Chapter 4 Habitats
4.2.10.6.2 Monitoring Monitoring involves repeated observation and recording of specific parameters to show trends over time. Long-term monitoring that includes statistical and quantitative analysis in the design is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health and gauging the resilience of organisms to changing conditions (Gitzen et al. 2012, Lindenmayer and Likens 2009) . Monitoring efforts should include identification of population trends, as well as assessment of impacts from conservation or development activities. These efforts will inform species and habitat management decisions. Long-term monitoring sites need to be identified, and monitoring protocols developed for all priority species. Monitoring plans should be coordinated with other existing monitoring programs where feasible. Monitoring of aquatic taxa is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health and gauging the resilience of organisms to a changing climate. These monitoring efforts will inform future decisions on how to manage aquatic species.
Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats
• Develop or enhance long-term monitoring for amphibians, reptiles ( Taylor and Jones 2002 ), and bat species ( Ellis et al. 2002 ) that use riparian areas of large rivers.
• Continue existing programs and expand monitoring of anoxic and hypoxic water conditions, particularly during spring anadromous fish spawning, summer droughts, and before and after tropical storms.
• Install new and maintain existing USGS flow/water quality monitoring stations to collect real- time discharge and DO data.
4.2.10.6.3 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 determine vulnerability of priority species to specific threats, and studies should provide recommendations for mitigation and restoration. Aquatic species propagation is an area of current and ongoing research. Developing techniques for propagation of aquatic species is critical for preserving those species and their genetic stock, particularly those that are rare, at high risk of extinction or extirpation and difficult to propagate in a laboratory setting.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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