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DFO seminar - September 28, 2016 - Jason Boucher

When: Wednesday, September 28, 2016
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Where: > See description for location
Description: Department of Fisheries Oceanography


Characterizing Changes in the Population Dynamics of American Shad in the Connecticut River

Jason Boucher
Northeast Fisheries Science Center


Wednesday, September 28, 2016
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm



SMAST II, Room 157
200 Mill Road, Fairhaven, MA

The American shad is an anadromous clupeid with a wide latitudinal distribution, spanning from Florida to Canada. Over this range the species exhibits latitudinal variation in a number of vital rates, including growth, fecundity, and parity, resulting in distinct populations by river segregated due to natal homing tendencies. In 2015, we were tasked with sampling the Connecticut River population to identify potential changes in vital rates since the previous landmark study in the 1970's. Adult shad were collected at four locations along the river throughout the spawning season: at the river mouth (Old Lyme, CT), at Holyoke Dam (Hadley, MA), at the Cabot Power Station (Turners Falls, MA), and at the Vernon Power Station (Vernon, VT). The spawning migration began in late April, while temperatures were still below the known 14C threshold, and continued through the end of June. Throughout the spawning season, females were consistently larger (both length and weight) and older than males; however, there was a higher ratio of males at all sites except Holyoke. Sex-specific ages were not different between locations or time periods, indicating a well-mixed population throughout the spawning season. Spawning condition females, including running-ripe individuals, were collected at the most upstream sampling site (southern Vermont), providing evidence for the first time that increased fish passage to the historic habitat is being utilized for spawning. While the population has increased in size over the past forty years, truncated age distributions combined with only 2% parity indicate that American shad in the Connecticut River may no longer be robust to environmental variability.


Note: Seminar will be simulcast to SMAST I, Room 204

You can view the seminar live by clicking here: https://echosystem.umassd.edu:8443/ess/portal/section/45f27129-23d3-49ed-85e2-e3fdb032c644 Please note: the earliest you will be able to log in is 15 minutes before the regularly scheduled time.



To view a video of an SMAST seminar (post-October 1, 2014), go to http://www.umassd.edu/smast/newsandevents/seminarseries/ and click on a highlighted title.


For more information, please contact cfox@umassd.edu
Contact: > See Description for contact information
Topical Areas: University Community, School for Marine Science and Technology, Lectures and Seminars