Year Began: 2021
TASK NAME: Carrying Capacity Standards
STATUS: ACTIVE
Page last edited: 08/08/2024
November 29, 2021 Meeting Recording
May 31, 2022 Meeting Recording
TASK LEADS:
Morgan Bond (NOAA): morgan.bond@noaa.gov
Tim Copeland (IDFG): tim.copeland@idfg.idaho.gov
Russell Scranton (BPA): rwscranton@bpa.gov
Jen Bayer (USGS/PNAMP) jbayer@usgs.gov
Megan Dethloff (USGS/PNAMP): mdethloff@usgs.gov
DESCRIPTION:
Fish Carrying Capacity models and outputs are being developed at various scales, at the reach or population level. Standard inputs and outputs are needed to support expansion of these models to larger geographic extents and share the results in formats that are consumable for use and comparison of outputs. Therefore, this task is to recommend standard data input and output formats for these tools. This could include:
- Standard Inputs: fish counts or estimates, species codes, stream width, hydrology linear network, population’s area.
- Standard outputs in fish/m or fish/100m or m2
- Population level estimate formats (tabular or graphical)
- Recommendations for use: GIS output formats, hydrologic networks (NHD 100k or 24k, StreamNet Fish Species Distribution, others)
JUSTIFICATION:
Carrying capacity has a natural appeal to restoration planners and fisheries managers. The concept has a long history in mathematical ecology and has been applied to population dynamics in several forms with different meanings. Consequently, practitioners may not know about different versions or understand their conceptual underpinnings and risks. The purpose of this task is to improve understanding of various carrying capacity products and how they may be applied to resource management decisions as well as create standards to share data sets for estimates and establish standards for data incorporation into assessments.
There is high potential for misinterpretations and abuse when applying this theoretical construct in the real world. Dhondt’s 1988 paper (Acta Oecologica 9:337-346) points out these issues well. Past discussion has revealed that some types of carrying capacity have different definitions and thus incompatible interpretations (e.g., asymptotic behavior of a population vs bioenergetics potential of a stream reach). In this task, we anticipate addressing these concerns, as it will not serve the region very well if we provide access to tools and data without pointing out the inherent risks.
TASK OUTCOMES:
- Comparison of commonly used approaches for Carrying Capacity Estimates
- Recommendations regarding documentation of inputs used in commonly used models, for example linear networks, fish density information (i.e. metadata is adequate for someone to recreate the product)
- Recommendations regarding documentation of methods used to generate models
- Recommendations for monitoring designs and methods for data collection/acquisition necessary to inform models
- Discussion of related topics such as: recommendations for data documentation, data repositories, platforms to access and/or view data
TASK APPLICATION:
Support exchange of data for use in efforts such as salmon life cycle models and restoration planning tools
PRODUCTS: Peer-reviewed publication
