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Overview

The Species Management Research Program produces research that improves the ability of managers to anticipate, prevent, or respond to the impacts of natural stressors and to make better informed management decisions about hunting and fishing regulations, species and their populations, and land and water use.

In support of the FWS National Listing workplan for Endangered Species Act listing decisions, the program conducts research to address uncertainties in aquatic and terrestrial species population status to enable more accurate listing decisions. This work facilitates proactive and collaborative conservation between DOI, State fish and wildlife management agencies, and other stakeholders and partners.

The program maintains research portfolios on manatees, sea otters, walrus, grizzly bears, and polar bears in support of Interior’s management responsibility for these species. The program also provides the scientific information on migratory bird populations and trends used by the migratory bird Flyway Councils to develop recommendations on waterfowl harvest needed by biologists to make informed management decisions.

In addition, the Species Management Research Program helps to meet Interior’s responsibility under the 1954 Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries (16 USC 15A) for technical support for multijurisdictional fisheries, harvest, and allocation. The program conducts fish population surveys and fisheries research that often involve the development and application of advanced technologies such as remote sensing and molecular genetics to assess population status and health. Species Management Research Program activities fall under two areas:

• Species Biology
• Species Stressors

SPECIES BIOLOGY

Species Biology provides research on the life history, conservation, and recovery of species of management concern, including threatened and endangered species, trust species protected by Federal law, species under consideration for listing, and species that are economically important for commercial and recreational hunting and fishing.

The program studies the life history, population ecology, and conservation and restoration strategies for at-risk species, Federal and State listed species, migratory species, interjurisdictional species, and the habitat requirements of these species. This research improves the effectiveness and viability of conservation actions, which can eliminate the need for formal listing or lead to down-listing or delisting. Research includes development and novel application of advanced technologies such as remote sensing and molecular genetics to assess population status and health. The Species Management Research Program conducts research across the United States to determine the status of imperiled species including migratory fishes such as sturgeon and Atlantic salmon, freshwater mussels, and studies of species of management concern including lake trout, coregonids (whitefish and bloaters), and American eels.

SPECIES STRESSORS

The Species Management Research Program studies a range of human-caused and natural environmental stressors that affect species of management interest. Stressors include energy development from conventional and unconventional oil and gas, hydropower, hydrokinetics, dams and other barriers to fish migration, extreme events such as drought, fires and floods, and water removal for domestic, industrial, and agricultural use. Program research focuses on species physiology and behavioral characteristics, vulnerability assessments, and development of indicator tools that can be used to inform decisions with the goal of sustaining and enhancing species and their populations in concert with human uses.

REIMBURSABLE ACTIVITIES

The Species Management Research Program conducts studies with various Federal, State, Tribal, and international partners to meet their science needs. This science is often cofunded and coproduced by Interior bureaus (for example, FWS, NPS, BLM, BOR), and by other Federal agencies (for example, USACE, EPA, U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA]), and State governmental groups via the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, as well as with individual States and other government agencies where complex land management science needs emerge. The program also works on producing scientific information collaboratively with a broader diversity of stakeholders through consortia such as the Joint Ventures (Atlantic Coast Joint Venture), Regional Landscape Partnerships (Midwest Landscape Initiative), Conservation Partners (Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation), and fisheries commissions (such as the Atlantic Marine Fisheries Commission).