October 12, 2016

Summaries and photos from some of the symposia at the Kansas City Annual Meeting were compiled by symposia organizers. Summaries includes links to the abstracts of the session presentations. Symposium Summary: Angling for Dinosaurs: Status and Future Study of the Ecology, Conservation, and Management of Ancient Fishes Symposium Summary: Blue Catfish: Lessons from a Large Riverine Opportunistic Catfish Symposium Summary: Cooperative Fisheries Research in Marine and Freshwater Systems: From Policy to Practice Symposium Summary: Coupled Interactions between Natural and Human Systems – On the Interplay between Aquatic Ecosystem Health, Human Behavior and Decision-Making, and Aquatic Invasive Species Symposium Summary: Effects of Diploid Grass Carp and State Grass Carp Stocking Policies on Aquatic Ecosystems Symposium Summary: Effects of Drought on Aquatic Resources, Fisheries Management, and Mitigation Strategies Symposium Summary: An Examination into Influencing the Future of Angling Participation to Sustain Conservation Support Symposium Summary: Fisheries Management from the Great Lakes to the Gulf: Sea Grant’s Role in Research, Outreach, and Building Partnerships along the Mississippi River Symposium Summary: Fisheries Research and Conservation in the “Scapes”: Needs, Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities Symposium Summary: Hatchery Fish Biologist… A Career for the Future Symposium Summary: Inland Drivers of Coastal Hypoxia Symposium Summary: Interactions between Hydrology and Nonnative Aquatic Species Symposium Summary: Management Strategy Evaluation, Decision Analysis, and Ensemble Modeling: Tools for Addressing Assessment and Management Uncertainty Symposium Summary: Managing Centrarchid Fisheries in River and Streams Symposium Summary: Pop-Up Satellite Tagging—Challenges and Solutions Symposium Summary: Preparing Fisheries Professionals with Depth and Breadth (T-Shaped Professionals) Symposium Summary: Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Restoration: Innovative Techniques to Restore Habitat in Our Nation’s Impoundments Symposium Summary: #SocialFish – Fisheries Science in 140 Characters: The Role of Social Media in Our Science Symposium Summary: Stephen Weithman: His Life Honored through the Student Award Symposium Summary: Theory and Application of Behavioral Guidance Technologies to Deter Invasive and Native Fishes Symposium Summary: Third Mississippi-Yangtze River Basins Symposium (MYRIBS): Large River Basin Fishery Resources and Environment Symposium Summary: Translating Essential Fish Habitat Science into Fishery Management Decisions Symposium Summary: Understanding Pallid Sturgeon Population Dynamics and Stressors in the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers Symposium Summary: What Data Are Needed to Ensure Freshwater Mollusk Conservation into the Future?

The Unites States has the highest diversity of freshwater gastropods and Unionidae mussels in the world. Both groups of mollusks are also considered the most endangered freshwater organisms in the United States. This symposium presented an opportunity for researchers to share knowledge that could contribute to mollusk conservation with a fisheries audience. The symposium began with an effort to develop a conservation plan for threatened mussels in the Gulf Coast Prairie region. Other presenters demonstrated the need for mussel monitoring programs and addressing biases in sampling protocols. Three presentations described efforts to model habitat suitability, including identification of high diversity hotspots for mussels and fishes in Eastern Texas, suitable mussel habitat based on hydrogeomorphic data in Missouri watersheds, and suitable habitat for threatened mussels and their host fishes in Michigan. The symposium included a presentation on differing chemical sensitivities of mussels, and ended with a presentation on the importance of morphology in identifying threatened populations of snails. This symposium helped to elevate the need for freshwater mollusk conservation within the United States and brought together leading experts from across North America.  If you would like to join a list serve on the topic of freshwater mollusk conservation, please write to:  [email protected]. Read the abstracts here. —Wesley M. Daniel, Ph.D., Research Associate, Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, Michigan State University

Pallid Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus occupy some 4,500 miles of Missouri and Mississippi rivers and Kansas City was a fitting location to host a symposium for this endangered fish, as the Missouri River flows just minutes from the conference site. This full-day session featured over 20 speakers representing a wide range of state and federal agencies and universities. The purpose of this symposium was to promote collaboration among a multitude of entities that are currently working towards Pallid Sturgeon recovery throughout the central United States. This session provided a forum to discuss hypotheses and management actions related to Pallid Sturgeon recovery and other information that could be used to improve the effectiveness of restorative efforts. A variety of presentations were given on research on Pallid Sturgeon, as well as the closely-related Shovelnose Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus, ranging from early-life history to adult stages. Topics included larval drift dynamics, habitat use, prey consumption and condition, genetics and hybridization, population modeling, spawning habitat and behavior, and post-stocking monitoring of hatchery-reared individuals, just to name a few. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was pleased to organize this event and we thank all of the presenters for their time and expertise. Read the abstracts here.  —Nathan Gosch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Sponsors: NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation and NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology Habitat protection reached a milestone in 2016 with the 20-year anniversary of the essential fish habitat (EFH) provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. In celebration of this milestone, speakers shared key elements that enable habitat science to be translated into successful management actions. Steve Brown (NOAA Fisheries) reviewed goals, objectives, and strategies for advancing habitat assessments at NOAA Fisheries. John Stadler (NOAA Fisheries) outlined his experience working with the Pacific Fishery Management Council to review and revise EFH information and conservation measures for Pacific Coast groundfish. Douglas Zemeckis (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) provided findings on the spatial and temporal distribution of cod spawning activity during the winter in Massachusetts Bay and the Gulf of Maine. Stephen Brandt (Oregon State University) presented insights on how to better define habitat quality and dynamics for pelagic fishes to delimit EFH, and define linkages between habitat drivers and species production to aid managers. Lastly, Zack Oyafuso (University of Hawaii-Manoa) used multispecies distribution models on the Hawaii Deep Seven Bottomfish complex to quantify how well current spatial fisheries management actually captures EFH for these species. Read the abstracts here. — Lauren Latchford, ERT, Inc./NOAA Fisheries

Sponsors: AFS Fisheries Management Section, Water Quality Section, International Fisheries Section, China Society of Fisheries, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund This symposium is a continuation of the Mississippi-Yangtze River Basins Symposium (MYRIBS) series which started in Little Rock, Arkansas, during the 2013 American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting and continued in Wuhan, Hubei, China during the 2015 China Society of Fisheries Fishery Resources and Environment annual meeting. The 3rd MYRBIS in Kansas City presented many methods and techniques, such as electrofishing, the unified fishing method, different gears to sample Asian carps, and molecular methods that have been applied in managing and conserving large river basin fishery resources and environment globally. A total of eight Chinese researchers and students, along with many U.S. colleagues, attended the symposium. Before the symposium, colleagues at USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and University of Missouri at Columbia kindly offered field visits to Illinois River, Mississippi River, and Missouri River, and corresponding facility tours for Chinese colleagues. After the symposium, a group synthesis and discussion was conducted to discuss the achievements and future plans. The group tentatively decided the time and location for the 4th MYRIBS: Fall 2018 in the Upper Yangtze River, China. The symposium is open to all AFS members and friends who have interests in river basin management and international collaborations. Read the abstracts here. —Yushun Chen, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Sponsors: AIFRB and the Fisheries Blog As keynote speaker David Shiffman (@WhySharksMatter) noted, there have been numerous revolutions in communications over the course of human history…oral language…the written word…the printing press…the telephone…and social media. Whether you are an early adopter or a technological luddite, there’s no denying that social media has transformed the way we interact with each other and the way we communicate our fisheries science. The American Institute for Fisheries Research Biologists teamed up with The Fisheries Blog to host a session examining the role social media plays in disseminating fisheries science, communicating with new audiences, making connections, and building partnerships. From Twitter to Facebook to blogs and more traditional media outlets, communication platforms evolve, but the session presenters still emphasized that content is king. To communicate fisheries science—be it presenting to lay audiences, discussing with stakeholders, or teaching students—still requires clear objectives and concise messaging.  From there, you can use social media strategically to effectively engage your target audience in ways that were not possible before. For alternative synopses of the session, please check out The Fisheries Blog’s #SocialFish post and David Shiffman’s #SocialFish Storify. Read the abstracts here. —Sean M. Lucey, Abigail J. Lynch, Patrick B. Cooney, and Brandon Peoples

Sponsors: Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership and AFS Fish Habitat Section The median age of U.S. reservoirs is 60 years and many exhibit decreased habitat quality. These degraded aquatic ecosystems experience limited biological productivity and pose grand challenges to fisheries managers. Reservoirs in the United States are at a crossroads and the future of these fisheries is dependent on innovative habitat restoration techniques. Collaborative efforts are needed to restore habitat in these degraded systems because the investment in time and dollars is beyond the capability of any state or federal agency. The Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership (RFHP) and Friends of Reservoirs (FOR) were founded to provide the needed support for these large projects. FOR facilitates the formation of partnerships among different organizations and interests groups, which makes reservoir restoration projects feasible. Presentations highlighted the benefits of collaborative efforts by showcasing the success of recent reservoir habitat restoration projects. Best management practices were presented and discussed. Conceptual models showing how habitat restoration projects can improve fish population structure were presented. Further presentations focused on the development and application of new technologies, i.e., reservoir morphological database and remotely sensed hydroacoustics data for habitat mapping. The information presented provided needed guidance for fisheries managers working to improve habitat and fisheries in aging reservoirs. Read the abstracts here. —Chance Kirkeeng, M.S. Research Assistant, Department of Natural Resource Management, South Dakota State University

Sponsor: AFS Socioeconomics Section As fisheries science work becomes ever more interdisciplinary, the field requires that students and professionals not only have deep knowledge in their area of expertise, they must also have knowledge of multiple disciplines and systems, and the skills to span across them. This is where the “T” shape begins to take form. In our symposium, a wide array of speakers—communicators, managers, educators, and students— shared their experiences and tips on how to become more “T-shaped.” Presentations included an overview of the concept of the T-shaped professional and covered skills of interest for students and young fisheries professionals, as well as educators and researchers. Skills included how to form partnerships and work internationally, how to communicate with both academic and public audiences, what administrative skills are needed for management, and student and professional development opportunities. By learning about this concept and what skills are needed to become a successful fisheries professional, symposium attendees can continue to strive for the “T” shape, creating more effective working partnerships and interdisciplinary projects. Read the abstracts here. —Erin Jarvie, Michigan State University, and Heather Triezenberg, Ph.D., Michigan Sea Grant Extension, Michigan State University