POST-DEFAUNATION RECOVERY OF FISH ASSEMBLAGES IN SOUTHEASTERN BLACKWATER STREAMS

Fish assemblage structure was analyzed at 37 sites in South Carolina streams before and nearly 1yr after experimental defaunation to test assemblage resiliency. Decreases in stream depth and width in the 2nd year reflected an intervening drought, but habitat structure remained highly correlated between years. Fish assemblages recovered well over 4 scales of analysis. Total fishes sampled, collective assemblage properties (species richness, density, biomass, and mean mass of fish), local assemblage structure, and single-species attributes generally did not significantly differ after defaunation. These assemblages were largely deterministic systems highly predictable from local habitat structure. -from Authors