Southeastern Fishes Council
SFC Abstracts
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Ecological and Taxonomic Approaches to Recognizing the Diversity of Fish Assembleges in Virginia
PAUL L. ANGERMEIER1 and MATTHEW R. WINSTON2
1Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, National Biological Service, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061;
2Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
The majority of biological conservation focuses on imperiled populations or species. This strategy is not effective at protecting aquatic populations or biodiversity in general, which encompasses a wide range of organizational levels (e.g., genes, species, landscapes). Conservation can become more effective by expanding its focus to include preventive measures and large-scale ecological elements (i.e., assemblages). Species-specific approaches should be complemented by protection of assemblages, including guilds, communities, and landscapes. Before policy to protect assemblages can be established, ecologists must develop an objective framework for taking stock of the variability in assemblage composition and organization. Such a framework (or assemblage classification) is likely to be based on taxonomic and/or ecological attributes of the biota. We used fish collections from Virginia to assess the comparability of assemblage classifications based on taxonomic versus ecological and lifehistory attributes of component species. Classifications were developed through multi-variate clustering and ordination procedures. Drainage basin, physiography, and stream size distinguished assemblage "types" at coarse levels in hierarchies developed from both classification approaches. Assemblage types recognized at finer levels were inconsistent between approaches, and reflected patterns of endemism and human impacts (e.g., dams). Taxonomic and ecological information are complementary; both should be incorporated into assemblage classifications.
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