@article{raabe_hightower_2014, title={American Shad Migratory Behavior, Weight Loss, Survival, and Abundance in a North Carolina River following Dam Removals}, volume={143}, ISSN={["1548-8659"]}, DOI={10.1080/00028487.2014.882410}, abstractNote={Abstract Despite extensive management and research, populations of American Shad Alosa sapidissima have experienced prolonged declines, and uncertainty about the underlying mechanisms causing these declines remains. In the springs of 2007 through 2010, we used a resistance board weir and PIT technology to capture, tag, and track American Shad in the Little River, North Carolina, a tributary to the Neuse River with complete and partial removals of low‐head dams. Our objectives were to examine migratory behaviors and estimate weight loss, survival, and abundance during each spawning season. Males typically immigrated earlier than females and also used upstream habitat at a higher percentage, but otherwise exhibited relatively similar migratory patterns. Proportional weight loss displayed a strong positive relationship with both cumulative water temperature during residence time and number of days spent upstream, and to a lesser extent, minimum distance the fish traveled in the river. Surviving emigrating males lost up to 30% of their initial weight and females lost up to 50% of their initial weight, indicating there are potential survival thresholds. Survival for the spawning season was low and estimates ranged from 0.07 to 0.17; no distinct factors (e.g., sex, size, migration distance) that could contribute to survival were detected. Sampled and estimated American Shad abundance increased from 2007 through 2009, but was lower in 2010. Our study provides substantial new information about American Shad spawning that may aid restoration efforts.}, number={3}, journal={TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY}, author={Raabe, Joshua K. and Hightower, Joseph E.}, year={2014}, month={May}, pages={673–688} }
 @article{raabe_hightower_2014, title={Assessing Distribution of Migratory Fishes and Connectivity following Complete and Partial Dam Removals in a North Carolina River}, volume={34}, ISSN={["1548-8675"]}, DOI={10.1080/02755947.2014.938140}, abstractNote={Abstract Fish, especially migratory species, are assumed to benefit from dam removals that restore connectivity and access to upstream habitat, but few studies have evaluated this assumption. Therefore, we assessed the movement of migratory fishes in the springs of 2008 through 2010 and surveyed available habitat in the Little River, North Carolina, a tributary to the Neuse River, after three complete dam removals and one partial (notched) dam removal. We tagged migratory fishes with PIT tags at a resistance‐board weir located at a dam removal site (river kilometer [rkm] 3.7) and followed their movements with an array of PIT antennas. The river‐wide distribution of fish following removals varied by species. For example, 24–31% of anadromous American Shad Alosa sapidissima , 45–49% of resident Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum , and 4–11% of nonnative Flathead Catfish Pylodictis olivaris passed the dam removal site at rkm 56 in 2009 and 2010. No preremoval data were available for comparison, but reach connectivity appeared to increase as tagged individuals passed former dam sites and certain individuals moved extensively both upstream and downstream. However, 17–28% did not pass the partially removed dam at rkm 7.9, while 20–39% of those that passed remained downstream for more than a day before migrating upstream. Gizzard Shad required the deepest water to pass this notched structure, followed by American Shad then Flathead Catfish. Fish that passed the notched dam accessed more complex habitat (e.g., available substrate size‐classes) in the middle and upper reaches. The results provide strong support for efforts to restore currently inaccessible habitat through complete removal of derelict dams. Received August 23, 2013; accepted June 18, 2014}, number={5}, journal={NORTH AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT}, author={Raabe, Joshua K. and Hightower, Joseph E.}, year={2014}, pages={955–969} }