Range wide, river-specific DAM impacts on blueback herring, alewife and american eelproject period: 09 15 2023 - 12 31 2025PROJECT abstract: recipient proposes to develop and parameterize alewife,…

The University of Maine System, through its University of Maine Division, was awarded a $118,005 Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under the Cooperative Research Units (CFDA 15.812) program. The project, titled "Range Wide, River-Specific Dam Impacts on Blueback Herring, Alewife and American Eel", will develop and parameterize river-specific population models for these three species across their entire ranges. The models will incorporate estimates of region-specific life-history parameters, habitat, and the dam landscape. Once developed, the models will be made freely available to hydropower practitioners for use in planning species conservation and recovery efforts. Key deliverables include an updated version of the Anadrofish R programming package with the habitat data, habitat layer files, and a peer-reviewed journal publication.

Range wide, river-specific DAM impacts on blueback herring, alewife and american eelproject period: 09 15 2023 - 12 31 2025PROJECT abstract: recipient proposes to develop and parameterize alewife, blueback herring and american EEL river-specific population models across their entire ranges. These models will be populated with estimates of region-specific life-history parameters, estimates of habitat (e.g., acres) and the DAM landscape. Once developed, these models will be freely available to hydro practitioners for the use in planning for species conservation and recovery relative to hydropower at both local and regional scales. The challenges for developing the habitat and population model components vary greatly among these three species. Activities to be performed - proposed post-doctoral associate shawn snyder will conduct the GIS based habitat modeling described above in coordination and collaboration with joseph zydlewski (U.S. Geological survey, maine cooperative fish and wildlife research unit), DAN stich (suny oneonta), SAM ROY (natural hazards planner at state of maine, department of defense, veterans, and emergency management) and john young (USGS eastern ecological science center). Funds are only requested for the support of post-doctoral associate. Deliverables and expected outcomes -the deliverables for this project will include an updated version of the anadrofish r programming package that includes habitat data generated from this work, habitat layer files for alewife, blueback herring and american EEL. IT will also include submission of a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and inclusion in the atlantic states marine fisheries commission (asmfc) river herring benchmark stock assessment. Intended beneficiary(IES) -this project will rely on established partnerships between federal, first nations, asmfc, state resource agencies, industry, and suny oneonta. The work will also rely on the vast network of partners throughout the eastern coast of north america, which has been developed over the course of the previous efforts. This work also closely aligns with both previous and proposed, but unfunded, work associated with the ongoing asmfc river herring benchmark stock assessment, as well as ongoing american EEL stock assessment and the international council for the exploration of the sea (ices) workgroup analyses, with which multiple project personnel are currently involved. Subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award -not applicable