Brook Floater Conservation
Project Leader:
Project Investigators:
Peter Hazelton, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
Michael Marchand, New Hampshire Fish & Game Department
Beth Swartz, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Brian Watson, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
Lisa Holst, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
David Perkins, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cronin Aquatic Resource Center
+1 more
Partners:
States:
Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New York
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Delaware
Maryland
Virginia
West Virginia
Ohio
Kentucky
Indiana
Michigan
Wisconsin
Illinois
Minnesota
Iowa
Missouri
+19 more
Status:
Completed
Overview
The Brook Floater (Alasmidonta varicosa) is a stream-dwelling freshwater mussel native to the Atlantic Slope of the United States and Canada that has experienced large population declines over the last 50 years and is at high risk of extinction. This project will focus on strategies for achieving conservation for Brook Floater through multiple objectives:
- We will develop standardized surveys that will be conducted throughout partnering states to estimate abundances and predict occupancy of Brook Floater.
- We will develop species distribution models from the results of surveys from partnering states to inform future surveys and understand the habitat needs of Brook Floater.
- We will develop propagation methods and build capacity for Brook Floater propagation throughout the range to aid in for population restoration.
- We will use structured decision making to focus monitoring design at the state and regional scale.
- We will work with state partners to develop consistent and coordinated monitoring at the state and regional scales to understand status and changes in Brook Floater populations throughout their range.
More information on this project can be found here
Presentations
Sterrett SC, Hazelton PD, Doubleday A, Perkins D, Roy AH and MD Staudinger. Brook Floater rangewide conservation and restoration initiative. The Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society, Cleveland, OH; March 28, 2017.
Roy AH, Hazelton PD, Sterrett SC, Doubleday A, Fisk A, Holst L, Marchand M, Perkins D, Staudinger MD, Swartz B and B Watson. What's next? Brook Floater range wide conservation and restoration initiative. The Northeast Freshwater Mussel Meeting, Hadley, MA; March 17, 2017.
