| Landscape features influence physical habitat (hydrology and morphology) within stream channels by affecting watershed hydrology. Physical habitat and hydrology function as abiotic controls on the abundance of benthic fishes. I examined habitat influences on benthic fishes across scale and season through three main objectives. First, I assessed the relations of watershed scale, reach scale, and mesohabitat scale characteristics to the densities of benthic fishes in riffles, runs, and pools of Ozark headwater streams. Second, I examined the habitat selection of common benthic at the microhabitat (m2 ) scale. Finally, I examined differences in micro and mesohabitat use by benthic fishes between the winter and summer season. For these objectives, I chose fifteen 1st–3rd order, perennial, gaining, warm-water streams throughout the Ozark Highlands. Sampling sites were a 150–200-m reach at the outlet of each catchment area. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
