The relationship between water velocity, energetic costs, and microhabitat use in four North American stream fishes

Abstract

We employed field and laboratory data to test the hypothesis that microhabitat use by rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), rosyside dace (Clinostomus funduloides), longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataractae) and mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi) was affected by energetic constraints.

Both rainbow trout and rosyside dace occupied water-column microhabitats in Coweeta Creek, North Carolina, U.S.A. These species were over-represented at velocities requiring lower rates of oxygen consumption, as predicted by an energetic cost hypothesis. Morphological and behavioral adaptations of the two benthic species (mottled sculpin and longnose dace) enabled them to hold position over a wide range of velocities without significant changes in oxygen consumption. Focal point velocities of longnose dace were not significantly different from those available, suggesting a lack of velocity preference. Mottled sculpin, however, consistently were over-represented at low velocities, even though oxygen consumption data showed that energetic costs were not decreased by occupying these microhabitats. Our results indicate that microhabitat use by rainbow trout and rosyside dace is consistent with predictions of an energetic cost hypothesis, whereas the morphological adaptations of longnose dace and mottled sculpin minimize the constraints of energetic costs in microhabitat selection.