). We demonstrate that trends in functional-diversity analyses can be largely driven by methodological choices or species richness, rather than functional trait information alone.

Citation: Poesch, M.S., Walker, S.C., and Jackson, D.A. 2009. Functional diversity indices can be driven by methodological choices and species richness. Ecology 90(2): 341-346.

Also Read:

Theis, S.*, Ruppert, J.*, Shirton, J.* and M.S. Poesch (2022) Measuring beta diversity components and beneficial effects of coarse woody habitat introduction on invertebrate and macrophyte communities in a shallow northern boreal lake: implications for offsetting. Aquatic Ecology 56: 793-814.

Poesch, M.S., Mandrak, N.E., and R. L. McLaughlin (2008) A practical framework for selecting among single species, multi-species and ecosystem-based recovery plans. Canadian Journal for Fisheries & Aquatic Science 65: 2656-2666.

Abstract:

Science-based approaches for selecting among single-species, community-, and ecosystem-based recovery plans are needed to conserve imperilled species. Selection of recovery plans has often been based on past success rates with other taxa and systems or on economic cost, but less on the ecology of the system in question. We developed a framework for selecting a recovery plan based on the distributions and ecology of imperilled and nonimperilled species across available habitat types and applied it to fishes in the Sydenham River, Ontario, Canada. We first tested whether distributions of fishes were adequately predicted by habitat features hypothesized to limit the distributions of imperilled fishes versus a broader set of habitat features known to predict fish distributions. We then tested whether imperilled species occurred in similar or disparate habitat types. For the Sydenham River, an ecosystem-based recovery plan was deemed most appropriate because imperilled species occur in disparate habitat types. We lastly provide decision criteria to facilitate applications of our framework to the selection of recovery plans for other species and systems.

Citation: Poesch, M.S., Mandrak, N.E., and McLaughlin, R.L. 2008. A practical framework for selecting among single species, multi-species and ecosystem-based recovery plans. Canadian Journal for Fisheries & Aquatic Science 65: 2656-2666.

Also Read:

Castaneda, R.A., Ackerman, J.D., Chapman, L.J., Cooke, S.J., Cuddington, K., Dextrase, A., Jackson, D.A., Koops, M.A., Krkosek, M., Loftus, K., Mandrak, N.E., Martel, A.L., Molnar, P., Morris, T.J., Pitcher, T.E., Poesch, M.S., Power, M., Pratt, T.C., Reid, S.M., Rodriguez, M.A., Rosenfeld, J., Wilson, C., Zanatta, D.T. and D.A.R. Drake. (2021) Approaches and research needs for advancing the protection and recovery of imperilled freshwater fishes and mussels in Canada. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 78 (9): 1356-1370.

Poesch, M.S., Mandrak, N.E., and R. L. McLaughlin (2007) The effectiveness of two common sampling methods for sampling imperiled freshwater fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 70: 691-708.

Abstract:

This study tested the hypothesis that the most common gear type used to sample fishes in wadeable systems, electrofishing, was more effective than another commonly used gear type, seining, for sampling fish species at risk. Five predictions were tested. At sites where species at risk were detected, (1) the probability of detecting the species at risk, (2) the probability of only one gear type detecting the species at risk and (3) the estimated catch per unit effort of the species at risk, was as high as, or higher, when using electrofishing than when using a seine. (4) The number of sample sites required to detect a species at risk within a watershed and (5) the number of subsections required to detect a species at risk within a site, were as low as, or lower, using electrofishing than the number required using a seine. Based on analyses of these measurements, electrofishing was a more effective gear type than seining for sampling fish species at risk, irrespective of the unit (presence or absence or catch per unit effort) or scale of measurement (watershed or site level). Dissolved oxygen, turbidity, specific conductivity and nitrate concentrations were measured at each site and did not account for the between gear differences. Selection of sampling gear can be a fundamental consideration for the assessment of fish species at risk, where, unlike common species, they may be particularly influenced by small population sizes, restricted geographic ranges and narrow habitat preferences. Resource managers must weigh differences in the risks of injury of fish species at risk against differences in the effectiveness of each gear type when deciding between gear types and the utility of the assessments they represent.

Citation: Poesch, M.S., Mandrak, N.E., and McLaughlin, R.L. 2007. The effectiveness of two common sampling methods for sampling imperiled freshwater fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 70: 691-708.

Also Read:

Neufeld, K.*, Watkinson, D., and Poesch, M.S. (2016) The effect of hydrologic alteration on capture efficiency of freshwater fishes in a highly modified Prairie stream: Implications for bio-monitoring programs. River Research and Applications 32: 975-983.

Scott, R.J., Poesch, M.S., Noakes, D.L.G., and F.W.H. Beamish (2005) Effects of exotic salmonids on juvenile Atlantic salmon behavior. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 14: 283-288.

Abstract:

We examined the effects of two salmonid species, chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tschwaytscha) and brown trout (Salmo trutta), both exotic species to Lake Ontario, on behaviour and foraging success of juvenile Atlantic salmon (S. salar), a native species to Lake Ontario, in an artificial stream. We found that both exotic species have effects on Atlantic salmon behaviour, but that neither had an effect on foraging success. These results may explain why the Atlantic salmon re-introduction programme in Lake Ontario has had little success, as more than 3 million exotic salmonids are released in Lake Ontario streams annually.

Citation: Scott, R.J., Poesch, M.S., Noakes, D.L.G., & Beamish, F.W.H. 2005. Effects of exotic salmonids on juvenile Atlantic salmon behavior. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 14: 283-288.

Also Read:

Medinski, N.A.*, Maitland, B.M.*, Jardine, T.D., Drake, D.A.R. and M.S. Poesch (2022) A catastrophic coal mine spill in the Athabasca River watershed induces isotopic niche shifts in stream biota including an endangered rainbow trout ecotype. Canadian Journal for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 79(8): 1321-1334.