Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Feeding, growth, and trophic position of redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) in watersheds of differing land cover in the lower Piedmont, USA

  • Published:
Urban Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

One pervasive outcome in the urbanization of an ecosystem is the proliferation and numerical dominance of select tolerant organisms that are often native to the system yet with reduced relative abundances in less-disturbed conditions. As a result of high variation in environmental conditions between urbanized and non-urbanized systems, it is possible that the functional role of a ubiquitous organism is context dependent. Such is the case for redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) in small streams in many parts of the Piedmont of the southeastern USA. To investigate this hypothesis, we evaluated the feeding, growth, and trophic position of redbreast sunfish in 3 streams of increasing levels of watershed urbanization (forested, suburban, urban) in the Lower Piedmont of western Georgia, USA. Through gut contents analysis, we found that sunfish consumed primarily Chironomidae (Diptera) larvae across all streams. However, fish in the suburban stream consumed more terrestrial prey than fish in the forest and urban streams, which corresponded to lower aquatic prey abundances in the suburban stream. Although there was no difference in mean fish age among streams, otolith analysis revealed that fish in the urban stream were larger at age than those in the forest stream. Last, stable isotope analysis revealed that fish in the urban stream occupied a lower trophic position than the other 2 streams. These results suggest that despite the fact that the primary prey resource was similar for sunfish in each stream, their potential functional role, as evidenced by size at age and trophic position, is context dependent.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allan JD (2004) Landscapes and riverscapes: the influence of land use on stream ecosystems. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 35:257–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bain MB, Finn JT, Booke HE (1988) Streamflow regulation and fish community structure. Ecology 69:382–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbour, M. T., J. Gerritsen, B. D. Snyder, and J. B. Stribling. 1999. Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and wadeable rivers: periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, second edition. EPA 841-B-99-002, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Water, Washington D.C.

  • Barrett K, Helms BS, Samoray ST, Guyer C (2010) Growth patterns of a stream vertebrate differ between urban and forested catchments. Freshw Biol 55:1628–1635

    Google Scholar 

  • Bass DG, Hitt VG (1974) Ecological aspects of the redbreast sunfish, Lepomis auritus, in Florida. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissions 28:296–307

  • Beamish RJ (1979) Differences in the age of Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) using whole otoliths and sections of otoliths. J Fish Res Board Can 36:141–151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benke AC, Huryn AD, Smock LA, Wallace JB (1999) Length-mass relationships for freshwater macroinvertebrates in North America with particular reference to the southeastern United States. J N Am Benthol Soc 18:309–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Booth DB, Jackson CR (1997) Urbanization of aquatic systems: degradation thresholds, stormwater detection, and the limits of mitigation. J Am Water Resour Assoc 35:1077–1090

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boschung HT Jr, Mayden RL (2004) Fishes of Alabama. Smithsonian Books, Washington D.C

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowen SH (1996) Quantitative description of the diet. In: Murphy BR, Willis DW (eds) Fisheries Techniques. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, pp 513–532

    Google Scholar 

  • Brett MT, Arhonditsis GB, Mueller SE, Hartley DM, Frdge JD, Funke DE (2005) Non-point-source impacts on stream nutrient concentrations along a forest to urban gradient. Environ Manag 35:330–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cabana G, Rasmussen JB (1996) Comparison of aquatic food chains using nitrogen isotopes. Proc Natl Acad Sci 93:10844–10847

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cardinale BJ, Nelson K, Palmer MA (2000) Linking species diversity to the functioning of ecosystems: on the importance of environmental context. Oikos 91:175–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caut S, Angulo E, Courchamp F (2009) Variation in discrimination factor (∆15N and ∆13C): the effect of diet isotopic values and applications for diet reconstruction. J Appl Ecol 46:443–453

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen DL, Herwig BR, Schindler DE, Carpenter SR (1996) Impacts of lakeshore residential development on coarse woody debris in north temperate lakes. Ecol Appl 6:1143–1149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cloe WW, Garman GC (1996) The energetic importance of terrestrial arthropod inputs to three warm-water streams. Freshw Biol 36:105–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooner RW, Bayne DR (1982) Diet overlap in redbreast adn longear sunfishes from small streams in east central Alabama. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissions 36:106–114

  • deBruyn AMH, Rasmussen JB (2002) Quantifying assimilation of sewage-derived organic matter by riverine benthos. Ecol Appl 12:511–520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • deBruyn AMH, Marcogliese DJ, Rasmussen JB (2003) The role of sewage in a large river food web. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 60:1332–1344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeVries DR, Frie RV (1996) Determination of age and growth. In: Murphy BR, Willis DW (eds) Fisheries techniques. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, pp 483–512

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards RW, Densem JW, Russell PA (1979) Assessment of the importance of temperature as a factor controlling the growth-rate of Brown trout in streams. J Anim Ecol 48:501–507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehlinger TJ (1997) Male reproductive competition and sex-specific growth patterns in bluegill. N Am J Fish Manag 17:508–515

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliot JM (1979) Energetics of freshwater teleosts. In: Miller PJ (ed) Fish phenology, anabolic adaptiveness in teleosts. Academic Press, New York, pp 29–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Epler JH (2001) Identification manual for the Chironomidae (Diptera) of north and South Carolina. North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Division of Water Quality, Raleigh

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman MC, Bowen ZH, Bovee KD, Irwin ER (2001) Flow and habitat effects on juvenile fish abundance in natural and altered flow regimes. Ecol Appl 11:179–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garman GC (1991) Use of terrestrial arthropod prey by a stream-dwelling cyprinid fish. Environ Biol Fish 30:325–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM, Bain DJ, Band LE, Belt KT, Brush GS, Grove JM, Pouyat RV, Yesilonis IC, Zipperer WC (2003) Down by the riverside: urban riparian ecology. Front Ecol Environ 1:315–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grossman GD, Ratajczak RE (1998) Long-term patterns of microhabitat use by fish in a southern Appalachian stream from 1983 to 1992: effects of hydrologic period, season and fish length. Ecol Freshw Fish 7:108–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall CAS (1972) Migration and metabolism in a temperate stream ecosystem. Ecology 53:585–604

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey BC, Stewart AJ (1991) Fish size and habitat depth relationships in headwater streams. Oecologia 87:336–342

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Helms BS, Feminella JW, Pan S (2005) Detection of biotic responses to urbanization using fish assemblages from small streams of western Georgia, USA. Urban Ecosystems 8:39–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helms BS, Schoonover JE, Feminella JW (2009a) Assessing influences of hydrology, physicochemistry, and habitat on stream fish assemblages across a changing landscape. J Am Water Resour Assoc 45:157–169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helms BS, Schoonover JE, Feminella JW (2009b) Land use impacts on stream macroinvertebrate assemblages: temporal variability and the interplay of hydrology, physicochemistry, and geomorphology. J N Am Benthol Soc 28:991–1006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoyer MV, Shireman JV, Maceina MJ (1985) Use of otoliths to determine age and growth of largemouth bass in Florida. Trans Am Fish Soc 114:307–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hynes HBN (1970) The ecology of running waters. University of Toronto Press, Toronto

    Google Scholar 

  • Linnaeus C (1758) Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. 1 (10th ed.). Laurentius Salvius, Stockholm, pp 824

  • Lockaby BG, Zhang D, McDaniel J, Tian H, Pan S (2005) Interdisciplinary research at the urban-rural interface: the WestGa project. Urban Ecosystems 8:7–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinney ML, Lockwood JL (1999) Biotic homogenization: a few winners replacing many losers in the next mass extinction. Trends Ecol Evol 14:450–453

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Menge BA, Berlow EL, Blanchette CA, Navarette SA, Yamada SB (1994) The keystone species concept: variation in interaction strength in a rocky intertidal habitat. Ecol Monogr 64:249–286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merritt RW, Cummins KW, and Berg (eds) (2008) An introduction to the aquatic insects of North America, 4th edn. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque

  • Meyer E (1989) The relationship between body length parameters and dry mass in running water invertebrates. Arch Hydrobiol 117:191–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakano S, Kawaguchi Y, Taniguchi Y, Miyasaka H, Shibata Y, Urabe H, Kuhara N (1999) Selective foraging on terrestrial invertebrates by rainbow trout in a forested headwater stream in northern Japan. Ecol Res 14:351–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Northington RM, Hershey AE (2006) Effects of stream restoration and wastewater treatment plant effluent on fish communities in urban streams. Freshw Biol 51:1959–1973

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parker SM, Huryn AD (2006) Food web structure and function in two arctic streams with contrasting disturbance regimes. Freshw Biol 51:1249–1263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul MJ, Meyer JL (2001) Streams in the urban landscape. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 32:333–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pimm SL (2002) Food webs. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Post DM (2002) Using stable isotopes to estimate trophic position: models, methods, and assumptions. Ecology 83:703–718

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Power ME (1984) Depth distributions of armored catfish: predator-induced resource avoidance? Ecology 65:523–528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Power ME, Tilman D, Estes JA, Menge BA, Bond WJ, Mills LS, Daily G, Castilla JC, Lubchenco J, Paine RT (1996) Challenges in the quest for keystones. Bioscience 46:609–620

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose S (2002) Comparative major ion geochemistry of piedmont streams in the Atlanta, Georgia region: possible effects of urbanization. Environ Geol 42:102–113

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roy AH, Freeman MC, Freeman BJ, Wenger SJ, Ensign WE, Meyer JL (2005) Investigating hydrologic alteration as a mechanism of fish assemblage shifts in urbanizing streams. J N Am Benthol Soc 24:656–678

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy AH, Capps KA, El-Sabaawi RW, Jones KL, Parr TB, Ramírez A, Smith RF, Walsh CJ, Wenger SJ (2016) Urbanization and stream ecology: diverse mechanisms of change. Freshwater Science 35:272–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schindler DE, Geib SI, Williams MR (2000) Patterns of fish growth along a residential development gradient in north temperate lakes. Ecosystems 3:229–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlosser IJ (1985) Flow regime, juvenile abundance, and the assemblage structure of stream fishes. Ecology 66:1484–1490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schoonover JE, Lockaby BG (2006) Land cover impacts on stream nutrients and fecal coliform in the lower piedmont of West Georgia. J Hydrol 331:371–382

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schoonover JE, Lockaby BG, Pan S (2005) Changes in chemical and physical properties of stream water across an urban-rural gradient in western Georgia. Urban Ecosystems 8:107–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schoonover JE, Lockaby BG, Helms BS (2006) Impacts of land cover on stream hydrology in the west Georgia piedmont, USA. J Environ Qual 35:2123–2131

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schoonover JE, Lockaby BG, Shaw JN (2007) Channel morphology and sediment origin in streams draining the Georgia piedmont. J Hydrol 342:110–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott MC, Helfman GS (2001) Native invasions, homogenization, and the mismeasure of integrity of fish assemblages. Fisheries 26:6–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott JB, Steward CR, Stober QJ (1986) Effects of urban development on fish population dynamics in Kelsey Creek, Washington. Trans Am Fish Soc 115:555–567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith IM, Cook DR (1991) Water Mites. In: Thorp JH, Covich A (eds) Ecology and classification of north American freshwater invertebrates. Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, pp 523–592

    Google Scholar 

  • Steffey LY, Kilham SS (2004) Elevated d15N in stream biota in areas with septic tank systems in an urban watershed. Ecol Appl 14:637–641

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss RE (1979) Reliability estimates for Ivlev electivity index, the forage ratio, and a proposed linear index of food selection. Trans Am Fish Soc 108:344–352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tubbs NW (2005) The effects of urbanization on the diet of redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus). Auburn University, Auburn, Honors thesis

    Google Scholar 

  • Ulseth AJ, Hershey AE (2005) Natural abundances of stable isotopes trace anthropogenic N and C in an urban stream. J N Am Benthol Soc 24:270–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vander Zanden MJ, Cabana G, Rasmussen JB (1997) Comparing trophic position of freshwater fish calculated using stable nitrogen isotope ratios (delta N-15) and literature dietary data. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 54:1142–1158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanderklift MA, Ponsard S (2003) Sources of variation in consumer-diet δ15N enrichment: a meta-analysis. Oecologia 136:169–182

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vannote RL, Minshall GW, Cummins KW, Sedell JR, Cushing CE (1980) The river continuum concept. Can J Aquat Sci 37:130–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vinson MR, Hawkins CP (1996) Effects of sampling area and subsampling procedure on comparisons of taxa richness among streams. J N Am Benthol Soc 15:392–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh CJ, Roy AH, Feminella JW, Cottingham PD, Groffman PM, Morgan RP (2005) The urban stream syndrome: current knowledge and the search for a cure. J N Am Benthol Soc 24:706–723

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walters DM, Leigh DS, Bearden AB (2003) Urbanization, sedimentation, and the homogenization of fish assemblages in the Etowah River basin, USA. Hydrobiologia 494:5–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver LA, Garman GC (1994) Urbanization of a watershed and historical changes in a stream fish assemblage. Trans Am Fish Soc 123:162–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wellnitz T, Poff NL (2001) Functional redundancy in heterogeneous environments: implications for conservation. Ecol Lett 4:177–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenger S, Roy AH, Jackson CR, Bernhardt ES, Carter TL, Filoso S, Gibson CA, Hession WC, Kaushal SS, Marti E, Meyer JL, Palmer MA, Paul MJ, Purcell AH, Ramirez A, Rosemond AD, Schofield KA, Sudduth EB, Walsh CJ (2009) Twenty-six key research questions in urban stream ecology: an assessment of the state of the science. J N Am Benthol Soc 28:1080–1098

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werner EE (1977) Species packing and niche complementarity in 3 sunfishes. Am Nat 111:553–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiggins GB (1996) Larvae of the north American Caddisfly genera (Trichoptera). University of Toronto Press, Buffalo

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolman MG (1967) A cycle of sedimentation and erosion in urban river channels. Geogr Ann 49:385–395

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank A. Dalrymple, S. Dalrymple, R. Fisher, M. Holley, R. Mitchell, and K. Maloney for assistance in the field and/or laboratory. We also thank M. Holley for assistance with otolith analysis, R. Doucett and K. Fortino for assistance with stable isotope analysis, and R. Wright, D. DeVries, and A. Gascho-Landis for constructive feedback on earlier drafts. This research was supported by grants from the Auburn University Environmental Institute and the Auburn University Center for Forest Sustainability. This is contribution 738 to the Auburn University Museum of Natural History.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Brian S. Helms, Nathan W. Tubbs & Jack W. Feminella

  2. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Troy University, Troy, AL, 36082, USA

    Brian S. Helms

  3. Department of Biology, University of Nebraska Kearney, Kearney, NE, 68849, USA

    Nate A. Bickford

Authors
  1. Brian S. Helms
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nate A. Bickford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nathan W. Tubbs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jack W. Feminella
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brian S. Helms.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Helms, B.S., Bickford, N.A., Tubbs, N.W. et al. Feeding, growth, and trophic position of redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) in watersheds of differing land cover in the lower Piedmont, USA. Urban Ecosyst 21, 107–117 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-017-0696-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-017-0696-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation