Description
| Abstract: | McKittrick Creek of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas is a discontinuous creek. Invertebrates of the creek were sampled over a two year period from September 1987 through June 1989. Physical-chemical sampling was also accomplished over the same two year period. Stream bottom photos were taken for digitization and computer analysis. Eighty-seven taxa were collected. Forty-four taxa were sufficiently abundant to be used in cluster analysis while twenty-four were used in determining distributions. Invertebrate density data and physical-chemical data were used in analysis of variance and multiple linear regression tests to determine distributions and factors affecting distributions. The tests results that distributions were determined primarily by interspecific interactions. Other factors affecting distributions included habitat, location, and physical-chemical variables. Photographic analyses failed to provide significant results on substrate and detritus so were not used in determining distributions. South McKittrick Creek is the most diverse branch of McKittrick Creek and holds the highest populations of aquatic invertebrates within the system. The results of the analyses shed light on an exception to the rive r continuum concept. The physical-chemical factors and biotic influences of McKittrick Creek do not follow the rive r continuum concept, due to the discontinuous nature of the creek. |
|---|
| Item Description: | Vita.
"Major subject: Zoology." |
|---|
| Physical Description: | xiv, 276 leaves : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm |
|---|
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |
|---|