MATOS - Mid-Atlantic Acoustic Telemetry Observation System

Project Title: Habitat utilization and seasonal movements of Bowfin and Northern Snakehead.

MATOS Project Code: VIMS4AMIA

Data Type: Data

Project Duration: August 2021 - August 2025

Project Description: Bowfin, Amia calva, is an evolutionarily and ecologically important species native to much of eastern North America. It is a large bodied (to 700+ mm TL) generalist apex predator in many river systems. Relatively little is known about the spatial ecology of Bowfin, with only a single study published using acoustic telemetry to determine habitat use (from Lake Ontario; Midwood et al. 2018). Northern Snakehead, native to eastern Asia, is an established, invasive species in tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia. It is morphologically and ecologically similar to Bowfin. Beyond its occurrence in the tributaries, little is known of aspects of its ecology in these rivers. This study will employ acoustic telemetry to fill in these data gaps so that habitat use, movement patterns, temperature selectivity, and environmental responses of bowfin and snakehead can be assessed and compared in a tidal freshwater habitat in the mid-Atlantic region.

Principal Investigator:	Eric Hilton (Virginia Institute of Marine Science)
Email:	ehilton@vims.edu

Point of Contact:	Patrick McGrath
Email:	patm@vims.edu

VIMS Bowfin and Snakehead