Fish modeling in river networks: a Taunton River watershed example
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Future human activities and environmental change are likely to affect riverine fish communities. Modeling can be used to assess the effects of multiple stressors on populations of fish species across a river network. We propose a modeling approach that is spatially-explicit and age-structured, with three components: habitat suitability; population dynamics, including species interactions; and movement across a spatial network. Although this model is simple, it can form the basis of fisheries assessments and may be incorporated into an integrated modeling system for watershed management and prediction. We applied this model to the Taunton River watershed, using ten species. Initial results provide testable hypotheses regarding species distributions and projected fish population responses to environmental change, water consumption, species invasions, and land use effects on water temperature.