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Connectedness of land use, nutrients, primary production, and fish assemblages in oxbow lakes

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Abstract

We explored the strength of connectedness among hierarchical system components associated with oxbow lakes in the alluvial valley of the Lower Mississippi River. Specifically, we examined the degree of canonical correlation between land use (agriculture and forests), lake morphometry (depth and size), nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), primary production (chlorophyll-a), and various fish assemblage descriptors. Watershed (p < 0.01) and riparian (p = 0.02) land use, and lake depth (p = 0.05) but not size (p = 0.28), were associated with nutrient concentrations. In turn, nutrients were associated with primary production (p < 0.01), and primary production was associated with sunfish (Centrarchidae) assemblages (p < 0.01) and fish biodiversity (p = 0.08), but not with those of other taxa and functional guilds. Multiple chemical and biological components of oxbow lake ecosystems are connected to landscape characteristics such as land use and lake depth. Therefore, a top-down hierarchical approach can be useful in develo** management and conservation plans for oxbow lakes in a region impacted by widespread landscape changes due to agriculture.

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Acknowledgments

Funding and support was provided by the Vicksburg District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through K. J. Killgore, Mississippi State University, and the U.S. Geological Survey. We thank T. Alfermann, N. Aycock, D. Dembkowski, D. Goetz, and S. Miyazono for assistance with field work; L. Brooks for water quality analyses; and J. Murdock for a helpful review. The use of trade names or products does not constitute endorsement by the federal government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Geological Survey, Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, P.O. Box 9691, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    L. E. Miranda

  2. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    C. S. Andrews & R. Kröger

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  1. L. E. Miranda
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  2. C. S. Andrews
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  3. R. Kröger
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Correspondence to L. E. Miranda.

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Miranda, L.E., Andrews, C.S. & Kröger, R. Connectedness of land use, nutrients, primary production, and fish assemblages in oxbow lakes. Aquat Sci 76, 41–50 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-013-0310-y

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