Scott Jackson (of University of Massachusetts Amherst) presented at the Adapting Forested Watersheds to Climate Change Workshop, at Antioch University New England, Keene, NH on April 4-5, 2017. The workshop was hosted by the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS), USDA Climate Hubs, and Trout Unlimited. Details at www.forestadaptation.org/water

1. Climate Change and Aquatic
Connectivity
Addressing the Effects of Road
Crossings on Stream Ecosystems
Scott Jackson

2. The Importance of Movement
Daily movements
Changes in habitat conditions
Reproduction
Access to vital habitats
Exploit vacant habitat
Population continuity
Metapopulation dynamics

4. Dams

5. Sub-standard
Culverts

6. Excessive Velocities

7. Flow Contraction
Kozmo Bates
Kozmo@AquaKoz.com

8. Inlet Drop

9. Outlet Drop
(Perching)

10. Scour Hole

11. Tail Water
Armoring

12. Insufficient Water
Depth

13. Barry Wicklow
© 1999 Joyce Gross
Robert Jenkins & Noel Burkhead
Micrographia
Micrographia
Alan Richmond

17. Openness

18. © 2003 John White
Kenneth Catania
Scott Jackson
Scott Jackson
Scott Jackson
Mink
Dusky salamander
Spring Salamander
Wood turtle
Snapping turtle
Star-nosed mole
Otter
Beaver
Muskrat

19. Reduced Access to Vital Habitats
• Spawning habitat
• Nursery habitat
• Foraging areas
• Deep water refuges
• Seasonal habitats

21. Upstream Movement into Tributaries
(total Atlantic salmon, brook trout, brown trout)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Jun-02Jul-02Aug-02Sep-02O
ct-02N
ov-02D
ec-02Jan-03Feb-03M
ar-03Apr-03M
ay-03Jun-03Jul-03Aug-03Sep-03O
ct-03N
ov-03D
ec-03Jan-04Feb-04M
ar-04
numberoffish
into Mitchell Bk (perched culvert)
into Jimmy Nolan Bk (open culvert)

31. Population Fragmentation and
Isolation
• Barriers to movement subdivide or
isolate populations
• Smaller and more isolated populations
are more vulnerable to:
– extinction due to chance events
– genetic changes

38. Processes that Maintain Regional
Populations (“Metapopulations”)
• Supplementation (“rescue effect”)
• Gene flow
• Re-colonization

39. Radu Guiasu

40. Radu Guiasu

41. Radu Guiasu

42. Radu Guiasu

43. Radu Guiasu

44. Radu Guiasu

45. Radu Guiasu

46. Radu Guiasu

47. Radu Guiasu

48. Radu Guiasu

49. Radu Guiasu

50. Radu Guiasu

51. Radu Guiasu

52. Culvert Failure

54. Culverts and Climate Change:
Changes in the climate make
culverts a critical issue for natural
resource conservation and
protection of transportation
infrastructure and public safety

55. Glimpse of Existing Situation
A survey of 6,030 single and multiple culverts in five New
England states:
Number Percent
Severe barrier 93 1.5
Significant barrier 782 13.0
Moderate barrier 2,347 38.9
Minor barrier 2,539 42.1
Insignificant barrier 269 4.5
Full passage 0 0
53.4 % are
moderate to
severe barriers
None provided
full aquatic
organism
passage

56. Source:
MA Riverways
Program
721 sq.mi.

57. Source:
MA Riverways
Program

58. Source:
MA Riverways
Program

59. Source:
MA Riverways
Program

60. Source:
MA Riverways
Program

61. Evaluating Restoration Potential for
Aquatic Barrier Removal
Habitat quality
Occupancy
Habitat suitability
Habitat condition/ecological integrity
Enhanced connectivity
Stream miles
Connectivity metric

62. Dams

64. North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity
Collaborative (NAACC)

65. North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity
Collaborative (NAACC): Objectives
• Reconnect streams & rivers to support
healthier populations of fish & wildlife
• Proactively identify and prioritize sites for
stream crossing upgrades/replacements
• Facilitate communication and information
sharing among partners

66. Depth(detail)
Expert
detailed
assessment
Expert rapid
assessment
Lay person
rapid
assessment
Breadth (objective)
Aquatic
Connectivity
Terrestrial
Connectivity
Condition
Modular approach to crossing assessment

67. Project Infrastructure
• Crossing codes
• Protocols & field data forms
• Electronic data collection
• Online Database
 Data storage & retrieval
 Scoring
 Mapping interface
• Prioritizing crossings for
assessment
• Prioritizing crossings for
mitigation
 TNC Northeast
Connectivity Project
 UMass Critical Linkages
Project

68. Distributed Coordination
North Atlantic Aquatic
Connectivity Collaborative
Project Area
L1: Local Coordinators
L2: Regional Coordinators
L3: Central Coordinators
Trainers
Lead Observers
(data collectors)
• Technicians
• Volunteers

69. Data from other Protocols
UMass: 10,933
Maine: 16,016
Vermont: 9,356
Connecticut: 2,469
NAACC (since 6/1/15)
21,839 records
90 Coordinators
414 Lead Observers

70. TNC Northeast Aquatic Connectivity Project

71. http://www.umasscaps.org
Conservation Assessment & Prioritization
System (CAPS)
Landscape Ecology Lab
Assessing ecological integrity and
supporting decision-making for
land conservation, habitat
management, project review &
permitting to protect biodiversity

72. Δ-Aquatic Connectedness metric
UMass Critical Linkages Assessment

76. Results: Linkages/crossings

80. All Streams

81. Coldwater Streams, T = 18C

82. Coldwater Streams, T = 16C

83. Critical Linkages: All Streams

84. Critical Linkages: Coldwater Streams, T = 18C

85. Critical Linkages: Coldwater Streams, T = 18C
…in 2050

86. North Atlantic Aquatic
Connectivity Collaborative
Project Area
Contacts
Scott Jackson
sjackson@umass.edu
Jessica Levine
jlevine@TNC.org
www.streamcontinuity.org