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Assessing the Unknown: Understanding the Impacts of Culverts on Aquatic Habitat Fragmentation and Aquatic Organism Passage in the Southeastern United States

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  • Assessing the Unknown: Understanding the Impacts of Culverts on Aquatic Habitat Fragmentation and Aquatic Organism Passage in the Southeastern United States
Kathleen Hoenke, Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership
Session 1: Phish Food for Thought: AOP Funding and Collaboration

Fragmentation of riverine habitat by anthropogenic barriers is one of the primary threats to aquatic species in the United States. However, the degree of fragmentation of aquatic habitat from undersized and perched road crossing structures is largely unknown. Over two million road crossing structures exist in the Southeastern United States, yet only 40,000 have been assessed to determine if they are barriers to aquatic organism passage. Since 2015, as a part of its Aquatic Connectivity Program, the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) has been leading an effort to collect data using a standardized protocol developed by the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC). Since that time, over 300 people from a variety of partner organizations have been trained to use this protocol and have collected data at over 10,000 road crossings using SARP’s field application and Aquatic Barrier Inventory. These assessments have resulted in the replacement of more than 20 road crossing structures as well as a better understanding of the impacts of road stream crossing structures on aquatic organisms and their habitats across the region.

Culverts
Aquatic Habitat
fish
ICOET 2025 — International Conference On Ecology and Transportation