Table 3.
Summary of mean site habitat conditions (± standard error) for site groupings in Big Otter Creek and the Ausable River
| Ausable River | Big Otter Creek | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site grouping | Site grouping | |||||
| Lower | Middle | Upper | Lower | Middle | Upper | |
| Stream order | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Water temperature (°C) | 22.7 (0.31) | 21.6 (0.56) | 22.7 (0.24) | 22.2 A (0.63) | 19.6B (0.22) | 22.4 A (0.61) |
| Conductivity (µS) | 474A (3.05) | 472A (8.03) | 589B (13.6) | 564 A (2.51) | 599B (3.50) | 544C (7.46) |
| Dissolved oxygen (mg/L) | 7.38A (0.07) | 7.36A (0.20) | 6.53B (0.35) | 9.10A,B (0.31) | 8.36A (0.14) | 10.2 B (0.41) |
| pH | 8.28A (0.02) | 8.42B (0.02) | 8.29A (0.04) | 8.46A (0.03) | 8.37A (0.02) | 8.60B (0.05) |
| Turbidity (NTU) | 34.0A (5.57) | 31.9A (7.04) | 11.9B (1.91) | 26.8 (5.67) | 13.6 (1.53) | 9.35 (1.06) |
| Stream width (m) | 17.3A (2.81) | 15.8A,B (1.24) | 10.4B (0.89) | 15.0 (0.56) | 15.0 (1.25) | 17.0 (4.98) |
| Stream depth (m) | 1.1A (0.13) | 0.54B (0.07) | 0.46B (0.04) | 0.62 (0.04) | 0.60 (0.06) | 0.47 (0.12) |
| Stream velocity (m/s) | 0.04A (0.01) | 0.11A,B (0.03) | 0.15B (0.03) | 0.28 (0.03) | 0.25 (0.03) | 0.24 (0.04) |
| % Organic | 0.00 (0.00) | 1.67 (0.94) | 2.65 (1.49) | 1.54 (1.54) | 0.00 (0.00) | 2.00 (2.00) |
| % Clay | 10.6 (4.78) | 0.00 (0.00) | 4.71 (2.41) | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.00 (0.00) |
| % Silt | 10.6 (3.92) | 7.08 (2.57) | 10.6 (2.64) | 20.8 (2.39) | 17.8 (2.78) | 10.0 (5.48) |
| % Sand | 38.8 (6.82) | 27.1 (6.47) | 34.4 (7.93) | 68.5A (6.19) | 71.1A (7.72) | 34.0B (9.27) |
| % Gravel | 30.0A,B (6.12) | 41.7A (6.92) | 14.7B (6.25) | 5.38A (3.32) | 11.1A (6.55) | 42.0B (12.0) |
| % Cobble | 10.0 (3.65) | 8.75 (3.15) | 25.6 (8.26) | 3.10 (3.08) | 0.00 (0.00) | 12.0 (7.35) |
| % Boulder | 0.00 (0.00) | 13.8 (9.28) | 7.35 (4.31) | 0.77 (0.77) | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.00 (0.00) |
| Dominant substrate (s) | Sand, Gravel | Sand, Gravel | Sand, Cobble | Sand | Sand | Sand, Gravel |
| Dominant floodplain use | Shrubs/Woodland | Shrubs/Woodland, Agricultural/Cropland | Shrubs/Woodland, Agricultural/Cropland | Agricultural/Cropland | Agricultural/Cropland | Shrubs/Woodland |
Bold superscripts denote where mean habitat conditions differed significantly (p < 0.05) among site groupings within each tributary