Destruction and Re-establishment of Stream Fish and Invertebrates Affected by Drought
- 1 October 1959
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society
- Vol. 88 (4) , 261-285
- https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(1959)88[261:darosf]2.0.co;2
Abstract
In 1953 and 1954 a severe drought virtually destroyed the fish and invertebrate populations in Smiths Branch, a small warm-water stream in Vermilion County, Illinois, and presented an opportunity to study the adaptations, survival, and repopulation of aquatic organisms exposed to the critical conditions associated with low water levels. The fish population in Smiths Branch was first studied in 1951. In the fall of 1953, the flow was discontinuous, most of the pools dried up, and the few remaining pools were treated with rotenone to eliminate the surviving fish. After that time, the fish population was studied through the use of an electric seine, minnow seine, rotenone, and night observation. The invertebrate population was studied in a series of bottom samples. Discontinuous flow reduced the aquatic habitat and exposed the fish and invertebrates to desiccation, stagnation, and predation. Stagnation was most detrimental during early fall months, in association with leaf accumulations and drastic ...Keywords
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