Fish Assemblage Structure in Tributaries to the Little White and Keya Paha Rivers of South Dakota

Species richness and relative abundance data are useful in understanding patterns and detecting changes in fish assemblage structure.  Many fishes native to the Sandhills of South Dakota are hypothesized to prefer first- and second-order streams because of their unique features, relative to the surrounding landscape.  This is underscored by the fact that the South Dakota distributions of many fishes listed in the state’s Wildlife Action Plan as species of greatest conservation need are limited to the Sandhills.  Quantitative fisheries data for tributaries to the Little White and Keya Paha River of South Dakota are lacking, but are needed to assess current status.  Our objectives were to (1) describe fish assemblage structure through species richness, relative abundance and diversity metrics in tributaries to the Keya Paha and Little White Rivers (2) quantify physical habitat characteristics of those tributaries, and (3) relate species occurrence and abundance to habitat characteristics.  Fish were collected at 34 sites.  Thirty-one total species were collected, five of which are listed as species of greatest conservation need in South Dakota.  Information from this study provides baseline fish assemblage data which will aid in assessing changes to the fish assemblage.