Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Dam Removal On Assemblage Composition And The Interactions Of Fishes In The Penobscot River, Maine, Jonathan Watson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dams and their impoundments disrupt river habitat connectivity to the detriment of migratory fishes. Removal of dams improves riverine connectivity and lotic habitat which benefits these fishes along with resident fluvial specialist species. Restoration efforts on the Penobscot River (Maine, USA) are among the largest recently completed in the United States, and include the removal of the two lower-most dams and improvements to fish passage at several remaining barriers. Here we describe initial and potential future changes to fish communities in the Penobscot River associated with these restoration efforts.

We assessed fish assemblages in the mainstem river and several major …