Department of Environmental Conservation

Master of Science, Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation

Project:

Video Monitoring and Migratory Characteristics of Anadromous River Herring in Coastal Massachusetts Rivers

Contact:

mburakmburak(at)eco.umass.edu

Position:

Research Assistant

Weblinks:

River Herring Video Project

http://eco.umass.edu/index.php/research-outreach/featured-research/river-herring-video-project/

Support:

Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries

Faculty Advisor:

Dr. Martha E. Mather and Dr. John T. Finn

Project Abstract:

River herring are an important component of coastal ecosystems, and their abundance are currently in decline throughout their range. Environmental monitoring is crucial to the success of ecological research and restoration efforts. Current methods used to collect data on the population status and trends of river herring are expensive and lacking in many small coastal rivers. Video monitoring provides an inexpensive, accurate, and reliable method of obtaining biological data. Here, video monitoring is used in four coastal Massachusetts rivers to enumerate the number of river herring returning to freshwater to reproduce. Furthermore, characteristics and patterns of river herring migrations are also investigated.

Publications:

Burak, M.K., M.E. Mather, J.T. Finn, J.B. Kim, and R.M. Muth. Applying video technology to improve the accuracy of biological data collection for monitoring anadromous river herring: Challenges and opportunities. Poster session presented at: Fisheries Management. 93rd Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting; 2008 Aug 3-8; Milwaukee, WI.