Stroud Water Research Center has contracted with the National Park Service’s National Capital Region Network to monitor fish populations at 37 sites, mainly in Maryland, for the next three years.
The network, which gathers information on plants, pests, water, birds, and amphibians in national parks across Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia, looks at the condition and changes in these natural resources over time, analyzes the data, and shares results with park managers. In this way, the network seeks to support park decision-making that conserves natural treasures for future generations.
A few weeks ago, Stroud Center researchers were electrofishing on one of nine sites sampled in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. Electrofishing is a cost-effective way to estimate the size of a fish population. As part of the monitoring effort, the researchers also weigh and measure the fish and conducted field observations such as the presence of invasive species.
