Lakes and rivers as islands: species-area relationships in the fish faunas of Ontario |
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Authors: | John McA Eadie T Andre Hurly Robert D Montgomerie Kevin L Teather |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada;(2) Present address: Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 2A9, Canada;(3) Present address: Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada |
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Abstract: | Synopsis Fish species richness in 82 lakes in Ontario, Canada was significantly correlated with surface area. In this region, latitude
explained only a small amount of the variation in fish species richness. Thus, our study provides a clear demonstration of
the relation between fish species richness and lake area without the confounding effects of latitude and physiography inherent
in analyses from broader geographic regions. By comparison with the species-area relationship obtained, we show that acidification
clearly depressed the number of fish species in 66 acid-stressed lakes in Ontario. Fish species richness was also significantly
correlated with both drainage and surface areas of 21 Ontario rivers. Slopes of species-area regressions of lakes and rivers
did not differ significantly, suggesting that species are added to these habitats at similar rates. However, our regression
analyses show that rivers support more species of fish per unit surface area of water. Although these results are consistent
with some predictions of island biogeography theory, we suggest that fish species richness is more likely to be a simple function
of habitat diversity, rather than an equilibrial balance between immigration and extinction. |
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Keywords: | Island biogeography Species-area curves Acid rain Fish habitat |
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