Aquatic species distribution modeling to inform recovery and conservationproject period: 05 15 2024 - 07 31 2028PROJECT abstract summary: the southeastern united states is home to almost 40% of the…

This Cooperative Agreement awarded by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under the Cooperative Research Units (CFDA 15.812) program provides $188,679.25 to North Carolina State University (NC State) to conduct research on aquatic species distribution modeling to inform recovery and conservation efforts in the southeastern United States. The key products and services to be delivered under this 4-year award (05/15/2024 - 07/31/2028) include:

1. Developing species distribution models (SDMs) for a suite of priority aquatic species (e.g., Carolina madtom, Neuse River waterdog, yellow lance, Atlantic pigtoe, Tar River spiny mussel, and dwarf ridge mussel) using available data.

2. Estimating the drivers of priority species distributions at both coarse and fine spatial scales to inform USFWS actions like environmental review and targeted conservation efforts.

3. Creating a decision support tool (decision framework) to transparently evaluate and guide a range of conservation actions, including recovery planning, habitat management, translocations, and survey prioritization.

This research aims to aid the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in efficiently allocating conservation resources for the diverse aquatic species in the southeastern U.S., which faces significant threats from land use changes and urban growth.

Aquatic species distribution modeling to inform recovery and conservationproject period: 05 15 2024 - 07 31 2028PROJECT abstract summary: the southeastern united states is home to almost 40% of the worlds freshwater mussel species and 91% of US mussel species (neves ET AL., 1997 graf and cummings, 2007), 79% of the freshwater fishes in the U.S. And canada (page and burr, 2011) and approximately 33% of the worlds crayfish species (richman ET AL., 2015). This incredible biodiversity presents unique challenges because of the increasing threats (e.g., land conversion, habitat loss, changes in flow, increased sedimentation) and predicted urban growth facing the southeastern U.S. (terando ET AL., 2014). These challenges emphasize the need for targeted and efficient conservation efforts for a wide number of taxa and species. Given these challenges within the southeastern U.S. For aquatic species and the need for USFWS to efficiently allocate conservation effort for a large number of species, recipient proposes the following work to aid in this process: 1) develop isdms for a suite of priority species (e.g., carolina madtom, neuse river waterdog, yellow lance, atlantic pigtoe, TAR river spiny mussel, and dwarf ridge mussel) using all available data, 2) estimate drivers of the distribution of priority species at multiple scales: a coarse scale to facilitate when actions by USFWS (environmental review) would be triggered, and a fine scale to inform where specific conservation actions (e.g., recovery planning, priority areas for reintroduction or habitat manipulation) may be implemented, and 3) develop a decision support tool (i.e. decision framework) to provide a transparent, rigorous, and reproducible foundation for evaluating a suite of conservation actions including, but not limited to, recovery planning, environmental review, identifying suitable habitat, translocations relocations, habitat manipulations, and allocating additional survey effort.