Digital Commons Network^™

The Complexities Of Counting Fish: Engaging Citizen Scientists In Fish Monitoring, Karen H. Bieluch, Theodore Willis, Jason Smith, Karen A. Wilson

New Hampshire EPSCoR

Data gathered by citizen scientists can help ecologists understand long-term trends and can improve the quality and quantity of data about a resource. In Maine and Massa­chusetts, numerous citizen science programs collect data on river herring, anadromous fish that migrate each spring from the ocean to spawn in rivers and lakes. In collabora­tion with state and local resource managers and academic institutions, these programs aim to protect and restore river herring, improve local watersheds, and in some cases, support commercial harvesting. To better understand how programs are run and how data are used by managers, we interviewed program coordinators and …

Acting And Modeling The Future Of Dams: Knowledge Production Processes In Sustainability Science, Natallia Leuchanka Diessner, Catherine Ashcraft, Weiwei Mo, Cuihong Song

New Hampshire EPSCoR

The “Future of Dams” (FoD) is an interdisciplinary project of the New England Sustainability Consortium focused on advancing the way science is used in decision-making around current and future management of dams in New England. With over 14,000 dams, New England communities are faced with making decisions around complex systems involving diverse interests and stakeholder groups. Trade-offs among the many values tied to dams (fisheries, energy production, etc.) are dependent upon the way local knowledge, scientific data, and other types of information are incorporated into decision-making processes. FoD project students and faculty from both the social and biophysical science disciplines …

Acting And Modeling The Future Of Dams: Knowledge Production Processes In Sustainability Science, Natallia Leuchanka Diessner, Catherine Ashcraft, Weiwei Mo, Cuihong Song

New Hampshire EPSCoR

Sustainability scientists are developing new knowledge production processes (KPPs) based on findings that science has a greater impact on decision-making when it (1) adopts an interdisciplinary systems approach, and (2) is participatory and, therefore, perceived as more salient, legitimate, and credible by users. This presentation will discuss the findings from a review of the literature on the intersection of two KPP methods: systems dynamics (SD) and role-play simulations (RPS).

SD is a powerful approach for modeling dynamic, complex systems to improve understanding of system behaviors in coupled social-ecological systems. It can capture complex biophysical phenomena and trade-offs, while also representing …

Leveraging The Power Of Place In Citizen Science For Effective Conservation Decision Making, G. Newman, M. Chandler, M. Clyde, B. Mcgreavy, M. Haklay, H. Ballard, S. Gray, R. Scarpino, R. Hauptfeld, D. Mellor, J. Gallo

New Hampshire EPSCoR

Many citizen science projects are place-based - built on in-person participation and motivated by local conservation. When done thoughtfully, this approach to citizen science can transform humans and their environment. Despite such possibilities, many projects struggle to meet decision-maker needs, generate useful data to inform decisions, and improve social-ecological resilience. Here, we define leveraging the ‘power of place’ in citizen science, and posit that doing this improves conservation decision making, increases participation, and improves community resilience. First, we explore ‘place’ and identify five place dimensions: social-ecological, narrative and name-based, knowledge-based, emotional and affective, and performative. We then thematically analyze 134 …

Sequence Type 631 Vibrio Parahaemolyticus, An Emerging Foodborne Pathogen In North America, Feng Xu, Narjol Gonzalez-Escalona, Julie Haendiges, Robert A. Myers, Jana Ferguson, Tracy Stiles, Eric Hickey, Michael Moore, John Michael Hickey, Christopher Schillaci, Laurn Mank, Kristin Derosia-Banick, Nicholas Matluk, Amy Robbins, Robert P. Sebra, Vaughn S. Cooper, Stephen H. Jones, Cheryl A. Whistler

New Hampshire EPSCoR

No abstract provided.

New Hampshire’S Changing Climate, Land Cover, And Ecosystems, Ecosystems & Society Project Research Team

New Hampshire EPSCoR

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Dams Project: Governance Statement, Nest - New England Sustainability Consortium

New Hampshire EPSCoR

This governance statement sets out shared principles to guide our work and our relationships with each other on the New England Sustainability Consortium’s Future of Dams project. This is a living document, meant to evolve as our partnership evolves. Rather than offering an exhaustive catalog, this governance statement is meant to serve as a touchstone to prompt important conversations about conduct, conflict resolution, authorship, expectations, data sharing, and assessment.

Comparing Group Deliberation To Other Forms Of Preference Aggregation In Valuing Ecosystem Services, Mackenzie B. Murphy, Georgia Mayrommati, Varun Rao Mallampalli, Richard B. Howarth, Mark E. Borsuk

New Hampshire EPSCoR

Deliberative methods for valuing ecosystem services are hypothesized to yield group preferences that differ systematically from those that would be obtained through calculative aggregation of the preferences of participating individuals. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the group consensus results of structured deliberations against a variety of aggregation methods applied to individual participant preferences that were elicited both before and after the deliberations. Participants were also asked about their perceptions of the deliberative process, which we used to assess their ability to detect preference changes and identify the causes of any changes. For five of the seven groups tested, the …

Centring Fish Agency In Coastal Dam Removal And River Restoration, Caroline Gottschalk Druschke, Emma Lundberg, Ludovic Drapier, Kristen C. Hychka

New Hampshire EPSCoR

This article considers the agentic capacity of fish in dam removal decisions. Pairing new materialist explorations of agency with news media, policy documents, and interviews related to a suite of dam decisions in a New England, USA watershed, we identify the ways that river herring seem constrained through technocratic discourse to particular human-defined roles in dam removal discussions. We suggest, meanwhile, that existing human relationships with salmonids like brook trout might serve as a bridge for public stakeholders and restoration managers to recognise the agentic creativity of fish in dam removal and river restoration decisions.