Chapter 4 Habitats
over time. Priorities for conducting distributional and status surveys need to focus on species believed to be declining or mainly dependent on at-risk or sensitive communities.
Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats
• Fishes – determine distribution and status of priority species. Banded Sunfish Ironcolor Shiner Blackbanded Sunfish Least Brook Lamprey
Mimic Shiner V-lip Redhorse
• Continue to conduct exploratory surveys for priority species that have a high potential of occurring in the river basin but are not currently known to occur. Bridle Shiner Ironcolor Shiner • Mussels – determine distribution and status of priority species. Alewife Floater Creeper Triangle Floater Yellow Lampmussel • Crayfishes – determine distribution and status of priority species. Carolina Ladle Crayfish Pamlico Crayfish North Carolina Spiny Crayfish • Snails – conduct baseline distribution surveys on all species that occur in the basin. Dwarf Wedgemussel Eastern Pondmussel Green Floater
Ridged Lioplax
4.5.17.5.2 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.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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