Warmwater fish in large standing waters

Abstract

Large standing waters are defined as those larger than 200 ha. Water temperature is a major determinant of fish assemblages in large standing water of North America (Matthews 1998 ). From a thermal perspective, eaters are broadly classified into coldwater (inhabited by trout and salmon) and warmwater (intolerable to trout and salmon). Warmwater fish assemblages follow latitudinal and altitudinal gradients, although there are not sharply defined geographical divisions and some standing waters host assemblages with a mixture of warmwater and coldwater fsh species. Standing waters that support warmwater fish include reservoirs created by dams and natural lakes created by fluvial and geologic processes. Most reservoirs in North America tend to be in temperate to subtropical latitudes and are largely warmwater (Kennedy 1999).