Chapter 4 Habitats
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
• Monitor the presence and distribution of exotic species in the basin, as well as the status of priority populations Banded Sunfish Ironcolor Shiner 4.5.19.5.3 Research Research topics that facilitate appropriate conservation actions include habitat use and preferences, reproductive behavior, fecundity, population dynamics and genetics, feeding, competition, impacts of climate change and invasive species, and food web dynamics. Increased understanding of life histories and status helps determine the vulnerability of priority species to further imperilment, in addition to identifying possibilities for improved management and conservation. Studies should provide recommendations for mitigation and restoration. Formal descriptions for known or putative undescribed species and investigations aimed at resolving taxonomic status are needed. Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats • Determine vulnerability of species across all taxa groups to contaminants such as endocrine- disrupting chemicals (EDCs), microplastics, and other compounds that are present, as well as the prevalence of these compounds in this unique watershed.
• Support research on the effects of climate change on aquatic communities in the basin, particularly changes in temperature regimes, sea level rise, and extreme weather patterns.
• Support research investigating drivers behind the apparent decline in the Ironcolor Shiner. Ironcolor Shiner • Support research resolving taxonomic uncertainty in priority taxa, such as crayfishes.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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