Session C6 - The Effects of Dam Removal on the East Branch of the Eightmile River, Connecticut
Location
UMass Amherst
Event Website
http://fishpassage.ecs.umass.edu/Conference2012/
Start Date
6-6-2012 3:45 PM
End Date
6-6-2012 4:05 PM
Description
The hydrography of the East Branch of the Eightmile River has been modified since the 1720's when a dam was constructed on the Zemko property. While the dam has occasionally fallen into disrepair, the dam has largely been intact for more than the last hundred years. In 2006, the water in the impoundment behind the dam was drawn down and the dam was completely removed by fall 2007; a rocky connector was constructed between the portion above and below the former dam. We have surveyed fishes, benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI), water chemistry and physical parameters from 2004 through 2010 at the former dam sites and at a control site five river miles downstream. The biological communities have changed dramatically since drawdown and dam removal. The inter-annual variation of the communities in the vicinity of the dam site is significantly higher than at control sites. The data from both fish and benthic macroinvertebrates indicate that the patterns of change or "recovery" differ in the sections of river above and below the dam. We will ask whether there has been recovery from dam removal in this small section of stream. We will also discuss the concepts of resilience and adaptation in relation to the functioning of the streams.
Session C6 - The Effects of Dam Removal on the East Branch of the Eightmile River, Connecticut
UMass Amherst
The hydrography of the East Branch of the Eightmile River has been modified since the 1720's when a dam was constructed on the Zemko property. While the dam has occasionally fallen into disrepair, the dam has largely been intact for more than the last hundred years. In 2006, the water in the impoundment behind the dam was drawn down and the dam was completely removed by fall 2007; a rocky connector was constructed between the portion above and below the former dam. We have surveyed fishes, benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI), water chemistry and physical parameters from 2004 through 2010 at the former dam sites and at a control site five river miles downstream. The biological communities have changed dramatically since drawdown and dam removal. The inter-annual variation of the communities in the vicinity of the dam site is significantly higher than at control sites. The data from both fish and benthic macroinvertebrates indicate that the patterns of change or "recovery" differ in the sections of river above and below the dam. We will ask whether there has been recovery from dam removal in this small section of stream. We will also discuss the concepts of resilience and adaptation in relation to the functioning of the streams.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/fishpassage_conference/2012/June6/32
Comments
Professor Barry Chernoff joined the Wesleyan Faculty in 2003 where he holds the Robert K. Schumann Chair of Environmental Studies. He currently chairs the Environmental Studies Major and is Director of the College of the Environment. He teaches courses in Environmental Studies, Tropical Ecology, Aquatic Ecosystem Conservation, Quantitative Analysis and Evolutionary Biology for the departments of Biology and Earth and Environmental Sciences. Chernoff's research centers on the freshwater fishes of the Neotropical region, primarily those in South America in the Amazon. His research includes, ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation. He has also led international teams on expeditions designed to conserve large watersheds of the world, having made more than 32 expeditions in 12 countries. Recently, Professor Chernoff and his students have been working on aquatic ecology and conservation of Connecticut watersheds. In the past he has held professorial and curatorial positions at the Field Museum, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Pennsylvania and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. He holds visiting positions at Universidad Central de Venezuela and the Museu Zoologia de Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brasil. He has authored and co-authored 87 scientific articles and books. Chernoff has received a number of awards including the Caleb T. Winchester Outstanding Scholar and Teacher Award, 1 May 2006, awarded by Xi of Psi Upsilon, Wesleyan University and a Commendation for Excellence in Teaching, University of Chicago, 2000. Chernoff was elected to the Connecticut Academy of Sciences and Engineering in 2005, where he chaired the Environmental Science and Technology Board until 2010. From 1993-1999, he served on the U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Biological Sciences elected by the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council, and served as Vice-Chairman from 1995-1997 and Chairman from 1997-1999.