Linking ecosystem processes to consumer growth rates: gross primary productivity as a driver of freshwater fish somatic growth in a resource-limited river
Publication: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
28 June 2023
Abstract
Individual growth can exert strong control on population dynamics but is constrained by resource acquisition rates. Difficulty in accurately quantifying resource availability over large spatial extents and at high temporal frequencies often limits attempts to understand the extent to which resources limit individual growth. Daily estimates of stream metabolism, including gross primary productivity (GPP), are increasingly available but have not, to our knowledge, been linked to fish growth. Here we examine how environmental variables such as GPP, water temperature, turbidity, and high-flow releases from a dam are linked to spatiotemporal variation in the growth of flannelmouth sucker (Catostomus latipinnis) in the Colorado River within the Grand Canyon. We fit state-space growth models to 6 years of mark–recapture data collected in four river reaches spanning 300 river kilometers. Consistent with past research in this system, we find that all four environmental variables influence growth in length of a native primary consumer fish. GPP and temperature have a positive influence on growth, while turbidity and high-flow events have a negative influence. Water temperature is the dominant driver of spatiotemporal variation in growth, while the link between high-frequency GPP and fish growth is relatively novel. Fish growth is likely to be linked to stream metabolism in other systems where overall productivity, not the quality of primary producers, limits the food webs that support fish growth.
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Published In
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Volume 80 • Number 9 • September 2023
Pages: 1456 - 1469
History
Received: 29 September 2022
Accepted: 17 May 2023
Accepted manuscript online: 29 May 2023
Version of record online: 28 June 2023
Copyright
© 2023 Authors Dickson and Best. Permission for reuse (free in most cases) can be obtained from copyright.com.
Data Availability Statement
Data, and associated model code, generated during this study are available from the USGS ScienceBase-Catalog (https://doi.org/10.5066/P9852I1G; Hansen et al. 2023).
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Author Contributions
Conceptualization: LEH, CBY, BGD, RJB
Data curation: LEH, CBY, BRD
Formal analysis: LEH, CBY, BGD, RJB
Funding acquisition: CBY
Investigation: LEH, CBY, RJB
Methodology: LEH, CBY, BGD, BRD, RJB
Project administration: CBY, RJB
Resources: CBY, RJB
Software: CBY
Supervision: CBY, BGD, RJB
Validation: CBY, BRD
Visualization: LEH, CBY, RJB
Writing – original draft: LEH
Writing – review & editing: LEH, CBY, BGD, BRD, RJB
Competing Interests
Use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the US Government or Northern Arizona University. There is no conflict of interest declared in this research.
Funding Information
Data collection was funded by the Bureau of Reclamation through the Glen Canyon Adaptive Management Program.
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Lindsay E. Hansen, Charles B. Yackulic, Brett G. Dickson, Bridget R. Deemer, and Rebecca J. Best. 2023. Linking ecosystem processes to consumer growth rates: gross primary productivity as a driver of freshwater fish somatic growth in a resource-limited river. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
80(9): 1456-1469. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2022-0229
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