This project will use side-scan sonar and GIS tools to characterize and map habitat types within the Connecticut River (MA & CT), Penobscot River (ME), and Potomac River (MD). We will then use this habitat data, in combination with mussel survey data, to predict habitat use and occurence in the Connecticut River.

We did not locate YLM proximate to two dam removals on the Penobscot River, ME, via time search surveys. It is possible that the dam removals altered benthic habitat (bed texture), limiting YLM's ability to recolonize these areas.

We investigated whether bed texture changed after dam removal via before-after spatial overlay analyses of side scan sonar data. We mapped ~ 7 river km near the Veazie dam removal and Great Works dam removal, then developed manually drawn habitat maps and automated roughness calculations of the area from pre and post dam removal data. We found no evidence of substantial change via either method, suggesting YLM is not limited in these areas by available benthic habitat, but likely other unmonitored hydrologic conditions (e.g., shear stress).