Geology topics

Robert M. Kobza

Publications and source records attributed to Robert M. Kobza.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2009

Tolerance of nonindigenous cichlid fishes ( Cichlasoma urophthalmus, Hemichromis letourneuxi ) to low temperature: laboratory and field experiments in south Florida

The cold tolerance of two non-native cichlids ( Hemichromis letourneuxi and Cichlasoma urophthalmus ) that are established in south Florida was tested in the field and laboratory. In the laboratory, fishes were acclimated to two temperatures (24 and 28°C), and three salinities (0, 10, and 35 ppt). Two endpoints were identified: loss of equilibrium (11.5–13.7°C for C. urophthalmus ; 10.8–12.5°C for H. letourneuxi ), and death (9.5–11.1°C for C. urophthalmus ; 9.1–13.3°C for H. letourneuxi ). In the field, fishes were caged in several aquatic habitats during two winter cold snaps. Temperatures were lowest (4.0°C) in the shallow marsh, where no fish survived, and warmest in canals and solution-holes. Canals and ditches as shallow as 50 cm provided thermal refuges for these tropical fishes. Because of the effect on survival of different habitat types, simple predictions of ultimate geographic expansion by non-native fishes using latitude and thermal isoclines are insufficient for freshwater fishes.

Florida↗

USGS2004

Community structure of fishes inhabiting aquatic refuges in a threatened Karst wetland and its implications for ecosystem management

We illustrate the importance of subsurface refuges for conservation of aquatic fauna with our studies of karstic wetlands in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA. Managers have proposed that water levels there should not fall more than 46 cm below ground level for more than 90 days annually. In four areas, 84% of solution holes were less than 46 cm deep and holes deeper than lm were rare (<3 km-2). Null-model analysis indicated no "structure" in the solution-hole fish communities early in the dry season, but that structure emerged as drying progressed. Native cyprinodontiforms were abundant in shallow solution holes that dry annually under current management, while predatory species (often non-native) tended to dominate deeper holes. Water quality was correlated with hole volume and with composition of late dry-season fish communities. Tremendous losses of fish biomass occurred when water levels fell below 46 cm from ground surface. Most native taxa were unlikely to survive in the deep refuges that held predatory non-native taxa. ?? 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biological Conservation↗

USGS2000

Empirical assessment of fish introductions in a subtropical wetland: An evaluation of contrasting views

We summarized data from eight quantitative fish surveys conducted in southern Florida to evaluate the distribution and relative abundance of introduced fishes across a variety of habitats. These surveys encompassed marsh and canal habitats throughout most of the Everglades region, including the mangrove fringe of Florida Bay. Two studies provided systematically collected density information over a 20-year period, and documented the first local appearance of four introduced fishes based on their repeated absence in prior surveys. Those species displayed a pattern of rapid population growth followed by decline, then persistence at lower densities. Estuarine areas in the southern Everglades, characterized by natural tidal creeks surrounded by mangrove-dominated marshes, and canals held the largest introduced-fish populations. Introduced fishes were also common, at times exceeding 50% of the fish community, in solution holes that serve as dry-season refuges in short-hydroperiod rockland habitats of the eastern Everglades. Wet prairies and alligator ponds distant from canals generally held few individuals of introduced fishes. These patterns suggest that the introduced fishes in southern Florida at present may not be well-adapted to persist in freshwater marshes of the Everglades, possibly because of an interaction of periodic cold-temperature stress and hydrologic fluctuation. Our analyses indicated low densities of these fishes in central or northern Everglades wet-prairie communities, and, in the absence of experimental data, little evidence of biotic effects in this spatially extensive habitat. There is no guarantee that this condition will be maintained, especially under the cumulative effects of future invasions or environmental change.

Biological Invasions↗