DOI: 10.5061/dryad.hmgqnk9m3
title: Physicochemical habitat data and multi-scale occupancy data for spring-associated fishes in Oklahoma streams

description: Spring-associated fishes occupy thermally unique habitats in
 groundwater-dominated streams that are often of high quality. However,
 outside of water temperature, little else is known about the
 physicochemical habitat requirements for many of these species. With human
 effects on streams increasing, it is important to conservation and
 management to characterize spring habitats and the species that occupy
 them. Our study objective was to determine the physicochemical factors
 related to occupancy of four spring-associated species in the Arbuckle
 Uplift and Ozark Highlands ecoregions, Oklahoma USA. We used a hierarchal
 approach to identify habitat relationships at multiple spatial scales. We
 collected detection and non-detection data using both snorkeling and
 seining methods. We examined the physicochemical relationships related to
 detection and occupancy for four spring-associated fishes. Data were
 analyzed using occupancy modeling in a Bayesian framework. Our results
 indicated water depth and water clarity were important factors affecting
 detection of spring-associated fishes. Occupancy of our target species
 differed by ecoregion, with least darter being less common in the Ozark
 Highlands ecoregion and subadult smallmouth bass being more common in the
 Ozark Highlands. Interestingly, we found water temperature occupancy
 relationship for only least darter and southern redbelly dace, whereas
 redspot chub and smallmouth bass were more likely to occur at sites with
 deeper pool habitats of larger streams. We documented both spatial and
 temporal differences in occurrence probabilities at ecoregion, reach, and
 riffle-run-pool complex scale. Furthermore, our results indicate
 snorkeling was a superior sampling method compared to seining for
 detecting most fishes in clear warmwater streams even at relatively low
 visibilities. Lastly, we demonstrate the importance of using multi-scale
 studies when developing conservation plans for warmwater fishes.
description: Title Data from: "Assessing the distribution and habitat needs of the
 Least Darter and sympatric species of the Ozark Highlands and Arbuckle
 Mountain ecoregions","The context dependency of fish-habitat
 associations in separated karst ecoregions" Description This data is
 associated with chapter one from the thesis "Assessing the
 distribution and habitat needs of the Least Darter and sympatric species
 of the Ozark Highlands and Arbuckle Mountain ecoregions" and one
 manuscript "The context dependency of fish-habitat associations in
 separated karst ecoregions". The data consists of one XLSX file and
 one README file associated with the methodology and documentation to allow
 for replication and verification of findings. Abstract Spring-associated
 fishes occupy thermally unique habitats in groundwater dominated streams
 that are often of high quality. However, outside of water temperature,
 little else is known about the physicochemical habitat requirements for
 many of these species. With human effects on streams increasing, it is
 important to conservation and management to characterize spring habitats
 and the species that occupy them. Our study objective was to determine the
 physicochemical factors related to occupancy of four spring-associated
 species in the Arbuckle Uplift and Ozark Highlands ecoregions, Oklahoma
 USA.We used a hierarchal approach to identify habitat relationships at
 multiple spatial scales. We collected detection and non-detection data
 using both snorkeling and seining methods. We examined the physicochemical
 relationships related to detection and occupancy for four
 spring-associated fishes. Data were analyzed using occupancy modeling in a
 Bayesian framework. Our results indicated water depth and water clarity
 were important factors affecting detection of spring-associated fishes.
 Occupancy of our target species differed by ecoregion, with least darter
 being less common in the Ozark Highlands ecoregion and subadult smallmouth
 bass being more common in the Ozark Highlands. Interestingly, we found
 water temperature occupancy relationship for only least darter and
 southern redbelly dace, whereas redspot chub and smallmouth bass were more
 likely to occur at sites with deeper pool habitats of larger streams. We
 documented both spatial and temporal differences in occurrence
 probabilities at ecoregion, reach, and riffle-run-pool complex scale.
 Furthermore, our results indicate snorkeling was a superior sampling
 method compared to seining for detecting most fishes in clear warmwater
 streams even at relatively low visibilities. Lastly, we demonstrate the
 importance of using multi-scale studies when developing conservation plans
 for warmwater fishes. ID: Unique identifier given to each site (channel
 unit complex), first number and letter identify the reach the sample took
 place and the second number identifies what channel unit complex within
 that reach the sample occurred in. Ecoregion: Ecoregion in which the reach
 occurred, either Arbuckle Uplift or Ozark Highlands Reach: Unique
 identifier for each reach Stream: Name of stream the reach occurred in
 according to National Hydrography Dataset Plus Version 2 and/or DeLorme
 atlas of Oklahoma Date\_y.1: Date of 1st survey Date\_y.2: Date of 2nd
 survey Date\_y.3: Date of 3rd survey Date\_y.4: Date of 4th survey
 Time\_y.1: Time it took to complete 1st survey. Measure in hours and
 minutes (1.15 is one hour and fifteen minutes) Time\_y.2: Time it took to
 complete 2nd survey. Measure in hours and minutes (1.15 is one hour and
 fifteen minutes) Time\_y.3: Time it took to complete 3rd survey. Measure
 in hours and minutes (1.15 is one hour and fifteen minutes) Time\_y.4:
 Time it took to complete 4th survey. Measure in hours and minutes (1.15 is
 one hour and fifteen minutes) Species: List of species documented and
 recorded as present or absent in the next columns (y.n). Species codes can
 be found on the next tab labeled "Species Codes". Species are
 the target species (i.e., Spring-associates) and other darter species
 encountered y.1: Detection of species during 1st survey y.2: Detection of
 species during 2nd survey y.3: Detection of species during 3rd survey y.4:
 Detection of species during 4th survey CW.1: Percent of total area covered
 by coarse wood (&gt;10 cm) for 1st survey for each site used for
 detection. Assessed visually. CW.2: Percent of total area covered by
 coarse wood (&gt;10 cm) for 2nd survey for each site used for
 detection. Assessed visually. CW.3: Percent of total area covered by
 coarse wood (&gt;10 cm) for 3rd survey for each site used for
 detection. Assessed visually. CW.4: Percent of total area covered by
 coarse wood (&gt;10 cm) for 4th survey for each site used for
 detection. Assessed visually. CS.1: Percent of total area covered by
 coarse substrate for 1st survey for each site used for detection. Assessed
 visually. CS.2: Percent of total area covered by coarse substrate for 2nd
 survey for each site used for detection. Assessed visually. CS.3: Percent
 of total area covered by coarse substrate for 3rd survey for each site
 used for detection. Assessed visually. CS.4: Percent of total area covered
 by coarse substrate for 4th survey for each site used for detection.
 Assessed visually. Vegetation.1: Percent of total area covered by aquatic
 vegetation for 1st survey for each site used for detection. Assessed
 visually. Vegetation.2: Percent of total area covered by aquatic
 vegetation for 2nd survey for each site used for detection. Assessed
 visually. Vegetation.3: Percent of total area covered by aquatic
 vegetation for 3rd survey for each site used for detection. Assessed
 visually. Vegetation.4: Percent of total area covered by aquatic
 vegetation for 4th survey for each site used for detection. Assessed
 visually. Velocity.1: Average water column velocity (m/s) for a site
 measured along three transects and averaged for the site for 1st survey
 and used for detection. Assessed using a Marsh-McBirney Flo-Mate
 Velocity.2: Average water column velocity (m/s) for a site measured along
 three transects and averaged for the site for 2nd survey and used for
 detection. Assessed using a Marsh-McBirney Flo-Mate Velocity.3: Average
 water column velocity (m/s) for a site measured along three transects and
 averaged for the site for 3rd survey and used for detection. Assessed
 using a Marsh-McBirney Flo-Mate Velocity.4: Average water column velocity
 (m/s) for a site measured along three transects and averaged for the site
 for 4th survey and used for detection. Assessed using a Marsh-McBirney
 Flo-Mate Depth.1: Average water depth (m) for a site measured along three
 transects and averaged for the site for 1st survey and used for detection.
 Assessed using a metal wading rod. Depth.2: Average water depth (m) for a
 site measured along three transects and averaged for the site for 2nd
 survey and used for detection. Assessed using a metal wading rod. Depth.3:
 Average water depth (m) for a site measured along three transects and
 averaged for the site for 3rd survey and used for detection. Assessed
 using a metal wading rod. Depth.4: Average water depth (m) for a site
 measured along three transects and averaged for the site for 4th survey
 and used for detection. Assessed using a metal wading rod. Clarity.1:
 Horizontal water clarity (m) for the reach and then applied to each site
 for 1st survey and used for detection Clarity.2: Horizontal water clarity
 (m) for the reach and then applied to each site for 2nd survey and used
 for detection Clarity.3: Horizontal water clarity (m) for the reach and
 then applied to each site for 3rd survey and used for detection Clarity.4:
 Horizontal water clarity (m) for the reach and then applied to each site
 for 4th survey and used for detection gear.1: Sampling method used for 1st
 survey (Snorkel or Seine) and used for detection gear.2: Sampling method
 used for 2nd survey (Snorkel or Seine) and used for detection gear.3:
 Sampling method used for 3rd survey (Snorkel or Seine) and used for
 detection gear.4: Sampling method used for 4th survey (Snorkel or Seine)
 and used for detection Temp.1: Temperature (°C) at the time of the 1st
 survey measured with a digital thermometer at the downstream most end of a
 site and used for detection Temp.2: Temperature (°C) at the time of the
 2nd survey measured with a digital thermometer at the downstream most end
 of a site and used for detection Temp.3: Temperature (°C) at the time of
 the 3rd survey measured with a digital thermometer at the downstream most
 end of a site and used for detection Temp.4: Temperature (°C) at the time
 of the 4th survey measured with a digital thermometer at the downstream
 most end of a site and used for detection Fine\_Substrate: Percent
 coverage of total area at a site by fine substrate (silt or sand) used for
 occupancy Area\_Pool: Total area (m2) of the pool at a site used for
 occupancy Area\_Run: Total area (m2) of the run at a site used for
 occupancy Area\_Riffle: Total area (m2) of the riffle at a site used for
 occupancy Area\_BW: Total area (m2) of the backwater at a site used for
 occupancy Pool\_Depth: Depth (cm) of the deepest portion of a pool at a
 site used for calculation of residual pool depth Riffle\_Crest: Depth (cm)
 of the shallowest portion of the riffle at a site used for calculation of
 residual pool depth RPD: Subtraction of riffle crest from pool depth to
 calculate residual pool depth (RPD, cm) for a site absent of flow and used
 for occupancy Seepage\_Up: Discharge (m/s3 ) at the upstream most location
 of a site and used to calculate seepage run Seepage\_Down: Discharge (m/s3
 ) at the downstream most location of a site and used to calculate seepage
 run Seepage\_Difference: Difference between upstream discharge (m/s3) and
 downstream discharge (m/s3) at the upstream most location of a site and
 used to calculate seepage run which is a measure of loss or gaining of
 water to a section of stream and used for occupancy Gaining/Losing: Binary
 variable to represent either a site being a gaining portion (1) or losing
 portion (2). Discharge: The volume of water passing a given transect of
 stream measure in m/s3 and used for the occupancy of the reach
 2\_Week\_Temp: Average 2 week temperature (°C) measured at a deep spot in
 a pool within the reach typically the downstream most pool and used for
 occupancy of the reach Drainage\_Area: The accumulation of upstream land
 area draining to the specific reach measure in km2 and used for occupancy
 of the reach Disturbance\_Index\_250M: Landuse disturbance index for the
 250 meters directly upstream and adjacent to the reach
 Disturbance\_Index\_Catch: Landuse disturbance index for the segment shed
 of a stream upstream and adjacent to the reach Disturbance\_Index\_Sub:
 Landuse disturbance index for the drainage area of a reach (HUC 10)
 Prop\_Pool: Proportion of pool area for a site compared to total area of a
 site Prop\_Run: Proportion of run area for a site compared to total area
 of a site Prop\_Riffle: Proportion of riffle area for a site compared to
 total area of a site Prop\_BW: Proportion of backwater area for a site
 compared to total area of a site BW\_Pres: Presence (2) or absence (1) of
 backwater at a site Total\_Area: Total area (m2) of a site calculated by
 summing all mesohabitat areas Velocity\_OCC: Average water column velocity
 (m/s) used for occupancy by averaging the first and second visits average
 water column velocity for each site Vegetation\_OCC: Percent coverage of
 aquatic vegetation used for occupancy by averaging the first and second
 visits aquatic vegetation for each site CW\_OCC: Percent coverage of
 coarse wood (&gt; 10 cm) used for occupancy by averaging the first and
 second visits percent coverage of coarse wood for each site Prop\_AG:
 Proportion of agriculture within each segmentshed calculated using the
 National Land Cover Dataset Species Codes Code Common Name Scientific Name
 LD Least Darter Etheostoma microperca SRBD Southern Redbelly Dace
 Chrosomus erythrogaster RSC Redspot Chub Nocomis asper OTD Orangethroat
 Darter Etheostoma spectabile SMB\_JUV Smallmouth Bass sub-adult
 Micropterus dolomieu SMB\_AD Smallmouth Bass adult Micropterus dolomieu DD
 Dusky Darter Percina sciera CHD Channel Darter Percina copelandi OBD
 Orangebelly Darter Etheostoma cyanorum LP Logperch Percina caprodes GSD
 Greenside Darter Etheostoma blennioides BND Banded Darter Etheostoma
 zonale SBD Sunburst Darter Etheostoma mihileze FNTL Fantail Darter
 Etheostoma flabellare ARD Arkansas Darter Etheostoma cragini SHD
 Slenderhead Darter Percina phoxocephala