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Fish and Aquatic Species Conservation

Filter Total Items: 72

Assessing the habitat conditions to support freshwater fisheries in the Chesapeake Watershed

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program partners are striving to improve habitat conditions for recreational fisheries and other native fishes in the Bay and its watershed. While national fish habitat assessments have been conducted, resource managers need more local information to focus restoration and protection efforts in Chesapeake Bay watershed. Conducting the fish-habitat assessments are...
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Assessing the habitat conditions to support freshwater fisheries in the Chesapeake Watershed

Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program partners are striving to improve habitat conditions for recreational fisheries and other native fishes in the Bay and its watershed. While national fish habitat assessments have been conducted, resource managers need more local information to focus restoration and protection efforts in Chesapeake Bay watershed. Conducting the fish-habitat assessments are...
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Enabling AI for citizen science in fish biology

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing ecology and conservation by enabling species recognition from photos and videos. Our project evaluates the capacity to expand AI for individual fish recognition for population assessment. The success of this effort would facilitate fisheries analysis at an unprecedented scale by engaging anglers and citizen scientists in imagery collection. This...
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Enabling AI for citizen science in fish biology

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing ecology and conservation by enabling species recognition from photos and videos. Our project evaluates the capacity to expand AI for individual fish recognition for population assessment. The success of this effort would facilitate fisheries analysis at an unprecedented scale by engaging anglers and citizen scientists in imagery collection. This...
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Eastern Ecological Science Center partnership with Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

Collaboration between the world-class expertise of USGS scientists, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Science Program, and state and federal fishery agencies demonstrates the power of partnerships to solve seemingly-insurmountable problems in sustainable and cooperative management of Atlantic coastal fisheries.
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Eastern Ecological Science Center partnership with Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

Collaboration between the world-class expertise of USGS scientists, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Science Program, and state and federal fishery agencies demonstrates the power of partnerships to solve seemingly-insurmountable problems in sustainable and cooperative management of Atlantic coastal fisheries.
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Time marches on, but do factors driving instream habitat and biology remain consistent?

Issue : Stream ecosystems are affected by a complex set of interacting terrestrial and aquatic stressors. With many streams experiencing degraded conditions that often correspond with increased anthropogenic activities, an important outcome of the Chesapeake Bay Program is to improve stream health. The USGS is conducting research to better understand the complex factors affecting stream health...
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Time marches on, but do factors driving instream habitat and biology remain consistent?

Issue : Stream ecosystems are affected by a complex set of interacting terrestrial and aquatic stressors. With many streams experiencing degraded conditions that often correspond with increased anthropogenic activities, an important outcome of the Chesapeake Bay Program is to improve stream health. The USGS is conducting research to better understand the complex factors affecting stream health...
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Alosine Genetic Stock Identification and Tissue Repository

American Shad ( Alosa sapidissima ), Blueback Herring ( Alosa aestivalis ), and Alewife ( Alosa pseudoharengus ; collectively “alosines”) once supported large fisheries along the U.S. Atlantic Coast. However, impassable migration barriers, declines in habitat quality, and exploitation have led to declines in many spawning populations. Substantial resources have been invested to support the...
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Alosine Genetic Stock Identification and Tissue Repository

American Shad ( Alosa sapidissima ), Blueback Herring ( Alosa aestivalis ), and Alewife ( Alosa pseudoharengus ; collectively “alosines”) once supported large fisheries along the U.S. Atlantic Coast. However, impassable migration barriers, declines in habitat quality, and exploitation have led to declines in many spawning populations. Substantial resources have been invested to support the...
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Terrestrial wildlife and legacy oil mining on National Wildlife Refuges

Amphibian surveys are being conducted on select National Wildlife Refuges with active and/or legacy oil mining to determine species relative distribution and their risk to short- and long-term effects from exposure to crude oil and its byproducts.
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Terrestrial wildlife and legacy oil mining on National Wildlife Refuges

Amphibian surveys are being conducted on select National Wildlife Refuges with active and/or legacy oil mining to determine species relative distribution and their risk to short- and long-term effects from exposure to crude oil and its byproducts.
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Assessing Faunal Recovery in a Headwater Stream

A catastrophic fish-kill in a small tributary stream of the Etowah River system (Dawson County, Georgia) has created the opportunity to assess faunal recovery, including recolonization by a federally-listed fish species (the Cherokee darter Etheostoma scotti ). Fishes are expected to recolonize Flat Creek by moving upstream from downstream sources. In particular, Flat Creek flows into a larger...
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Assessing Faunal Recovery in a Headwater Stream

A catastrophic fish-kill in a small tributary stream of the Etowah River system (Dawson County, Georgia) has created the opportunity to assess faunal recovery, including recolonization by a federally-listed fish species (the Cherokee darter Etheostoma scotti ). Fishes are expected to recolonize Flat Creek by moving upstream from downstream sources. In particular, Flat Creek flows into a larger...
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Passage Technologies for American Eels

The American eel ( Anguilla rostrata ) migrates into freshwater in the juvenile (glass eel and elver) stage, feeds and grows in freshwater habitats, and migrates downstream to the ocean to spawn as an adult. Migrating eels frequently encounter barriers in river environments, primarily in the form of dams, that limit access of juveniles to upstream growth habitat, and can injure or kill adult...
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Passage Technologies for American Eels

The American eel ( Anguilla rostrata ) migrates into freshwater in the juvenile (glass eel and elver) stage, feeds and grows in freshwater habitats, and migrates downstream to the ocean to spawn as an adult. Migrating eels frequently encounter barriers in river environments, primarily in the form of dams, that limit access of juveniles to upstream growth habitat, and can injure or kill adult...
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Restoring a native fish to Catoctin Mountain Park

Native species conservation is a fundamental purpose of National Parks. Catoctin Mountain Park (CATO) in Maryland supports a prized trout fishery and a healthy community of native fishes, with one exception: native Blue Ridge Sculpin ( Cottus caeruleomentum ) appear to have been extirpated from Big Hunting Creek above Cunningham Falls. Infection by a fungal-like protist Dermocystidium is...
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Restoring a native fish to Catoctin Mountain Park

Native species conservation is a fundamental purpose of National Parks. Catoctin Mountain Park (CATO) in Maryland supports a prized trout fishery and a healthy community of native fishes, with one exception: native Blue Ridge Sculpin ( Cottus caeruleomentum ) appear to have been extirpated from Big Hunting Creek above Cunningham Falls. Infection by a fungal-like protist Dermocystidium is...
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Assessing stream health and fish habitat in streams of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Streams and rivers provide habitat for a diverse array of aquatic and semi-aquatic species. However, human alteration to landscapes and riverscapes has affected this habitat resulting in its degradation and thus loss of habitat and associated sensitive aquatic species. While this relationship has been known for many years, only recently has the availability of data and analytical capabilities...
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Assessing stream health and fish habitat in streams of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Streams and rivers provide habitat for a diverse array of aquatic and semi-aquatic species. However, human alteration to landscapes and riverscapes has affected this habitat resulting in its degradation and thus loss of habitat and associated sensitive aquatic species. While this relationship has been known for many years, only recently has the availability of data and analytical capabilities...
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Exploring the potential effects of shale oil and gas development on freshwaters

Widespread shale oil and gas (unconventional oil and gas, UOG) has only recently begun and many gaps in our knowledge of its potential effects to freshwaters exist.
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Exploring the potential effects of shale oil and gas development on freshwaters

Widespread shale oil and gas (unconventional oil and gas, UOG) has only recently begun and many gaps in our knowledge of its potential effects to freshwaters exist.
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A hydrological framework to improve precision of Vital Signs metrics in the Appalachian highlands

Stream flow is a fundamental driver of ecological structure and function, but its influence on bioassessment measures is poorly understood. Although extreme flow conditions (e.g., floods and droughts) have long been known to play a central role in structuring stream communities, a mechanistic understanding of the linkages between flow variables, landscape and local physical characteristics, and...
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A hydrological framework to improve precision of Vital Signs metrics in the Appalachian highlands

Stream flow is a fundamental driver of ecological structure and function, but its influence on bioassessment measures is poorly understood. Although extreme flow conditions (e.g., floods and droughts) have long been known to play a central role in structuring stream communities, a mechanistic understanding of the linkages between flow variables, landscape and local physical characteristics, and...
Learn More