Connecting the dots: Integrating metacommunity and life history theories to enhance native fish conservation

Authors: Keith B. Gido, James E. Whitney, Thomas F. Turner, Tyler J. Pilger, David L. Propst

Year: 2012 (xliv)

Abstract

We propose that integrating metacommunity and life history theories into a synthetic model will simplify predictions of key processes structuring stream fish communities. Metacommunity theory identifies three essential forces (environmental heterogeneity, dispersal, and biotic interaction) that drive patterns of stream fish community structure at the regional scale. The trilateral life history model of Winemiller and Rose (1992) predicts how species that vary along gradients of fecundity, parental investment, and age at maturity can be used to predict the propensity for species dispersal, responses to ecosystem stability, species interactions, and utilization of limited resources. Thus, synthesis of metacommunity and life history theories allows predictions of community responses to natural and human-caused environmental disturbance at the watershed scale. We use data from the upper Gila River, New Mexico to evaluate this approach and to infer critical areas of conservation for the imperiled fauna in this system. Empirical data are generally consistent with predictions based on our synthetic model, but specific anthropogenic influences to the system (e.g., nonnative species and habitat modification) explain deviations from predictions.