Assessing population size and structure of the longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys) in the Nooksack River

评估努克萨克河中长鳍胡瓜鱼（Spirinchus thaleichthys）的种群规模和结构

• 批准号: 1622492
• 负责人: Rachel Arnold
• 金额: $ 19.99万
• 依托单位: Northwest Indian College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-09-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1622492&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Assessing; population; size; structure; longfin

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the STEM curricular offerings at these institutions expands the opportunities of their students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be culturally significant, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for science and mathematics education. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover will increase the body of knowledge on the population dynamics of longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), an important species of forage fish that is not protected nor its catch monitored.Northwest Indian College (NWIC) will conduct a study that aims to (1) determine temporal genetic structure of the Nooksack River longfin smelt population; (2) determine the existence of a genetic bottleneck; (3) estimate the effective population size; and (4) consider the conservation implications of these findings. At the local level, the data from this study will aid management decisions by both state and tribal agencies. At the national level, the genetic information acquired in this study will add to the overall knowledge of distinct population segments of longfin smelt. These data will aid multiple agencies that cross international and state lines in assessing other populations of longfin smelt and whether they constitute distinct population segments. In addition, the information collected during this study will provide baseline data for the effective population size of the Nooksack River longfin smelt population. These data can be used to assess future trends in population size in the light of changing river conditions, development of or near the Nooksack River riparian habitat, and in the face of climate change and ocean acidification. And lastly, the information gained from this study will add to the limited understanding of the basic biology of the longfin smelt by making the data available to other researchers, management agencies, and the general public.

部落学院和大学方案的一个目标是提高为全国土著学生服务的特定高等教育机构的科学、技术、工程和数学教学和研究能力。扩大这些机构的STEM课程设置，扩大了学生在STEM领域追求具有挑战性和回报的职业的机会，为可能具有文化意义的领域提供了研究，并鼓励社区和一代人对科学和数学教育的欣赏。该项目与这一目标直接相关，而且将增加对长鳍胡瓜鱼种群动态的了解（Spirinchus thaleichthys），一种重要的饲料鱼，既不受保护，也不监测其渔获量。西北印第安学院将进行一项研究，目的是（1）确定Nooksack河长鳍胡瓜鱼种群的时间遗传结构;（2）确定遗传瓶颈的存在;（3）估计有效种群规模;（4）考虑这些发现的保护意义。 在地方一级，这项研究的数据将有助于州和部落机构的管理决策。在国家一级，这项研究所获得的遗传信息将增加对长鳍胡瓜鱼不同种群部分的全面了解。这些数据将有助于跨国际和州界线的多个机构评估其他长鳍胡瓜鱼种群，以及它们是否构成不同的种群部分。此外，本研究期间收集的信息将为Nooksack河长鳍胡瓜鱼种群的有效种群规模提供基线数据。这些数据可用于根据河流条件的变化、诺克萨克河河岸生境或其附近的发展以及气候变化和海洋酸化来评估种群规模的未来趋势。 最后，通过向其他研究人员、管理机构和公众提供数据，从这项研究中获得的信息将增加对长鳍胡瓜鱼基本生物学的有限了解。