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- Info
Patterns of fish spawning in Hudson River tributaries: Response to an urban gradient
| Author: |
Limburg, Karin E.; Schmidt, Robert E. |
| Date: |
1990 |
| Periodical: |
Ecology |
| Abstract: |
Two features of many large river watersheds, their large geographic extent and their occupation and use by humans, should render them good candidates for the manifestation of anthropogenic, ecological gradients. Many urban centers are located along major rivers, a fact that can be confirmed by examining any atlas. The impacts of urbanization, as a source of pollutants, upon rivers and streams have been studied by scientists and engineers for decades (cf. Hynes 1960, Nemerow 1985, Thomann and Mueller 1987); most situations involve point sources and their impacts upon individual waterways. Often, more subtle patterns of point and nonpoint source impacts on regional-scale ecological processes are not addressed. One approach is to examine properties of tributary watersheds within the overall drainage basin, as a function of urbanization. We demonstrate the approach with a study conducted to evaluate the contribution of nontidal tributaries to anadromous fish spawning within a large, riverine estuary. We will present data that suggest large scale, human mediation of this part of the fish production process, as evidence of a quantifiable response to an anthropogenic gradient. |
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