Diel Habitat Use by Fishes in a Blue Ridge Stream, Georgia
Department
Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2004
Abstract
We determined diel habitat use by fishes in a Blue Ridge stream in Georgia using direct underwater observation on two occasions in September 1999. During both day and night sampling periods, individuals in the family Centrarchidae were most commonly found in shallow (<20 cm depth) and deep (>= 20 cm depth) areas with low water velocities (< 10 cm.s(-1) average velocity). During the day, representatives of Cyprinidae were most common in deep areas with higher water velocities (> 10 cm.s(-1) average velocity) but shifted to shallow areas with low water velocities during the night. Differences in diel habitat use by the two families are best explained by differences in predator avoidance strategies.
Journal Title
Journal of Freshwater Ecology
Journal ISSN
0270-5060
Volume
19
Issue
1
First Page
47
Last Page
52
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1080/02705060.2004.9664511