Date of Graduation

5-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Biological Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

Zheng, Nan

Committee Member/Reader

Walker, James

Committee Member/Second Reader

Magoulick, Dan

Abstract

Analysis of the interactions between abiotic and biotic factors of environments and ecosystems is a highly valued area of research. This study focuses on the interactions between the biotic component of predation and foraging of certain stream fish species and the abiotic component of the flow regime that those species reside in. Gut content analysis followed by statistical calculations in the form of t-tests and chi -quared tests were performed on two fish species who both inhabited a stream with a groundwater flashy flow regime as well as a stream with a runoff flashy flow regime. The research showed that some predatory outcomes, such as the types of food consumed by the fish species, were different between the different flow regimes. Other predatory outcomes, such as how much food in terms of weight was consumed, were not different between the different flow regimes. This is important because it shows how flow regime can be more influential on one area of predator-prey relationships than others, even if those two areas are closely related. Thus, the way that abiotic and biotic factors influence each other can be very specific.

Keywords

Flow regime; darter; shiner; predation

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