Early detection and recovery of river herring spawning habitat use in response to a mainstem dam removal.

ABSTRACT: Historical loss of river and stream habitats due to impassable dams has contributed to the severe decline of many fish species. Anadromous fishes that migrate from the sea to freshwater streams to spawn have been especially impacted as dams restrict these fish from accessing ancestral spawning grounds. In 2018, Bloede Dam was removed from the Patapsco River near Baltimore, Maryland, restoring approximately 100 km of potential habitat for migratory fish. We assessed the response of anadromous river herring, alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), to this dam removal by monitoring environmental DNA (eDNA) and eggs from 2015 to 2021 at locations upstream and downstream of the dam site during their spawning migrations. We additionally assessed the presence of fi

SUBMITTER: Huang CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10156059 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature