Anthropogenic practices such as groundwater pumping, land use change, and the implementation of dams have caused significant change in freshwater ecosystems, especially in the Great Plains of North America where pelagic broadcast spawning fish species are declining due to the loss of the natural flow regime and river fragmentation. Uncovering the abiotic and biotic drivers across spatial and temporal scales influencing fish assemblages across the Great Plains is required to inform effective management strategies. Here, I investigated ecological drivers influencing fish assemblages containing two federally endangered minnow species: the Sharpnose Shiner Notropis oxyrhynchus and Smalleye Shiner Notropis buccula in the upper Brazos River, Texas. Species taxonomic and functional diversity was positively influenced by downstream gradients in water chemistry and stream morphology. Populations of the endangered shiners were restricted to stream sites with greater habitat connectivity and continuous stream flow which are required for key habitat requirements for successful recruitment.
","abstract_html":"<p>Anthropogenic practices such as groundwater pumping, land use change, and the implementation of dams have caused significant change in freshwater ecosystems, especially in the Great Plains of North America where pelagic broadcast spawning fish species are declining due to the loss of the natural flow regime and river fragmentation. Uncovering the abiotic and biotic drivers across spatial and temporal scales influencing fish assemblages across the Great Plains is required to inform effective management strategies. Here, I investigated ecological drivers influencing fish assemblages containing two federally endangered minnow species: the Sharpnose Shiner <em>Notropis oxyrhynchus</em> and Smalleye Shiner <em>Notropis buccula</em> in the upper Brazos River, Texas. Species taxonomic and functional diversity was positively influenced by downstream gradients in water chemistry and stream morphology. Populations of the endangered shiners were restricted to stream sites with greater habitat connectivity and continuous stream flow which are required for key habitat requirements for successful recruitment.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Nimee, Chase"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science - Biology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Carmen G. Montaña"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-10T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-05-10T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:45Z","subjects":["Great Plains","upper Brazos River","imperiled species","abiotic drivers","fluvial gradient","prairie fish","environmental filtering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/598","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Carmen G. Montaña"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Nimee, Chase"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-05-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science - Biology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Great Plains","upper Brazos River","imperiled species","abiotic drivers","fluvial gradient","prairie fish","environmental filtering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/598"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Anthropogenic practices such as groundwater pumping, land use change, and the implementation of dams have caused significant change in freshwater ecosystems, especially in the Great Plains of North America where pelagic broadcast spawning fish species are declining due to the loss of the natural flow regime and river fragmentation. Uncovering the abiotic and biotic drivers across spatial and temporal scales influencing fish assemblages across the Great Plains is required to inform effective management strategies. Here, I investigated ecological drivers influencing fish assemblages containing two federally endangered minnow species: the Sharpnose Shiner Notropis oxyrhynchus and Smalleye Shiner Notropis buccula in the upper Brazos River, Texas. Species taxonomic and functional diversity was positively influenced by downstream gradients in water chemistry and stream morphology. Populations of the endangered shiners were restricted to stream sites with greater habitat connectivity and continuous stream flow which are required for key habitat requirements for successful recruitment.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY OF IMPERILED GREAT PLAINS FISHES: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION OF TWO ENDANGERED SHINERS (SHARPNOSE SHINER NOTROPIS OXYRHYNCHUS AND SMALLEYE SHINER NOTROPIS BUCCULA) IN THE UPPER BRAZOS RIVER, TEXAS"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Carmen G. Montaña"],"dc:creator":["Nimee, Chase"],"dc:date.available":["2025-05-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Anthropogenic practices such as groundwater pumping, land use change, and the implementation of dams have caused significant change in freshwater ecosystems, especially in the Great Plains of North America where pelagic broadcast spawning fish species are declining due to the loss of the natural flow regime and river fragmentation. Uncovering the abiotic and biotic drivers across spatial and temporal scales influencing fish assemblages across the Great Plains is required to inform effective management strategies. Here, I investigated ecological drivers influencing fish assemblages containing two federally endangered minnow species: the Sharpnose Shiner Notropis oxyrhynchus and Smalleye Shiner Notropis buccula in the upper Brazos River, Texas. Species taxonomic and functional diversity was positively influenced by downstream gradients in water chemistry and stream morphology. Populations of the endangered shiners were restricted to stream sites with greater habitat connectivity and continuous stream flow which are required for key habitat requirements for successful recruitment.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/598"],"dc:subject":["Great Plains","upper Brazos River","imperiled species","abiotic drivers","fluvial gradient","prairie fish","environmental filtering"],"dc:title":["COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY OF IMPERILED GREAT PLAINS FISHES: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION OF TWO ENDANGERED SHINERS (SHARPNOSE SHINER NOTROPIS OXYRHYNCHUS AND SMALLEYE SHINER NOTROPIS BUCCULA) IN THE UPPER BRAZOS RIVER, TEXAS"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science - Biology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:45Z"}