LE3 .A278 2019

2019

Avery, Trevor

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Biology

Biology

The Windsor causeway, located in the Avon Estuary, Windsor, Nova Scotia, is currently an important site for marine research because plans are in progress for the installation of a new gate-way for fish passage as the 101-highway is redeveloped. This research will help inform decisions on gate-way design and impacts to American Eel and White Perch movement and migration patterns. Previous studies have found American Eel, Anguilla rostrata, and White Perch, Morone Americana, are present in two locations adjacent to the causeway: in the tidal waters proximal and distal to the gate, and in the brackish and fresh waters up-river from this location. Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags were used to investigate movement patterns of these species between the fresh and tidal waters other than during their annual spawning migration times. There were not enough White Perch captured or tagged during the study to give quantifiable results and so no further analysis was performed on this fish species. For American Eel, results indicated that there was no movement of tagged eels between the two test sites suggesting that the current fish-gate system is inadequate for free fish movement. A few eels were sampled to retain otoliths (inner ear bones) to gain a better understanding of the eel population demographics (size and age). Otolith results indicated that there was a positive trend in the relationship of eel weight and eel length to otolith weight suggesting that further research may provide a new method for aging American Eel.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3213