MATOS - Mid-Atlantic Acoustic Telemetry Observation System

Project Title: National Information Collaboration on Ecohydraulics (NICE): Beneficial Use for Fisheries (Poplar Island)

MATOS Project Code: popisl

Data Type: Deployment

Project Duration: August 2024 - January 2026

Project Description: Most efforts to assess beneficial reuse of dredge material has focused on the sustainability and resilience of the habitats and structures created. For example, Arreola et al. (2022) has shown that Poplar Island, created through the beneficial reuse of dredge material, supports hundreds of species of wildlife and waterfowl. Less attention has been given to the impacts of the dredging activity itself, and of the impacts of beneficial reuse on finfish and shellfish species in the water. Here we propose a research program to design and test approaches to measuring the impacts of beneficial reuse of dredge material on finfish and shellfish in the Chesapeake Bay. In particular, the research program will focus on four iconic species in the Chesapeake. We will focus on two fish species - the threatened and endangered Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), and two shellfish species – the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) and the softshell clam (Mya arenaria).

Objectives:

Identify what species are using the habitat around Poplar Island

Principal Investigator:	Thomas Miller (Mid - Atlantic Acoustic Telemetry Observation System)
Email:	miller@umces.edu

Point of Contact:	Evan Kostelecky
Email:	ekostelecky@umces.edu

Participating Organizations:

UMCES

Citations:

Arreola D, Hernandez J, Vesco V, Reddy KR (2022) Dredged Material Decision Tool (DMDT) for Sustainab

UMCES Poplar Island Array