Colonization and community development of salmonids and benthic macroinvertbrates in a new stream within Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska
York GS and Milner A. 1999. Colonization and community development of salmonids and benthic macroinvertbrates in a new stream within Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. Environment and Natural Resources Institute, University of Alaska. Anchorage, AK
In order to investigate the colonization by salmonids and macroinvertebrates of a new stream formed within the last 40 years by glacial ice recession, Delusion Creek in McCarty Fjord, Alaska, was studied intensively over three field seasons from 1992 to 1994. The macroinvertebrate and fish community structure within the Delusion Creek drainage was documented extensively in order to ascertain if colonization and successional patterns were similar to those in Glacier Bay National Park in southeast Alaska. Four hypotheses were tested. One hypothesis was that the invertebrate community structure in Delusion Creek is relatively dimple and composed chiefly of chionomids, mayflies, and stoneflies. A second hypothesis was that developing riparian vegetation along the length of the steam has a negligible effect on the trophic structure of the benthic communities due to the short retention time of leaf litter that is input to the stream. A third hypothesis was that densities of rearing juvenile Dolly Varden char are higher than those of juvenile coho salmon in the stream due to lack of habitat diversification and pool habitat. The final hypothesis was that zooplankton densities in Delusion Creek dranage lakes are low due to low primary productivity reducing the number of sockeye salmon that can be supported by the system. All four hypotheses seem to be supported by the results.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- York, Geoffrey; Milner, Alexander
- Date of Issue
- 1999
- Publisher
- Environment and Natural Resources Institute, University of Alaska
- Units
- KEFJ
- Keywords
- Anadromous, Animal Studies, Aquatic Sciences, Benthic, Coho Salmon, Delusion Creek, Dolly Varden Char, Fish, Freshwater, Glacier Bay National Park AK, Invertebrates, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kenai Fjords National Park AK, nrbib kefj-2004, Riparian Vegetation, salmonoid, Sockeye Salmon, Zooplankton