Session Listing AFS Symposium Entriesafstws2019.org/.../04/print_2019_symp_NoContactInfo.docx · Web viewThis symposium will focus on the current state and application of fish bioenergetics

Session Listing AFS Symposium Entries

Symposia accepted for the 2019 AFS/TWS meeting in Reno, NV. Listed alphabetically by title. Search by title using Ctrl + F.

Title:

Advancements and Best Practices in Quantitative Population Modeling

Symposium Abstract Text:

Science informs management of living biological resources through population modeling. In both fisheries and wildlife management, a broad array of techniques are used to assess the condition of living resources and advise on sustainable management decisions. These quantitative techniques range in complexity, and the approach used in a given scenario is typically dictated by the available data. As new modeling techniques, data sources, and advanced computing resources become available, the range of available analytical techniques continues to expand. However, with increasing capability comes increasing responsibility to understand what is available, what is appropriate for a given situation, and how the approach should be applied given the available information and scientific understanding.

This joint conference presents an opportunity for participants from marine, terrestrial, and freshwater backgrounds to share successes in resource management as well as broaden the conversation about emerging techniques and best practices in population modeling. We encourage participation in this symposium from government scientists and management agencies, industries, non-governmental organizations, technology-partners, research institutions, citizen-scientists, academics (including students), and other stakeholders with a diversity of experiences. Through presentation and discussion, this symposium will bring participants together to discuss the advances and challenges associated with developing population modeling techniques, determining when to apply them, and translating them into effective resource management policies, as well as hear about current and past successes in those endeavors.

Chair

Jeffrey VieserECS FederalIn support of NOAA Fisheries, Office of Science and TechnologySilver Spring, MD 20910

Chair

Melissa A. KarpNOAA NMFSOffice of Science and TechnologySilver Spring, MD 20910

Moderator


Organizer


Organizer

Melissa A. KarpNOAA NMFSOffice of Science and TechnologySilver Spring, MD 20910

Organizer

Patrick LynchNOAA FisheriesOffice of Science and TechnologySilver Spring, MD 20910-3282

Organizer

Daniel GoethelNOAA Fisheries - Southeast Fisheries Science CenterSustainable Fisheries DivisionMiami, FL 33149

Organizer

Aaron BergerFisheries Resource Assessment and Monitoring Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA-NMFSNewport, OR 97330

Title:

Advances in Salmon Bioenergetics: Early Life History Stages


Topic:

This symposium will focus on the current state and application of fish bioenergetics models, especially for early life history stages of cold-water fishes such as salmonids.

Objective: The main objective is to not merely present results from studies or projects that use fish bioenergetics, but rather informative advancements and improvements to the current state of fish bioenergetics for cold water fishes such as salmonids. For years, researchers have used bioenergetics modeling to address applied problems. However, many of the parameters and even model forms have remained unchanged from original estimates, sometimes borrowed from similar species in faraway watersheds. We are interested in symposium participants who address: (1) potential effects of these assumptions across the range of fish life histories and habitats, and (2) what kinds of new information might be needed to enrich bioenergetics models and make them more useful across a range of conditions. This symposium will likely foster dialog from management of inland and coastal habitats to region-wide temperature standards could influence fish production and viability across different life stages and populations. This symposium is motivated by a workshop on this topic during November, 2018 in Portland, OR.

Value to AFS members & participants:

Efforts to synthesize & update the state of fish bioenergetics modeling are rare and infrequent. Fish researchers and managers would benefit from a symposium on the current state of affairs and recent innovations to fish bioenergetics modeling, especially in advancing understanding and application.

Chair

Steve BlumenshineFresno State UniversityBiologyFresno, CA 93740

Moderator


Organizer


Title:

Advances in Watershed Restoration Principles and Practices


Many watersheds across the United States are in a degraded state, requiring restoration to improve the physical and ecological functions needed to support resilient, robust, and connected fish populations at larger spatial scales. Watershed restoration is a large endeavor occurring at all organizational levels: community, local, state, tribal, and federal. The science of watershed restoration has progressed steadily over the past 50 years; resulting in various practices and techniques, and a growing body of case studies from which to learn and adapt. In 1997, a landmark publication titled Watershed Restoration: Principles and Practices (Williams, J.E., C.A. Wood, and M.P. Dombeck, editors; AFS publication) became available to help guide watershed restoration science and practice. In this symposium, we will explore recent research and emerging topics that update and augment the information in Watershed Restoration. Presenters will address ethical, social, and ecological principles of watershed restoration at various temporal and spatial scales under six themes: watershed assessment, effective stakeholder engagement, aquatic connectivity, restoration of physical and ecological processes, native and non-native species, and adaptive management. A panel will discuss a vision for watershed restoration science and practice in the 21st Century and explore the possibility for an updated book.

Organizer

Dan ShivelyU.S. Forest Service911 NE 11th AvenueWashington, DC

Organizer

John RothlisbergerUSDA Forest ServiceResearch & DevelopmentWashington, DC 20250

Organizer

Nathaniel GillespieUSDA Forest ServiceWatershed, Fish, Wildlife, Air & Rare PlantsWashington, DC 20250

Organizer

Brett RoperUSDA Forest ServiceWashington OfficeLogan, UT

Title:

Aligning advances in water temperature prediction with the needs of freshwater fisheries science and management


Much of fisheries management depends on models of an incompletely observed past and uncertain future. Water temperature is a key metric of many fisheries models because it governs fish distributions and growth rates and is changing rapidly in many aquatic ecosystems. Growing computational resources and volume of temperature observations are expanding opportunities for prediction in aquatic systems by using modern techniques (e.g., hierarchical models, deep learning algorithms), scaling across systems, and forecasting. But advances in water temperature prediction and forecasting should be tightly paired with needs of fisheries models and stakeholders; At what spatial and temporal scales, in which ecosystems, and at what precision are temperature predictions useful? What do we gain by using temporally resolved temperature predictions over more simple metrics (e.g., max summer temp)? Does characterizing habitat heterogeneity and diversity (portfolio approach) improve our ability to predict metapopulations? What information is ultimately used in decision making? In this session, we invite experts to present the latest advances in temperature prediction, how temperature predictions are being used in fisheries science and management, and what the needs of the community are moving forward.

Organizer

Jordan ReadU.S. Geological SurveyIntegrated Information Dissemination DivisionMiddleton, WI 53562

Organizer

Benjamin Letcher, PhDU.S. Geological SurveyOne Migratory WayP.O. Box 796Conte Anadromous Fish Research CenterTurners Falls, MA 01376

Organizer

Samantha OliverU.S. Geological SurveyUpper Midwest Water Science CenterMiddleton, WI 53562

Title:

Avian Predation of Fish Populations – Is It a Problem, How Do We Know, and What Do We Do About It?


Increasing abundance and range expansions of piscivorous birds, in particular Double-crested Cormorants and American White Pelicans, have created new and complex resource management challenges for state and federal fish and wildlife agencies. These biological and social challenges are a function of interactions of piscivorous birds with fish populations of high recreational, economic, and/or conservation value. This symposium will examine: the current scope of bird- and fish-related conflicts, (including native/non-native, game/nongame, and stocked/wild populations); the status of available science, including relevant case histories; methods of assessing effects of piscivorous birds on important fish populations; management alternatives, including case studies of effectively managed conflicts; complexities involved in defining free-swimming fish; and challenges of establishing management goals for both bird and fish populations. Ultimately, the symposium is intended to provide a better understanding of the issue to avian ecologists and fishery managers, and acknowledge the need to develop shared objectives for viable fish populations and secure, viable, and socially-acceptable piscivorous bird populations.

Organizer

Gary WhelanFish Production Manager:MI DNR Fisheries DivisionP.O. Box 30446Lansing, MI 48909

Organizer

Jeff DillonIdaho Department of Fish and GameBoise, ID 83712

Organizer

Craig BondsTexas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentInland FisheriesAustin, TX 78744

Organizer

James P. FredericksIdaho Department of Fish and GameCoeur d'Alene, ID 83815

Organizer

Devin DeMarioAssociation of Fish and Wildlife AgenciesWashington, DC 20002

Organizer

David CobbN.C. Wildlife Management DivisionN.C. Wildlife Resources CommissionRaleigh, NC 27699

Organizer

Scott AndersonN.C. Wildlife Management DivisionN.C. Wildlife Resources CommissionRaleigh, NC 27699

Title:

Back to the Future: can our survey and license sales data lead us forward in hunting and fishing?


The combination of constituent survey results and license sales analyses provide unique opportunities to derive insights into motivations of hunters and anglers, and their patterns of activity and participation. Agencies have been conducting hunter and angler surveys for decades, and hunting and fishing license data has been collected since the middle of the 20th century. With this wealth of data at hand, what have we learned about hunters and anglers, and what can we do to remain relevant as the conservation landscape of the future changes.

Moderator

Rebecca M. KrogmanIowa Department of Natural ResourcesLarge Impoundments Fisheries ResearchChariton, IA 50049

Organizer

Jeff KopaskaFisheries Research Biologist:Iowa Department of Natural Resources1436 255th St.Boone Wildlife Research StationFisheries BureauBoone, IA 50036

Title:

Beaver Mediated Restoration and Management in Riverscapes


Riverscapes are highly productive, biodiverse, and provide many ecosystem services. For many decades, to restore degraded streams, practitioners have relied heavily on highly engineered and often expensive approaches. While sometimes appropriate, their cost cannot effectively address the massive scale of stream degradation. Interest is growing in partnering with beaver (Castor canadensis, and Castor fiber) as a cost-effective and sustainable approach to restoring riverscapes and their ecosystems services. Multiple beaver restoration strategies, from conservation, translocation, to dam mimicry have proven effective at stimulating many of the beneficial effects of beaver dam building activities. As ecosystem engineer, beavers modify hydrological connectivity, sediment transport, channel morphology, floodplains, nutrient cycling, and riparian vegetation producing ecosystems services such as resilience to drought and fire, flood control, water storage, water quality benefits, and increased livestock forage. And because beavers blur the line between aquatic and terrestrial systems, habitat improvement projects target a broad range of species including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and wildlife. In this symposium, we will summarize the processes by which beavers modify riverscapes, provide case studies where restoration and management of beaver are used to improve aquatic and terrestrial habitats as a means of species conservation and recovery, and boost ecosystem services.

Chair

Nicolaas BouwesAnabranch SolutionsProvidence, UT 84332

Chair

Raymond D. DueserUtah State UniversityLogan, UT

Title:

Best Student Paper Symposium


The Education Section sponsors this Best Student Paper/Poster Symposium each year to recognized outstanding presentations and posters by students attending the American Fisheries Society annual meeting.

Chair

Trent M. Sutton, PhDProfessor of Fisheries:University of Alaska FairbanksP.O. Box 757220Department of FisheriesFairbanks, AK 99775

Organizer

Amanda RosenbergerU.S. Geological Survey, Tennessee Cooperative Fishery Research UnitTennessee Technological University, Department of BiologyCookeville, TN 38505

Organizer

Dan ShoupOklahoma State UniversityNatural Resources Ecology and Management

Title:

Beyond the publication: science communication strategies to increase the impact of your research


Publishing our research in peer-reviewed journals and agency reports is the primary way fisheries science is communicated. But how well are published findings received by the intended knowledge users? The conclusions of publications often have a targeted message for specific stakeholders, but does the publication find its way to the desk of the resource manager, city planner, or policy analyst that can use the knowledge? This symposium will explore how scientists have transformed their publications into media that ensure their message reaches target audiences using various methods in the science communication toolbox, such as interviews, social media, blogs, art, infographics, videos, and more.

Chair

Julie ClaussenFisheries Conservation FoundationChampaign, IL 61820

Organizer

Ed HenryInternational Pacific Halibut CommissionCommunicationsSeattle, WA 98199

Title:

Biology and Conservation of California and Nevada’s Native Fishes


California and Nevada provide a wide range of habitats for a unique assemblage of fishes, many of them endemic to a state, drainage system or even a single spring. California also represents the southern limit of several freshwater and anadromous species, including distinctive runs within the anadromous species. California supports a large human population and a large agricultural economy and the population of Nevada is growing. The water demands and land use changes associated with the human population have resulted in habitat degradation, disruption of natural flow regimes, water extraction, impaired water quality, and introduction of non-native species. These changes are associated with declines in the native fishes and the subsequent listing of some species under federal and state endangered species acts. The purpose of this session is to present the latest information on the biology of California and Nevada’s native fishes and the challenges associated with conserving and enhancing these fishes for future generations.

Chair

Larry BrownU.S. Geological SurveyCalifornia Water Science CenterSacramento, CA 95819

Chair

Fred FeyrerUSGSCalifornia Water Science Center, Aquatic Ecology GroupSacramento, CA 95819

Title:

Brook Trout: the scourge and the saint. Applying lessons learned from both eradication and reintroduction efforts across the West and East to better manage this char.


Depending on one’s perspective, the brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis holds distinction as the much maligned invader or as the beloved symbol of the long lost North American wilderness. As fisheries managers in the West struggle to eradicate the prolific and adaptable brook trout in order to protect vulnerable native cutthroat and bull trout populations, fisheries managers in the East struggle to successfully reintroduce brook trout to their natal watersheds, many of which have sustained significant anthropogenic changes to habitat, water quality and aquatic fauna. How can these efforts across the West and East shed light on the adaptability and vulnerability of brook trout? What are the genetic, biological, demographic, habitat preference and interspecies behavioral characteristics that make brook trout such a menacing invader of coldwater aquatic systems in the West, and such a challenge to reclaim its former niche in coldwater aquatic systems in the East? This symposium hopes to share relevant and perhaps novel information gleaned from the intense interest in this char that now more than ever captivates the attention of coldwater fisheries managers, scientists and advocates dedicated to native species conservation.

Moderator

Scott SpauldingUS Forest ServiceNorthern Region, FisheriesMissoula, MT 59803

Organizer

Nathaniel GillespieUSDA Forest ServiceWatershed, Fish, Wildlife, Air & Rare PlantsWashington, DC 20250

Title:

California Soul: Multi-scale approaches to explore, assess, and restore California’s freshwater resources. A collaborative session presented in part with the Society for Freshwater Science CA Chapter.


California’s freshwater resources are strongly rooted in the productivity and economic advancement of technical, agricultural, and fisheries related fields. However, these vital resources and the biological communities that are reliant on their persistence are in constant peril from overpopulation, climate change, invasive species, and industrial runoff. Unlike the death of disco, the futures of California’s freshwater resources are not set. The road to recovery and sustainable management of these resources is not a one way road but an interconnected highway requiring development of new approaches for restoration and remediation, the development and incorporation of novel technologies for bio-assessment of aquatic communities, and the collaborative efforts and information sharing between multiple agencies, professionals, and academic disciplines. We present here a symposium that will highlight the current multi-scale undertakings from a diverse representation of agencies, academics, and professionals for the exploration, assessment, and restoration of freshwater corridors and the communities that rely on them. AFS members and participants will gain insight into the endeavors that are currently underway from a small portion of the California scientific community with the shared goal of increasing the information available for sustainable fisheries management.

Chair

Nicholas MaciasUC Santa CruzEcology and Evolutionary BiologySanta Cruz, CA 95060

Moderator


Organizer


Title:

Case Studies of Ecosystem-based Management Implementation


Joint AFS & TWS symposium that will explore case studies of ecosystem-based management implementation

In the United States, management of natural resources (terrestrial and aquatic) has moved towards ecosystem-based management (EBM), which is a more systematic and integrated approach than conventional (e.g., single sector or single species) approaches. This AFS/TWS joint session invites speakers to explore the variety of programs implementing the principals of EBM. This session is intended to share case studies of EBM programs highlighting the best management practices, the science needed to support the programs, the policies outlining EBM principles, a description of the engagement strategies with stakeholders, measures of progress, and the challenges that programs encounter in the effort to stand up EBM programs.

Chair

Margaret (Peg) BradyNOAA Fisheries ServiceSilver Spring, MD 20910

Chair

Tony MarshakECS Federal, Inc., in support of NOAA FisheriesOffice of Science and TechnologySilver Spring, MD 20910

Title:

Casting a Wider Net: Increasing Stakeholder Communication and Collaboration as an Early Career Scientist


It is increasingly evident that rigorous science and successful management and conservation of our natural resources requires collaboration and strong communication with stakeholders. This is a skill that receives little application and development in graduate programs. Further, it is not widely encouraged within academia. In line with our first-ever joint national conference of AFS and TWS, the goal of this symposium is to display current efforts in building fruitful collaborative research, management, and/or outreach initiatives by students and early career professionals in both societies. We welcome all presentations working to increase interactions, tackle complex issues, incorporate traditional ecological knowledge, and break down barriers between stakeholders, addressing the very “human” element of fisheries and wildlife. Whether working with tribal fisheries commissions, recreational and/or commercial fishers, industry partners, NGOs, the public, or zoos/aquariums, we encourage presenters to share successes, experiences, and lessons learned with others in the early stages of their career.

Organizer

Lisa K. IzzoUniversity of VermontRubenstein School of Environment and Natural ResourcesBurlington, VT 08501

Organizer

Heather A. StewartMcGill UniversityBiologyMontreal, QC H3A 1B1Canada

Title:

Challenges, Opportunities, and Innovation in Crustacean Fisheries


Crustaceans, especially shrimp, crabs, and lobsters, support valuable fisheries at local, regional, and global scales. These fisheries range from wild and farmed shrimp, the single most valuable global fishery commodity, to tropical and cold-water lobsters, krill in the waters off Antarctica, and freshwater crabs in China and elsewhere. Crustacean fisheries face many of the same challenges as finfish fisheries including overfishing, habitat loss, disease, and illegal and unreported fishing. Climate change increases uncertainty in our understanding of population dynamics and adds new challenges through thermal stress, range shifts, ocean acidification, and other factors. Crustacean fisheries also present unique challenges for management such as discontinuous growth and limited availability of techniques for aging. Adding to these challenges, most crustacean fisheries are considered “data-poor.” This symposium brings together experts from a wide range of crustacean fisheries to discuss current and emerging challenges, opportunities, and innovation in crustacean fisheries management. We especially encourage presentations on innovative approaches, comparative studies across species or regions, socioeconomic studies, and global perspectives. The symposium invites presentations on topics including but not limited to the following: fisheries management, socioeconomics, life history, stock assessment, population dynamics, trophic interactions, reproductive biology, fishing gear, impacts of climate change, habitat use, genetics and genomics, conservation.

Organizer

Zachary DarnellUniversity of Southern MississippiDivision of Coastal SciencesOcean Springs, MS 39564

Title:

Channels for Change in the Mekong: Integrating Multiple Disciplines for New Frontiers in Managing the Mekong River Basin


Considered one of 35 locations as a hotspot for global biodiversity, the Mekong River supports 1,200 species of fishes with the Lower Mekong Basin yielding an annual wild fish catch of 767,000 tons. The strong connections between the river, its flood plains, the adjoining Tonle Sap Lake, and humans has occurred for over a millennium, as documented by the ancient Angkor civilization. Today, more than 60 million people utilize fishes from the river for food and as a major economic contributor to household incomes. All six countries within the basin have considered or developed dams to support the high demands of energy in the region. Dams, climate change, land use change, and substantial increases in legal and illegal fishing pressures are thought to significantly influence fish biodiversity, productivity, and socioeconomic systems, although the degree and interactions of these environmental stressors are not understood. Previous AFS sessions on the Mekong have provided significant insight to the fisheries and ecological research in this area. In this symposium, we want to encourage interdisciplinary and interactive discussions that present opportunities to overcome challenges and highlight new frontiers for managing the Mekong River Basin. A peer-reviewed special issue publication may be considered from this session.

Organizer

Liana PrudencioUtah State UniversityWatershed SciencesLogan, UT 84322

Organizer

Peng Bun NgorInland Fisheries Research Development InstituteCambodia

Organizer

Flavia TromboniGlobal Water Center, University of Nevada-Reno

Organizer

Samadee SarayWonders of the Mekong ProjectCambodia

Title:

Clean Energy, Free Rivers, Wild Lands: Considerations for a Sustainable Energy Future


In the face of rising demand for energy and global concern about climate change, the last two decades have seen aggressive development of renewable sources of energy. To ensure responsible siting, the effects of solar and wind development on fish and wildlife resources have been the focus of numerous research efforts. Analyses of these impacts, however, have often been at the site level, not the landscape level. Furthermore, existing impacts of hydropower and biofuel production, which have been largely exempt from the scrutiny of modern renewable siting, are often overlooked in the context of low-impact clean energy development plans. This symposium explores the potential for a sustainable energy future in which energy needs are evaluated in light of social, economic, and ecological trade-offs across multiple energy sectors and across fish and wildlife taxa. Such a vision will require a shift in our frame for solutions to one in which energy siting, deployment, and decommissioning decisions are considered at the scale of broader energy and ecological systems. We will consider the context for these decisions; the political, social, regulatory, and legal mechanisms that are available to affect change; and how evaluation of trade-offs can occur across multiple energy sectors, taxa groups, and value systems. This symposium will help AFS members, TWS members, and other participants think about how the framing of renewable energy decisions might affect the scientific research topics that are valuable to undertake.

Organizer

Elise Irwin, PhDU.S. Geological Survey3301 School of Forestry and Wildlife SciencesAlabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research UnitAuburn, AL 36830

Organizer

Michael C RungeU.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research CenterLaurel, MD

Organizer

Katie KennedyThe Nature ConservancyConnecticut River ProgramNorthampton, MA 01060

Organizer

Mona KhalilUS Geological SurveyEcosystems Mission AreaReston, VA 20192

Title:

Climate Change across the Salmon Life-Cycle


Climate change is affecting salmon throughout their life cycle in different and sometimes unexpected ways. Individual life stages are impacted—from ocean climate variability driving large shifts in survival and growth to warming streams causing mortality in adult migrants. Yet, the population-level impacts of climate change will be a function of cumulative impacts of climate change across life stages. Importantly, climate impacts in one life-stage may carryover to the next. Experiences/conditions from the freshwater environment can be carried over to the early ocean environment and this may affect early ocean survival, and population growth. Likewise, changes in ocean conditions could change en-route mortality, pre-spawn mortality and influence the next generation through intergenerational effects. This symposium will bring together researchers studying salmonids across life-stages including carryover and intergenerational effects. We will begin with the juvenile life-history stage and work through the life stages of salmon ending where we began, at the juvenile life-history stage. The end of the symposium will include a panel discussion on next steps for research. For this symposium we welcome studies that examine climate change in the context of individual, population and species-level effects on salmonids that cut across one or more life stages.

Chair

Samantha WilsonSimon Fraser University1125 Colonel By DriveBiologyBurnaby, BC V541S6Canada

Organizer

Colin BaileySimon Fraser UniversityBiological ScienceBurnaby, BC V5G 4N2Canada

Organizer

Daniella LoScerboSimon Fraser University

Title:

Climate change impacts on fishery and wildlife management


This symposium will take advantage of the expertise present at this unique joint conference to explore the impacts of climate change on saltwater and freshwater fish, and terrestrial wildlife, and management implications. Warming conditions can have a variety of effects on fish and wildlife, ranging from shifts in preferred habitat, to impacts on available prey and ability to reproduce successfully. As individual species react to climate change, shifts may occur in entire ecosystems as has been observed in the northeast United States in the Gulf of Maine marine ecosystem. These changes in animal behavior and ecosystem structure can impact management. For example, a species targeted for commercial harvesting in one area may move from one management and harvesting area to another, presenting questions of how and when managers can make a determination about a particular harvest being open or closed, and who gets to participate. This symposium will explore examples of management implications as a result of climate change, highlighting the similarities and differences between selected fish and wildlife species, and noting any lessons learned that could apply across species.

Organizer

Susan FaradyUniversity of New EnglandMarine ScienceBiddeford, ME 04005

Title:

Collaboration to Ensure a Safe and Secure Work Environment for Observers


This symposium seeks to highlight the importance of collaborating with industry members, shareholders, observer programs, and law enforcement to ensure observers can work in an environment that is safe and free from all types of harassment. In the United States, there are multiple Observer Programs across the country, as well as multiple regional Offices for Law Enforcement supporting the Observer Programs. The Office of Law Enforcement often work with the local US Coast Guard districts in their respective regions, as well as state and local partners. In Alaska, collaborative efforts are underway with the Alaska Enforcement Division, the North Pacific Observer Program, observer providers, and industry representatives to work towards a better work environment for observers; similar activities are seen in other areas of the nation. This symposium will provide members and participants an opportunity to share ideas and gain insight into tactics and strategies that contribute to a positive change.

Organizer

Jaclyn SmithNOAA Office for Law Enforcement / Alaska DivisionSpecial AgentAnchorage, AK 99513

Title:

Coming into the Light: Opportunities and Challenges that Cannabis Legalization Brings to Natural Resources


Black-market cannabis cultivation is an environmentally destructive practice that is a growing concern throughout the United States. Black-market growers disregard regulations intended to protect sensitive habitats by using pesticides and fertilizers illegally, disturbing landscapes, poisoning and poaching wildlife, littering with human refuse, and illegally diverting water. These impacts span aquatic and terrestrial habitats, impair water quality, and increase habitat degradation and fragmentation, exacerbating conservation concerns for listed species. With impacts predicted to worsen as the national market for recreational and medicinal cannabis expands, states that have legalized cannabis cultivation are attempting to eliminate these threats. Actions to address these issues include sustainable growing practices; increasing regulation, enforcement, and monitoring; developing noise and light pollution standards, and controlling the size and location of permissible cultivation sites. This can only be accomplished through strong interdisciplinary partnerships among scientists, policy makers, agencies and cultivators. This session will focus on the impacts cultivation has on aquatic and terrestrial species and their habitats, tools to monitor in these settings, challenges faced by natural resource agencies, and how state legalization of the industry might reduce environmental impacts by embracing sustainable legal cultivation practices and engendering a shift from an industry dominated by harmful black-market grows.

Organizer

Kelly SouzaCalifornia Department of Fish and Wildlife4001 North Wilson WaySacramento, CA 95811

Organizer

Mourad GabrielIntegral Ecology Research CenterBlue Lake, CA 95525

Title:

Community fishing ponds: development, management, and applications for recruitment and retention


AFS Symposium 67 was published in 2008 on the subject of urban and community fishing programs. Most of the presentations were based on 2006 or 2007 information. Most states have expanded their community fishing programs since that time, and there is a plethora of new studies conducted on angler recruitment and retention, harvest and catch, angler preferences and satisfaction, species stocked, trophy regulations, transporting wild fish to community ponds, etc. This symposium would attempt to gather researchers and managers from around the country (and perhaps the world) to discuss recent innovations in community pond management and evaluation. Any contributed papers submitted on the subject of community pond fishing or even general use by the public would be appropriate.

Chair

Kevin A. MeyerIdaho Department of Fish and Game1414 E. Locust LaneResident Fisheries ResearchNampa, ID 83686

Title:

Conservation of North American Freshwater Native Non-Game Fishes: Presented by the Western Native Fish Committee, Desert Fish Habitat Partnership, and the Desert Fishes Council


Due in large part to anthropogenic threats such as habitat degradation, non-native species introductions, and environmental change, freshwater fishes are some of the most imperiled taxa on Earth. Although many populations facing declines have yet to be assessed for listing under the Endangered Species Act, fishes that have received protections from federal and state policies have led to greater awareness of their ecology by resource managers and the public. The fifth annual symposium presented by the Western Native Fish Committee, with support from the Desert Fish Habitat Partnership and the Desert Fishes Council, welcomes presentations from across North America that deal with ecology, management and life history of native non-game fishes or aquatic communities. In keeping with the mission of the Western Native Fishes Committee to provide a network for people with an interest and/or expertise in native fishes, this symposium will allow presenters to offer insights into diverse management approaches, concepts and constraints to native fish conservation across regions of North America. Our hope is that collaborative efforts by like-minded organizations can open lines of communication across a broad geographic area. Ultimately, we can improve and create broad networks of fisheries professionals to aid conservation for native non-game fishes.

Organizer

Timothy D'AmicoArizona Game and Fish DepartmentPhoenix, AZ 85086

Organizer

Philip BraniganIdaho Department of Fish & GameNampa Fisheries Research OfficeNampa, ID 83686

Organizer

C. Nate CathcartAlaska Department of Fish and GameAlaska Freshwater Fish InventoryAnchorage, AK 99518

Organizer

Katie McBaineVirginia TechDepartment of Fish & Wildlife ConservationBlacksburg, VA 24061

Title:

Contribution of Utilities to the Recovery of Salmon


Please join the conversation as speakers discuss the tremendous effort that has been placed on salmon recovery since they were listed under the Endangered Species Act. Federal, State, Tribal and NGO partners have worked together to make strides in the understanding of limiting factors and implement meaningful steps toward recovery. Similarly, during the most recent round of relicensing efforts utilities have become important partners in efforts to recover salmon within the region. A combination of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing negotiations, rate payer interests, and communication with regulatory partners has utilities playing a major role in salmon recovery. Among these contributions are efforts such as monitoring of fish assemblages, water quality, and food webs associated with reservoirs impounded by hydropower facilities; salmon habitat programs designed to improve and expand spawning and rearing habitat; fish passage programs designed to reconnect watersheds; and development and operation of hatchery programs designed to sustain and recovery salmon populations.

Chair

Matt BleichTacoma PowerTacoma, WA 98335

Title:

Detection, fate, and effects of microplastics in the aquatic environment


Plastics are contaminants of emerging concern that are accumulating at increasing rates in the marine and freshwater ecosystems. Because of the sun and wave energies, the plastics debris tend to break down into smaller particles, referred to as the microplastics of grain size lower than 5 mm. Microplastics also potentially enter the aquatic environments directly from cosmetics, synthetic clothing, and industrial processes. Microplastics are a cause for concern because their size range overlaps with the preferred particle size ingested by the animals in the aquatic food webs. As the different types of plastics exert different toxicities by themselves, and as in addition they likely adsorb different levels of chemical contaminants and pathogenic bacterial assemblages, the knowledge of polymer composition could be important in the understanding of origin and fisheries risk assessment. The symposium titled "Detection, fate, and effects of microplastics in the aquatic environment" seeks to invite researchers engaged in the detection and characterization of microplastics, detection of chemical/microbial/viral contaminants in plastics, deleterious effects of plastics in the fisheries resources, and hazards of marine debris.

Chair

Ashok DeshpandeNOAA-NMFS-NEFSCJames J. Howard Laboratory at Sandy HookHighlands, NJ 07732

Organizer

Beth SharackNOAA-NMFS-NEFSCHighlands, NJ 07732

Title:

Diversity and Inclusion: Leveraging Actions Through Collaboration


The American Fisheries Society and Wildlife Society recognize the importance of diversity and the important role it plays in meeting the needs and challenges of the constantly changing world. To discuss how best to grow AFS into a more diverse and inclusive organization, fifteen fisheries professionals across the academic, federal, state, tribal, and NGO community came together in 2017 to discuss game changing solutions for enhancing diversity and inclusion. Launching off the success of these discussions, in 2018 speakers again came together for an audience based, interactive and in-depth discussion to produce actionable items for improving diversity and inclusion. This year, we seek to take this conversation to the next level: how can we translate strategies into implementable actions and work collaboratively with TWS to implement meaningful change. The 2019 joint AFS/TWS symposium will seek to build synergies and leverage action through collaboration as well as generate discussions on operationalizing solutions and best practices, changing institutional culture to be more diverse and inclusive and looking at how individual actions can lead to broader systemic change.

Chair

April CroxtonNOAASilver Spring, MD

Chair

Shivonne NesbitNOAA FisheriesWCRPortland, OR 97206

Title:

Dynamic Ocean Management: Moving Away from Drawing Boxes in the Sand


Marine animals inhabit highly dynamic environments affected by both natural and anthropogenic factors. Because of this, management strategies that do not adapt with a changing environment may not be sufficient to achieve management goals. In response to this challenge, scientists and managers have proposed a strategy that is responsive to the shifting nature of the ocean: Dynamic Ocean Management (DOM). DOM is based on the integration of new biological, oceanographic, social and/or economic data in near real-time. In this session, presentations will explore research that integrates near-real time biological, physical, and/or social data to inform ecological patterns, align human and ecological scales of use, and contribute to dynamic management decisions. This symposium will allow researchers and managers a forum to discuss the current successes and challenges related to implementing dynamic ocean management strategies.

Chair

Danielle HaulseeUniversity of DelawareDepartment of OceanographyLewes, DE 19958

Chair

Larry CrowderStanford University

Organizer

Elliott Hazen, PhDResearch Oceanographer:NOAA SWFSC Environmental Research Division1352 Lighthouse Ave.

Organizer

Steven Bograd, PhDNOAA SWFSC Environmental Research Division1352 Lighthouse Ave.

Title:

Engaging Harvesters in Survey Strategies for Monitoring Wildlife and Fisheries Resources


Engaging harvesters in the monitoring of wildlife and fisheries resources has become more common in recent years. Harvesters’ knowledge and experience can provide many benefits to survey designs and ultimately improve the science for natural resource management. Benefits of engaging harvesters in surveys include decreases in the cost of monitoring, and the development of trust between harvesters and scientists. Trust between harvesters, managers, and scientists is key for effective natural resource monitoring. Methods for engaging harvesters in surveys for natural resources can range from involving harvesters in collecting data to collaborating with harvesters to design the survey. Additionally, harvesters’ knowledge can provide scientists and managers with information on harvesting effort and catch of the natural resource. This symposium aims to answer questions such as: how can harvesters be systematically engaged in monitoring natural resource populations? and what are the benefits and challenges of engaging harvesters in surveys for natural resource populations?

Chair

Joshua Etherton

Chair

Mackenzie MazurUniversity of MaineSchool of Marine SciencesOrono, ME 04469

Title:

Ensemble Modeling in Fisheries and Wildlife: Providing Scientific Advice to Natural Resource Managers Can Be a Risky Business!


· Providing scientific advice to natural resource managers can be a risky business! In many resource systems, identifying a single best ecological model will fail to capture scientific uncertainty about the true state of nature. In such cases, using a single analytical model will likely result in underestimation or mischaracterization of the actual uncertainty around the scientific advice, which may compromise risk-based decision tools used in natural resource management. However, the understanding and prediction of system dynamics, and therefore resulting scientific advice, can often be improved by analyzing the range of plausible working hypotheses where the scientific advice represents a synthesis across these hypotheses. Ensemble modeling accounts for multiple working hypotheses by employing multiple candidate models to explain and predict outcomes of the target system. Each candidate in the model ensemble makes a distinct claim about system dynamics and process outcomes and represents a unique hypothesis about how the system works. Synthesizing the results of the model ensemble can provide a more accurate characterization of the target system, especially when individual model predictions are unbiased and the covariance between model predictions is low. This symposium includes presentations and discussion of scientific advancements in ensemble modeling approaches, as well as perspectives and case studies where ensemble modeling has been applied in fisheries and wildlife ecology. This includes model selection, model weighting, multi-model inference (including averaging and other techniques), machine learning for ecological predictions, and communicating results of ensemble modeling for robust resource management. We encourage presentations from a wide range of participants who can share successful methods, challenges, and issues related to applying ensemble modeling techniques in fisheries and wildlife and effectively communicate the results of those applications to natural resource managers.

Chair

Jon Brodziak, PhDSenior Stock Assessment Scientist:NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center2570 Dole StreetFish Biology and Stock Assessment DivisionHonolulu, HI 96822

Chair

Patrick LynchNOAA FisheriesOffice of Science and TechnologySilver Spring, MD 20910-3282

Title:

Environmental Impact Assessment for Hydropower Regulation


Environmental impact assessments for federal and non-federal hydropower regulation include assessments of fisheries and wildlife populations and their habitat, water quality, recreation, and more. This symposium will capitalize on the diverse body of scientists, agency biologists, resource managers, and consultants assembled for the joint American Fisheries Society - The Wildlife Society meeting that conduct environmental assessments for hydropower regulation. During the symposium, participants will identify common issues and considerations, explore solutions across disciplines, regulatory process requirements (e.g., federal vs. non-federal hydropower facilities), discuss common practices and methods, and provide a forum for discussion with a diverse panel of experts in hydropower regulation. Participants in this symposium will be invited to submit original scientific work for publication of a special issue of a journal on the symposium topic.

Chair

Brenda PracheilOak Ridge National LaboratoryEnvironmental Sciences DivisionOak Ridge, TN 37831

Organizer

Ryan McManamayOak Ridge National LaboratoryOak Ridge, TN 37831-6351

Organizer

Kate BuenauPacific Northwest National LaboratoryMarine Sciences LaboratorySequim, WA 98382

Title:

Existing gaps and proposed changes in endangered species adaptation regulation and policy in the face of a changing climate


Fish and wildlife professionals work to conserve and recover threatened and endangered species with the goal of achieving legally defined "recovered" and sustainable populations that result in delisting from the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). This process is complicated by the ever-increasing number of conservation-reliant species that, regardless of listing status, will require continuous intervention to survive and may lack clearly identifiable regulatory recovery mechanisms available under the Act. Compounding this challenge are effects from global climate change, which can cause conservation reliance in species. Even with a dramatic decrease in the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, existing emissions may require regulatory agencies to adapt ESA implementation to enhance the Act's relevancy as a conservation tool. In the absence of modification, new or complimentary tools may need to be created to advance recovery of species.

Speakers will discuss existing gaps in endangered species adaptation policy and regulation. The symposium will conclude with consensus comments on how to move the management of endangered species put directly at risk by climate-related threats into the 21st Century.

Organizer

Caroline MurphyThe Wildlife Society

Organizer

Drue WintersAmerican Fisheries SocietyBethesda, MD 20814

Title:

Expanding the Final Frontier - Using Autonomous Systems in Living Resources Research and Management


Autonomous systems (AUVs, ASVs, UAVs) are making significant in roads in many disciplines of natural science. This symposium will deliver case studies of a wide variety of autonomous systems and how they have been developed and used for living resources research, management, monitoring, habitat characterization and education and outreach. Presenters will discuss their challenges, successes, and innovations in adapting unmanned systems to meet critical resource research and management needs, and a panel of presenters will explore the critical milestones needed for the next generation of autonomous systems.

Chair

Philip Hoffman, M.S.Protected Resources Program Coordinator:NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research1315 East West HighwaySSMC 3- 13805Office of Policy, Planning & EvaluationSilver Spring, MD 20910

Title:

Extension Education and Cooperative Research to Address the Needs of Fishing Industry Stakeholders


Commercial and recreational fisheries throughout North America and around the world face many challenges related to scientific uncertainty, resource management and sustainability, ecosystem dynamics, and socio-economic objectives. Extension education programming is designed to address the needs of industry stakeholders while enhancing and managing natural resources, communicating science and best practices, and ensuring economic growth and sustainability. Cooperative research partnerships among scientists and industry stakeholders produce new knowledge to meet these goals and address key issues impacting fishing activity, fisheries science, and resource management. There are many diverse extension education programs and cooperative research projects ongoing throughout North America and around the world. The objective of this symposium is to share information about ongoing and recent programs and projects in order to expand and improve the capacity for meeting the needs of fishing industry stakeholders. Speakers will be encouraged to discuss not only the successful aspects of programs and projects, but also challenges faced and failures experienced along the way to inform future efforts. This symposium will bring together a diverse group of educators and researchers working with commercial and recreational fisheries in both marine and freshwater ecosystems throughout North America and beyond.

Organizer

Douglas ZemeckisRutgers UniversityDepartment of Agriculture and Natural ResourcesToms River, NJ 08755

Organizer

M. Scott Baker Jr.Fisheries Specialist:North Carolina Sea Grant Extension ProgramCenter for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington5600 Marvin K Moss LaneWilmington, NC 28409

Organizer

Carolynn CulverCalifornia Sea Grant Extension, UCSB Marine Science InstituteSanta Barbara, CA 93106-6150

Organizer

Titus SeilheimerWisconsin Sea GrantManitowoc, WI 54220

Organizer

Angela CollinsUniversity of FloridaUF/IFAS and Florida Sea GrantPalmetto, FL 34221

Title:

Fire Resilience: Can Fish, Wildlife, and Humans Adapt to Shifts in Wildfire Disturbance?


This symposium will provide a forum for research and management at the nexus of climate, fire disturbance, and biodiversity. The science surrounding wildfire is controversial. Have wildfire regimes changed? Prolonged and widespread high-intensity wildfires have disrupted at least one large geographic region, but is it a worldwide trend? If they have changed, why? Did climate trends play a role, or are changes in land management responsible, or both? If regimes did change, were the effects on fish and wildlife positive or negative? In the short term, wildfires change water and air quality, threaten fish and wildlife, and destroy human lives and infrastructure. Yet long-term consequences may be positive in part because many ecosystems are adapted to historical fire regimes. Occasional fires generate open patches that can be colonized to enhance biodiversity. Similarly, occasional influxes of large woody debris from landslides in burned areas eventually create good habitat for fish in rivers. If future changes are ominous, can humans adapt? Scientists are beginning to investigate how fish, wildlife and human societies adapted to fire in the past and how resilience to fire disturbances might be improved in the future. This symposium’s objective is to explore controversies at the nexus of wildfire, fish and wildlife science and land management. The value of this symposium to attendees is that it will provide the state-of-the-science view of wildfire effects and management.

Chair

Mark D. Bowen, Ph.D.Environmental Science AssociatesSacramento, CA 95826

Henriette Jager, PhDResearch Scientist:Oak Ridge National LaboratoryMail Stop 6036, PO 2008Environmental Sciences DivisionOak Ridge, TN 37831-6036

Organizer

Luiz Silva, PhDProf. Adjunto - Meio Ambiente e Gestão:Federal University of Sao Joao del-ReiRod. MG 443, KM 7 Fazenda do CadeteOuro Branco - MGPPGTDSBrazil

Organizer

Serra Hoagland, Ph.D.Salish Kootenai CollegeForestryPablo, MT 59855

Organizer

Tracy MelvinMichigan State UniversityFisheries and WildlifeEast Lansing, MI 48824

Organizer

Jeff ThomasBiological Programs Manager:The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission5735 Kellogg AvenueCincinnati, OH 45230

Title:

Fish and Wildlife Responses to Prolonged Heatwaves: A window to the future?


Prolonged periods of anomalously warm temperatures are increasing in frequency, intensity, and duration world-wide. These events can have far-reaching influence on food webs from primary producers to predators and operate over wide temporal and spatial scales. For example, the NE Pacific marine heatwave of 2014–2016 was an unusually strong (Category III) and lengthy (24 mo.) heatwave spanning at least 3 large marine ecosystems: Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and California Current. Mass mortality events and reproductive failures of seabirds and marine mammals provided some dramatic indications of ecosystem perturbation, but effects of the heatwave were also noted in the abundance and biology of phyto- and zooplankton communities, some species of forage fish, salmon, and groundfish, including >70% decline in Pacific cod. Understanding how fish and wildlife populations respond to these events allows us to identify key ecosystem relationships affected by warming, re-evaluate current assumptions embedded in ecosystem models, and provides a window to future conditions that may guide management strategies. This session provides an opportunity to describe observations, discuss linkages among taxa, and consider the risks posed by prolonged heatwaves to fisheries, wildlife, and economies. Those studying similar phenomena in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems are also encouraged to participate.

Chair

Vanessa R. von BielaResearch Fish Biologist:U.S. Geological Survey4210 University DriveAlaska Science CenterAnchoage, AK 99508

Chair

John PiattUS Geological Survey4210 University DrAnchorage, AK 98508

Chair

Lianne BallU.S. Geological SurveyReston, VA 20192

Organizer

Vanessa R. von BielaResearch Fish Biologist:U.S. Geological Survey4210 University DriveAlaska Science CenterAnchoage, AK 99508

Organizer

Lianne BallU.S. Geological SurveyReston, VA 20192

Organizer

John PiattUS Geological Survey4210 University DrAnchorage, AK 98508

Organizer

Mayumi ArimitsuUS Geological Survey3100 National Park RdAlaska Science CenterJuneau, AK 99801

Title:

Fisheries and Wildlife as Coupled Human and Natural Systems


Fisheries and wildlife are coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) across distant places, yet historical research has generally focused on better understanding either fisheries/wildlife ecology or human dimensions in a specific place, rather than their interactions over distances. As economic and ideational globalization accelerate, fisheries and wildlife are becoming more globally connected via movements of animals, money, information, and stakeholders throughout the world. As such, there is a pressing need for systematic approaches to assess these linkages among global fisheries and wildlife systems, their effects on ecosystems and food security, and their implications for natural resource science and sustainability. The objective of this symposium is to explore the notion of fisheries and wildlife as CHANS – how this concept has underpinned historical natural resource management, how it has grown in recent years, and how it can advance fisheries and wildlife conservation in the future. We welcome fisheries/wildlife talks related to CHANS, social-ecological systems, complex adaptive systems, and other ways of conceptualizing, integrating, or managing the human and natural components of fisheries or wildlife. We will give special attention to two novel, related frameworks (telecoupling, metacoupling) that are increasingly applied to fisheries/wildlife systems and have enormous potential to enhance natural resource sustainability throughout the world.

Chair

Andrew CarlsonMichigan State UniversityCenter for Systems Integration and Sustainability; Program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior; Department of Fisheries and WildlifeEast Lansing, MI 48823

Chair

William W. Taylor, Ph.D.University Distinguished Professor in Global Fisheries Systems:Michigan State UniversityCenter for Systems Integration and Sustainability1405 S. Harrison Road, Suite 115 Manly Miles Bldg.Fisheries & Wildlife; Center for Systems Integration and SustainabilityEast Lansing, MI 48823-5243

Chair

Abigail BennettCenter for Systems Integration and SustainabilityFisheries and Wildlife

Chair

Jianguo LiuMichigan State UniversityCenter for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and WildlifeEast Lansing, MI 48823

Title:

Fishery-Dependent Observing and Monitoring


This symposium will focus on observing and monitoring in commercial fisheries, with a focus on fishery observers. Fishery observers are scientists who collect data from commercial fishing vessels and processing facilities to support conservation and management of fish stocks, protected species, and ecosystems. Observers provide some of the only data available that are critically needed to inform protected species population assessments, which in turn provide essential information for reducing threats to these populations. Symposium attendees will be able to connect with researchers and scientists who collect and analyze fundamental fishery-dependent data necessary to strengthen fisheries management. This symposium will be of special interest to attendees who have worked as fishery observers and/or use observer data for research or management. Topics covered by this symposium will include fishery-dependent data collection, analysis, and program design; bycatch estimation and assessment for protected resources and catch share fisheries; fishery observer risk analysis and safety; and incorporating electronic technologies with human observing programs. The organizers hope to include working observers as presenters.

Organizer

Lee BenakaNational Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration

Organizer

Elizabeth ChiltonNOAA FisheriesOffice of Science and TechnologySilver Spring, MD 20910

Organizer

Yong-Woo LeeNOAA FisheriesOffice of Science and TechnologySilver Spring, MD 20910

Title:

Fishing for a Connection: advancing R3 and reducing disproportionality through improved cultural competency


The ratio of non-whites, women, and Millennials participating in recreational fishing and hunting is notably less than the ratio of these segments in the overall US population. This same trend is reflected in the composition of fisheries and wildlife professional networks. This disproportionality obscures the values that underrepresented groups can both bring to and derive from America’s fisheries, wildlife, and public agencies and institutions. This symposium explores techniques to uncover unconscious biases and improve cultural competency to reduce this disproportionality and advance fishing/hunting recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) efforts. A broad array of speakers representing the private and public sector will speak to a variety of approaches to listen better, engage more broadly, and try new techniques to better serve the public and America’s fishes.

Organizer

Katrina LiebichUS Fish and Wildlife ServiceFisheriesAnchorage, AK 99503

Title:

Fresh Science Related To Offshore Aquaculture


“Aquaculture production in the offshore marine environment is not without its challenges. Fish are raised in an open system that can have serious consequences for ocean ecosystems if they are not sited, designed, and managed properly. There have been numerous examples of poor production practices that have impacted the surrounding environment by exposure to external stressors, such as: disease, chemicals, and therapeutants; excess nutrients that can impact biodiversity in benthic habitats; the release of non-native species that compete with native wild species; and potentially fatal interactions with wild species that are entangled in gear or intentionally killed as a perceived threat to the farmed stock. The perceived pressure put on wild stocks to use fishery products (fish meal and fish oil) to feed farmed fish, coupled with water quality and benthic effects from fish food and feces is another concern. While these are all relevant concerns, research has shown that proper siting and husbandry practices, best management practices, and the use of appropriate technologies and tools result in greater productivity while greatly minimizing and even eliminating some of these stressors altogether.”[i]

This symposium aims to provide fresh science related to offshore aquaculture. Abstracts for presentations are solicited from policy and management agencies; fisheries, wildlife, and aquaculture industries; non-governmental organizations; technology-partners; research institutions; citizen-scientists; academia (including students); and other stakeholders.

[i] Offshore Aquaculture in the Southern California Bight Workshop Report. April 28-29, 2015. p. 15 http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/downloads/Aquaculture_Workshop_WEB.pdf

Chair

Michelle L. “Mick” WalshFlorida Keys Community CollegeMarine Environmental TechnologyKey West, FL 33040

Title:

From grassroots to mainstream: how informed advocacy and social branding can drive conservation of fish and wildlife


As environmental awareness in society increases, grassroots activism and initiatives become more prominent and important. Grassroots environmental movements can be powerful in that they catalyze stakeholders, and advocate for change in human use of natural resources related to unified conservation goals. In some cases, the effectiveness of such movements can be bolstered by the integration of evidence, leading to ‘informed advocacy’ rather than solely relying on emotion and anecdotes to foster change. Further, because such movements can spread quickly through social networks (digital and otherwise), understanding the intricacies of social branding can allow for the effective integration of grassroots conservation movements with traditional management efforts focused on fish, wildlife, and the habitats they rely on. For our symposium, speakers will provide a range of examples of grassroots conservation efforts focused on fish and wildlife, the benefits and hurdles that can be faced, and reveal how grassroots conservation efforts can increase their effectiveness through partnerships with scientists, management agencies, and even celebrities.

Chair

Andy J. DanylchukUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst160 Holdsworth WayDepartment of Environmental ConservationAmherst, MA 01003-9285

Chair

Steven CookeCarleton UniversityDepartment of BiologyOttawa, ON K1S5B6Canada

Title:

Getting it right: Contemporary approaches to captive rearing and release for recreation, restoration, and recovery.


Captive rearing is a common tool in fisheries and wildlife management, and applications include supporting recreational and harvest-based fishing, hunting, and trapping sectors; restoration and recovery of declining populations; rehabilitation of displaced or injured animals; and outreach and education. Implementation occurs via a variety of vectors: zoos, aquariums, hatcheries, rehabilitation centers. Outcomes range from wild supplementation or release programs to refugia maintaining individuals or populations entirely in captivity. Despite the multi-faceted role that rearing programs play in management, wild populations exposed to captively-raised cohorts may experience altered performance and even transgenerational shifts in variation. Successful application relies on continued efforts to improve processes, protocols, and decision-making.

With varied objectives and emerging challenges, the captive-rearing community must apply rapidly advancing technologies and techniques to meet goals and targets that are often moving while also supporting interests of stakeholders across the conservation spectrum and ensuring the health and persistence of fish and wildlife communities.

This symposium aims to build bridges between aquatic and terrestrial agencies and missions to ensure that efforts are maximized and outcomes enhanced. We ask that authors submit papers revolving around one or more of the following topics:

· Descriptions of advancements in genetic management and techniques fostering improved outcomes.

· Descriptions of means to enhance or enrich captive environments which lead to shifts in performance.

· Strategies or tactics to acclimatize individuals or populations either for release into the wild or for introduction to captivity.

· Strategies or tactics to reduce domestication of captive animals.

· Efforts to target fitness or improve performance in wild release or supplementation programs.

· Means to manage, diagnose, treat, or prevent disease outbreaks and pathogen exchange.

Abstracts for presentations are solicited from policy and management agencies, fish and wildlife industries, non-governmental organizations, technology-partners, research institutions, citizen-scientists, academia (including students), and other stakeholders.

Chair

Nathan WilkeUS Fish and Wildlife ServiceDepartment of InteriorFalls Church, VA 22041

Organizer


Organizer

Valorie TitusGreen Mountain ColegeWildlife and Forestry Conservation, Natural Resources ManagementPoultney, VT 05764

Organizer

Steve LochmannUniversity of Arkansas at Pine BluffAquaculture and FisheriesPine Bluff, AR 71601

Title:

Gnarly Problems and Innovative Solutions: Scientists and Public Land Managers Working Together to Sustain Ecosystems Long-term


Land management agencies and organizations steward landscapes, home to wildlife and fish species, extending from tundra to tropics. Human population growth has increased stress on ecosystems. Stressors include traditional sources, such as timber harvesting, recreation, grazing, mining, energy development, hunting and fishing, and new sources including invasive species, climate change, drought, disease, changes in fire regimes, new forms of recreational activities, and non-timber extraction. Faced with increasing land uses, agencies and organizations rely on research scientists to help develop management solutions that sustain the ecological integrity of ecosystems.

The Wildlife Society and American Fisheries Society are both concerned with management application of scientific knowledge. We will illustrate close collaborations between scientist(s) and land manager(s) that have effectively addressed complex fisheries and wildlife management challenges with new, feasible, and measureable solutions from science. This symposium will: 1) expose participants to the variety of fisheries and wildlife challenges facing managers of public lands and the scientists that support them, 2) provide examples of how fisheries and wildlife science/management collaborations are working across the country, and 3) illustrate the value of fisheries and wildlife research and management professionals working together to solve problems.

Chair

Douglas BoyceUnited States Forest ServiceDenver, CO

Moderator

Monica TomosyUSDA Forest ServiceWashington, DC

Moderator

John Rothlisberger, PhDNational Aquatic Monitoring Program Leader:USDA Forest Service860 North 1200 EastResearch & DevelopmentWashington, DC 20250

Moderator

Dan ShivelyU.S. Forest Service911 NE 11th AvenueWashington, DC

Organizer

Douglas BoyceUnited States Forest ServiceDenver, CO

Organizer

Monica TomosyUSDA Forest ServiceWashington, DC

Title:

Habitat and Distribution Modeling Across Terrains and Disciplines: Addressing Common Challenges in Fisheries and Wildlife


Fisheries and wildlife management and conservation are increasingly interdisciplinary processes, and this is especially true for approaches that use habit and distribution models to identify the ecological niches essential for feeding, rearing, and reproduction. Multiple analytical methods have been developed to understand relationships between environmental factors and species distributions, and how these distributions may change under different climate- and land-use scenarios. In addition, scientists develop habitat suitability models that rely on combinations of physical, biological, and chemical models to determine how conditions differ between geographic locations where species are present and absent. Such approaches have been successfully used to identify areas to prioritize for conservation and protection of threatened species, and to identify species that might be at risk due to loss of habitat associated with changing climate and land-use patterns. In this symposium, we welcome talks that combine species distribution or movement data with habitat models to address questions related to fish and wildlife conservation and management.

Chair

Mark HendersonU.S. Geological SurveyCalifornia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research UnitArcata, CA 95521

Organizer

Mary C. FabrizioVirginia Institute of Marine ScienceP.O Box 1346Fisheries ScienceGloucester Point, VA 23062

Organizer

Jennifer WilkeningSouthern Nevada Fish and Wildlife OfficeLas Vegas, NV 89130

Organizer

Thomas EdwardsU.S. Geological SurveyUtah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research UnitLogan, UT 84322

Title:

How might coastal and ocean acidification affect marine aquaculture?


The culturing of marine finfish and shellfish for profit is expected to grow dramatically over the next decades. Many of the target taxa are found and captively reared in the nearshore and coastal environments or using waters drawn from these locales. These are the same environments that are prone to particularly high and variable levels of carbon dioxide in their waters. High levels of CO2 leads to more acidic waters, which has been labeled ocean or coastal acidification. This symposium will bring together practicing aquaculturalists, academic and government scientists, and regulators whose skills and interests address various aspects of the risks of the aquaculture enterprise to acidification of seawater. Papers are encouraged from commercial growers of shellfish and finfish, scientists who study subject from the earliest life-stages to grow-out individuals, and regulators who must contend with the siting and parameters of sea- and land-based aquaculture production strategies.

Chair


Chair

R. Christopher ChambersNOAA/NMFS/NEFSC Howard Marine Sciences LaboratoryHighlands, NJ 07732-0428

Title:

If the Time is Right: Phenology Match and Mismatches Across Ecosystems


Timing is everything. Climate change will likely shift the timing of ecological dynamics within habitats, which may spillover to influence across-ecosystem subsidies and interactions. Across-ecosystem subsidies can often be critically important for unproductive habitats. As a classic example, ocean-grown salmonids breeding in streams can be a boon for freshwater habitats and riparian consumers. However, as the timing of key ecological events shift in some habitats but not others, these across ecosystem subsidies may increase, decrease or be under-utilized. In the salmon example, will bears and other terrestrial consumers be ready to hunt for spawning salmon if the timing of the migration shifts? Will freshwater scavenging invertebrates be at a life stage when they can utilize decomposing carcasses? These timing shifts have the potential to influence interactions between micro-habitats (e.g., littoral and pelagic zones of lakes, canopy levels in the forest), across ecosystems (e.g., marine-terrestrial boundaries), and between fisheries and wildlife. This session seeks to address how within- and across-ecosystem subsidies will change due to climate change induced phenology shifts. What systems are resilient to these shifts? Will invasive or native species be more likely to adapt to subsidies with altered phenologies? Can we predict how these shifts will influence population dynamics in threatened species, or which species may become threatened as key subsidies are no longer available?

Organizer

Suzanne KelsonUniversity of Nevada, RenoBiologyReno, NV 89527

Organizer

James SimmonsUniversity of Nevada, RenoDepartment of BiologyReno, NV 89557

Organizer

Sudeep ChandraUniversity of Nevada, RenoDepartment of BiologyReno, NV 89557

Title:

Innovations in Fisheries Bioengineering – Blending Ecology, Engineering, and Policy to Address Current Challenges


Many river systems have been altered by human action over the last century. Among other impacts, the development of water control structures, dams, and road networks affect aquatic habitat quality and inhibit movement patterns of migratory and riverine fishes. While such structures are often essential to human society, their disruption of the natural patterns and life histories of aquatic species can be ameliorated with thoughtful application of creative designs that support aquatic connectivity. Fish scientists, hydrologists, and engineers combine their expertise in the bioengineering field to advance fisheries science, seek innovative solutions to river management, and to minimization the anthropogenic impacts on aquatic habitat quality, connectivity and fish populations.

The objectives of the symposium is to bring an interdisciplinary perspective on the interactions between human development of river systems and fish populations, and share science about the following issues:

· Providing safe and timely fish passage in river systems

· Fish Protection, exclusion, and guidance

· Bioengineering project monitoring and performance evaluation

· Stream Restoration and Aquatic Habitat Design

· The Innovation Process and human dimensions in bioengineering -This will be a panel discussion with some speakers from the symposium and a representative from NMFS. The focus will be on how we can move forward with innovations to benefit fish population under the current regulatory umbrella. We will address questions such as: How can we create opportunities for testing and advancing new ideas while protecting ESA-listed populations? What are some issues that we have encountered that could benefit from innovative design?

As human development of rivers and their surrounding basins affects fish and wildlife populations worldwide, the exchange of information and ideas in this session will be of interest to a wide audience within the AFS and TWS communities.

Organizer

Jonathon Mann, P.E.Fisheries Engineer:California Department of Fish and Wildlife90 S. E Street #310Conservation EngineeringSacramento, CA 95811

Organizer

Randy BeckwithCalifornia Department of Water ResourcesSacramento, CA 95814

Organizer

MaryLouise KeefeR2 Resource Consultants, Inc.Vancouver, WA 98684

Organizer

Elsa GoerigUniversité du Québec à Trois-RivièresGRILTrois-Rivières, QCCanada

Title:

Integrating Advanced Technologies to Improve Data Quality and Reduce Bias in Fisheries and Wildlife Population Research and Management


As computing, network, software, and scientific technologies continue to advance and develop rapidly, so too do their applications to fisheries and wildlife research. As a result of this fast-paced growth, keeping atop of new technological developments which could benefit fisheries and wildlife research can be time-consuming and overwhelming. Additionally, use of new technologies can be daunting when specialized knowledge is required to implement or modify these new tools or approaches. With no assurance that there will be a positive cost-benefit to a project to use new technology(ies), this can further discourage researchers from undertaking projects which incorporate them. However, recent research is showing that these tools can provide scientists the opportunity to improve data quality, reduce survey bias, reduce cost, and sample increasingly remote areas around the globe. The focus of this symposium, hosted by the AFS Fisheries Information & Technology Section (FITS), is to highlight current projects which are integrating advanced technologies and how they are thereby achieving one or more of the aforementioned goals within the terrestrial, marine, and/or freshwater environment(s).

Chair

Sarah GrastyUniversity of South FloridaCollege of Marine ScienceSt. Petersburg, FL 33701

Organizer

Sarah GrastyUniversity of South FloridaCollege of Marine ScienceSt. Petersburg, FL 33701

Organizer

Kayla KeyTennessee Tech University, Tennessee Cooperative Fisheries Research UnitBiologyCookeville, TN 38505

Organizer

Julie Defilippi SimpsonAtlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics ProgramArlington, VA 22201

Organizer

Rebecca M. KrogmanIowa Department of Natural ResourcesLarge Impoundments Fisheries ResearchChariton, IA 50049

Title:

Integrating technical and collaborative adaptive management to tackle society’s complex natural resource problems


Since the early 1980s when it was introduced, adaptive resources management has become an oft-cited approach to conservation, with potential benefits that can accrue to improved resource understanding and effective stakeholder collaboration. However, successful applications of adaptive management to real-world problems have been limited, in part because collaborative and technical efforts have progressed along separate tracks with few interactions between them. At a joint meeting in 2017 of the Collaborative Adaptive Management Network and Adaptive Management Conference Series, members endorsed an organization merger, to promote the joint application of technical knowledge and collaboration in learning-based adaptive decision making. This symposium will focus on the integration of these two themes, with an emphasis on the interconnections between science and collaboration in the management of populations and habitats across aquatic and upland systems. Symposium participants will discuss the opportunities and challenges with current approaches to adaptive resources management, and explore the potential for improvements in adaptive collaboration and ongoing scientific inquiry to produce better resource management. Among other issues, discussions will focus on (1) the extent to which technical issues in learning-based adaptive management could benefit from a context of collaboration among stakeholders and partners; and (2) the extent to which collaborative aspects of adaptive management could benefit by being framed in terms of a technical decision analytic context. The symposium will include a mixture of presentations and panel discussion by experts involved in adaptive management for fish and wildlife and their habitats at different temporal, geographic, and organizational scales.

Chair

Ken WilliamsUSGSReston, VA

Title:

It Takes a Village: Success Stories in Community-Based Conservation


Communities come in many forms, including villages, tribes, or even interest-based groups. One of the basic objectives of community-based conservation (CBC) is to integrate the management of natural resources, while improving the lives of local people. CBC programs can come in a variety of forms, from oversight of illegal harvest to ecotourism, and my even assume the full rights and responsibilities of managing wildlife, fisheries, and land. CBC programs also occur at different spatial scales, including watershed level management plans down to local marine or freshwater protected areas. Some have a high level of stakeholder involvement, while others are run by local villages with no outside involvement or support. This symposium will explore the global success stories about community-based conservation programs both in marine and freshwater systems and will demonstrate how they can be a vital part of the conservation process.

Chair

Aaron KoningCornell UniversityAtkinson Center for a Sustainable FutureIthaca, NY 14853

Organizer

Julie ClaussenResearch Scientist:Fisheries Conservation Foundation1816 S. Oak St.Champaign, IL 61820

Title:

Lahontan Cutthroat Trout: Advances and Developments in Conservation, Science, and Management


Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (LCT) are one of the iconic animals of the Great Basin and largest of the subspecies of Cutthroat Trout. LCT from terminal lakes were commonly found in the 20 to 30-pound range. LCT have not fared well in the past 100-plus years, being displaced from more than 95% of their historic range and have been listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act since the 1970s. Recently LCT conservation partners have been engaged in updating goals, objectives and the approach to restoration efforts for LCT using current conservation science framework. This symposium will highlight recent contributions from research, science, management, and conservation for LCT.

Organizer

David LentzCalifornia Dept. Fish and WildlifeSacramento, CA 95811

Organizer

Chad MellisonUS Fish and Wildlife ServiceDepartment of InteriorReno, NV 89502

Organizer

Sean VogtU.S. Fish and Wildlife SeviceReno, NV 89502

Title:

Management Applications of Estuarine Datasets


Fisheries and wildlife datasets collected in estuaries serve many functions. These datasets can support decision making by managers, providing a critical function to enable decision makers to choose the best steps forward for the resource. The purpose of this symposium is to explore the many ways that estuarine datasets contribute critical information for resource management. Examples of the synergy between datasets and management abound - in fact it is likely more difficult to find an example of a dataset that would not be valuable to management decisions in some way. For example, there may be management processes in place that rely on real-time data collection on an endangered species to inform management actions. Or, an important new discovery by a long-term monitoring program may spur a new plan of action (e.g., the discovery of a newly introduced species or source of contamination). Drawing the link between a dataset and the critical management decisions that it supports can be fundamental to the continued collection of such important data. For this symposium on management applications of estuarine datasets, we invite talks by anyone who works in estuaries - fisheries and wildlife professionals alike!

Chair

Catherine JohnstonUS Fish and Wildlife Service

Title:

Marking, Tagging, and Tracking of Fish and Wildlife


Fish and wildlife tracking data inform how individual organisms and populations distribute locally, utilize habitat, migrate over larger scales, and evolve over time. Technological advances in tracking systems ignite the development of new questions about the ecology of species where previous tools did not exist to address them. Analyzed carefully, tracking data may indicate changes in climate and land use, biodiversity, invasive species, predict spread of diseases or parasites, and correspond to effectiveness of stocking efforts.

Tracking measures include utilization of physical marking tags, light-level geolocators, acoustic, radio, satellite, and GPS that enable investigation of spatial ecology and behavior of a variety of terrestrial, aerial and aquatic species. Tagging methods vary by size, price, memory and power capacity, scale, and ease of use.

Successful marking and tracking approaches not only involve proper tagging and placement of monitors to detect movements, but also require robust analyses and effective communication of large datasets. This symposium will share technologies, methodologies, findings, analytical approaches, and troubleshooting tips across a broad array of species and objectives to highlight more recent developments and encourage collaboration. We ask that authors submit papers revolving around one or more of the following topics:

· Description of novel tagging methods or monitoring approaches

· Description of novel combinations of technologies for improved data quality or quantity, including metadata collection

· Connection of tra

Documents

Session Listing AFS Symposium Entriesafstws2019.org/.../04/print_2019_symp_NoContactInfo.docx · Web viewThis symposium will focus on the current state and application of fish bioenergetics