S.E. MacAvoy M.B. Steg A.J. Bulger T.E. Dennis 1995 <p><span>As part of the “Shenandoah National Park: Fish in Sensitive Habitats” (SNP:FISH) project, the blacknose dace (</span><i class="EmphasisTypeItalic ">Rhinichthys atratulus</i><span>) was utilized as an indicator species to assess the susceptibility of the ichthyofaunal community of Shenandoah National Park (USA) to acidification. Water chemistry (ANC, conductivity, pH, and concentrations of Ca</span>²⁺<span>, Mg</span>²⁺<span>, Na</span>⁺<span>, K</span>⁺<span>, Cl</span>⁻<span>, NO</span>₃⁻<span>, SO</span>₄²⁻<span>, and SiO</span>₂<span>) was sampled every three months over the course of 3 1/4 years which represents the probable maximum lifetime of&nbsp;</span><i class="EmphasisTypeItalic ">R atratulus. Condition factors</i><span>&nbsp;(K=[g/mm</span>³<span>]</span>^*<span>10</span>⁶<span>) were calculated for samples of fish (age class 2+ yr; n=370) from nine montane, second/third order streams representing a range of ANCs. A principle components regression was performed on factor scores from a principle components analysis of the water chemistry variables and fish condition factor. Two factors, one associated with stream water ANC and ion concentrations, and another associated with SO</span>₄²⁻<span>&nbsp;concentration, collectively explained 84% of the variance in condition factor. The influence of variables other than water chemistry upon&nbsp;</span><i class="EmphasisTypeItalic ">R atratulus K</i><span>&nbsp;is addressed. The results show that environmental chemistry is highly associated with the&nbsp;</span><i class="EmphasisTypeItalic ">K</i><span>&nbsp;of&nbsp;</span><i class="EmphasisTypeItalic ">R atratulus.</i></p> application/pdf 10.1007/BF00476856 en Springer The association of water chemistry variables and fish condition in streams of Shenandoah National Park (USA) article