FishTail, Indices and Supporting Data Characterizing the Current and Future Risk to Fish Habitat Degradation in the Northeast Climate Science Center Region

Human impacts occurring throughout the Northeast United StatesDOI Northeast Climate Science Center, including urbanization, agriculture, and dams, have multiple effects on the region’s streams which support economically valuable stream fishes. Changes in climate are expected to lead to additional impacts in stream habitats and fish assemblages in multiple ways, including changing stream water temperatures. To manage streams for current impacts and future changes, managers need region-wide information for decision-making and developing proactive management strategies. Our project met that need by integrating results of a current condition assessment of stream habitats based on fish response to human land use, water quality impairment, and fragmentation by dams with estimates of which stream habitats may change in the future. Results are available for all streams in the NE CSC region through a spatially-explicit, web-based viewer (FishTail). With this tool, managers can evaluate how streams of interest are currently impacted by land uses and assess if those habitats may change with climate. These results, available in a comparable way throughout the NE CSC, provide natural resource managers, decision-makers, and the public with a wealth of information to better protect and conserve stream fishes and their habitats. These data are integrated into a web-based decision support viewer (FishTail): 1) current condition of streams determined from disturbances limiting stream fishes, 2) future conditions resulting from changes in climate, and, 3) changes in water temperature for key locations resulting from climate changes for all streams of the NE CSC region. The report that documents these data is: Daniel, W., N. Sievert, D. Infante, J. Whittier, J. Stewart, C. Paukert, and K. Herreman. 2016. A decision support mapper for conserving stream fish habitats of the Northeast Climate Science Center region. Final Report to the US Geological Survey, Northeast Climate Science Center, Amherst, MA.

据美国东北气候科学中心（Northeast Climate Science Center，简称NE CSC）的相关研究，美国东北部全域的人类活动——包括城市化、农业开发与水坝建设——对该区域内支撑具有经济价值溪流鱼类的溪流产生了多重影响。气候变化预计将以多种方式对溪流生境与鱼类群落造成额外影响，其中包括溪流水温的变化。
为针对当前人类活动影响与未来环境变化开展溪流管理，管理人员需要全域尺度的相关信息以支撑决策制定与前瞻性管理策略的开发。本项目通过整合两方面成果满足了这一需求：一是基于鱼类对人类土地利用、水质受损以及水坝阻隔的响应开展的溪流生境现状评估结果，二是对未来可能发生变化的溪流生境的预测结果。
研究团队通过一款空间显式的网页端可视化工具（FishTail），可为NE CSC辖区内的所有溪流提供上述评估与预测成果。借助该工具，管理人员可评估目标溪流当前受土地利用的影响程度，并预判这些生境是否会随气候变化发生改变。
这些在NE CSC辖区内可统一获取的研究结果，可为自然资源管理人员、决策者以及社会公众提供大量详实信息，助力其更好地保护溪流鱼类及其生境。本数据集已整合至网页端决策支持可视化工具（FishTail）中，包含三部分内容：1）基于限制溪流鱼类生存的干扰因素得到的溪流现状评估结果；2）由气候变化引发的溪流未来生境预测结果；3）NE CSC辖区内所有溪流关键点位因气候变化导致的水温变化情况。
相关数据的归档报告为：Daniel, W.、N. Sievert、D. Infante、J. Whittier、J. Stewart、C. Paukert与K. Herreman，2016年。《东北气候科学中心辖区溪流鱼类生境保护决策支持制图工具》，提交给美国地质调查局东北气候科学中心的最终报告，马萨诸塞州阿默斯特。