Chapter 3 North Carolina’s Species
Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats • Continue and expand incorporation of climate-related information and uncertainty into protected species reference points and related ESA actions (i.e. incidental take recommendations, biological opinions, listing, recovery, critical habitat designation) in a consistent manner across the Southeast region (Quinlan et al. 2023) . • Develop maps showing the expected future head of tide in priority watersheds, the expected distribution of Essential Fish Habitat and projections for hydrographs for rivers in which NOAA Fisheries trust resources are affected or NOAA needs to do an EFH or ESA consultation (e.g., Catawba River shad and blueback herring populations, Atlantic and Shortnose sturgeon; Roanoke ad Chowan Rivers shad and Striped Bass) (Quinlan et al. 2023).
Shad Blueback Herring Striped Bass
Atlantic Sturgeon Shortnose Sturgeon
Catawba River Chowan River Roanoke River
• Compile data on temperature (evapotranspiration), precipitation, and river discharge for use in evaluating impacts on EFH and protected species (Quinlan et al. 2023) .
Estuarine Habitats
Coastal Waters
• Study the impacts of climate change on changes in freshwater (rainfall, river flows, water use conflicts) as it affects marine mammals, sea turtles, sturgeon, and sawfish. Changes in salinity may impact marine mammals and sea turtle health and habitat suitability (Quinlan et al. 2023) .
Sea Turtles
Sturgeon
Sawfish
• Assess impacts of increasing temperatures on sea turtle sex ratios (Quinlan et al. 2023) .
Sea Turtles
• Study the impacts of a changing climate (increasing ocean temperature and acidification, shifts in trophic structure, increasing frequency and severity of tropical storms) and their effects on sea turtle nesting and sturgeon populations (Quinlan et al. 2023) . Sturgeon • Conduct post-disaster (hurricanes, freshwater intrusion events, harmful algal blooms) assessments to include research on disaster impacts and identify key areas of vulnerability for fisheries and protected resources (Quinlan et al. 2023) . Sea Turtles
• Develop models to predict changes in managed fish populations due to climate change including changes to species’ distribution, movement, and reproductive patterns.
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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