4.2 Aquatic Communities
4.2.11.6 Recommendations Monitoring of aquatic taxa is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health and gaug- ing the resilience of organisms to a changing climate. Tese monitoring eforts will inform future decisions on how to manage aquatic species. In addition to monitoring, there are several research questions that need to be answered about certain species or taxa of aquatic organisms. Section 4.2.2 provides recommendations appropriate for all aquatic communities, statewide. Actions specifc to the river basins that contain stream swamp communities are provided in Section 4.5. Surveys. Distributional and status surveys are needed for aquatic snails, crayfsh, mussels, and fsh (in order of general need).
• Determine the components of foraging bat communities along rivers.
• Establish species-specifc surveys to improve our knowledge of the status and distribu- tion of the Least Bittern, American Bittern, Yellow Rail, and Black Rail at all times of the year (Conway et al. 2004) . Monitoring. Monitoring of aquatic taxa is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health and gauging the resilience of organisms to a changing climate. Tese monitoring eforts will inform future decisions on how to manage aquatic species. Long-term moni- toring is needed to identify population trends and to assess performance of conservation actions. Monitoring plans should be coordinated with other existing monitoring programs where feasible.
• Monitor water quality below large agricultural farms (including livestock and poultry operations).
• Establish mist net stations for passerine birds in this habitat type at all times of the year.
Research. Research topics that facilitate appropriate conservation actions include habitat use and preferences, reproductive behavior, fecundity, population dynamics and genetics, feeding, competition, and food web dynamics. Research must also be conducted to deter- mine vulnerability of priority species to specifc threats and studies should provide recom- mendations for mitigation and restoration. Aquatic species propagation is an area of cur- rent and ongoing research. Developing techniques for the propagation of aquatic species is critical for preserving them and their genetic stock. Tis is especially true for those that are rare, at high risk of extinction or extirpation, and difcult to propagate in a laboratory setting.
• Verify the genetic makeup of the Sandhills Salamander, which has yet to be formally described.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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