14. USFWS: Focus on estuarine , coastal and anadromous fish restoration Anadromous fish-- species that migrate into the ocean, mature, and return to rivers to spawn River herring Atlantic sturgeon American shad Sea lamprey Striped bass Atlantic salmon

18. (Secor and Waldman, AFS Symposium 23:203-216,1999) Atlantic sturgeon landings, Delaware Bay

19. Delaware River and Estuary American shad harvest Sutton et al., 1996

22. Problems Habitat alteration Dams Pollution Over-harvest Invasive species Bycatch

25. Atlantic Sturgeon Vessel-Strike Mortalities in the Delaware Estuary: Obstacle to recovery?

27. Delaware Estuary Tidal portion of the Delaware River Stretches from Trenton, NJ to the Mouth of the Delaware Bay Highly industrialized Historically supported largest Atlantic sturgeon population Delaware River, largest un-dammed river east of the Mississippi

35. Total Vessel Calls 2007 Ocean-going vessels greater than 10,000 deadweight (DWT) Houston 6,195 LA/LB 5,492 New York 4,968 New Orleans 4,884 San Francisco 3,945 Philadelphia 3,148 Virginia Ports 2,775 Savannah 2,615 Col. River 2,578 Charleston 2,160 Top 10 38,760 All Ports 63,804

38. Vessel strike mortalities 2005-2008 28 Atlantic sturgeon carcasses between 2005 and 2008 Ranged from Chester, PA to Cape Henlopen, DE 61% of the sturgeon were of adult size (exceeding or likely to exceed 150 cm total length if not severed) 75% of mortalities reported during the months of May and June Sturgeon had injuries consistent with being struck by a vessel

48. Growth characteristics and salt tolerance of a nonnative invasive population of the common reed Phragmites australis Coastal Habitat Degradation from Invasive Species

51. Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass)

53. How does phragmites invade? (Able et al. 2003)

54. M - Haplotype F - Haplotype Photo: Bob Meadows, 2005 M-Haplotype (Invasive) F-Haplotype (Native)

58. Compare invasive phragmites to native phragmites and spartina under common garden conditions along a salinity gradient

65. Fish lifts and ladders

73. American shad passage at Merrimack River dams 17% of the shad that pass the first dam pass the second dam

74. American shad passage at Connecticut River dams 4% of the shad that pass the first dam pass the second dam

75. American shad passage at Susquehanna River dams 34% of the shad that pass the first dam pass the second dam

76. American shad returns

89. Thank you!

90. Egg Per Recruit Model n = oldest spawning age, λ = the proportion of females that are mature at age i, φi = mean fecundity of a female at age I VS = instantaneous rate of vessel-strike mortality during the period t M = instantaneous natural mortality rate Assumptions Maximum age of 60 years Constant M of 0.07 over all ages Fishing and bycatch mortality rates equal to zero Sturgeon are vulnerable to vessel-strikes starting at age 3 Vessel-strike mortality rates that reduced maximum egg production by more than 50% were unsustainable