SPATIAL AUTOCORRELATION AND ASSESSMENT OF HABITAT ABUNDANCE RELATIONSHIPS IN LITTORAL-ZONE FISH

Spatial autocorrelation, wherein intersite similarity is correlated with distance between sites, is a characteristic of most ecological studies spanning a large environmental range. If data are spatially autocorrelated, classical statistical techniques provide biased estimates of relationships between species attributes and environmental variables. We examined abundances of seven littoral fishes in 25 lakes that varied substantially in morphometry, chemistry, and elevation across central Ontario. Weak correlations were observed between abundances of particular species and environmental variables before correcting for spatial autocorrelation, and we hypothesized that correlations reflected species' habitat preferences. However, spatial autocorrelation existed in the abiotic and fish abundance datasets. Once large-scale geographic patterns (spatial autocorrelation) were removed using partial Mantel tests, correlations changed within and between datasets. A strong relationship emerged between abundances and lake elevation. By comparing patterns within geographically corrected data with those without correction, we identified particular species that exhibited spatially autocorrelated abundances. The geographic direction of spatial autocorrelation provided additional insights into environmental factors also correlating with species abundance. We recommend that ecologists examine both geographically corrected and noncorrected data when developing hypotheses to explain regional variation in species abundance.