Connecticut+River+review+reports

====The population along the Connecticut River is much smaller than the metapopulations at the Chesapeake Bay. As you have seen, this is a result of habitat damage inflicted by human recreational activities, and loss of beach habitat following the construction of hydroelectric dams. The two remaining extant populations were in danger of extinction at the time of the review. However, the extinction of the smaller population appeared likely, so the decision was made to take a big gamble - translocation. Click here to learn more about this key concept: translocation.====

======== ====The reintroduction of a closely related species, the northeastern beach tiger beetle (//C. dorsalis// ) into several sites in New Jersey, revealed that translocating adult tiger beetles was not successful because they were unable to adapt to the new environment, often dispersed away from the translocation site, and were apparently lost to predation. However, a study tracking translocated larvae into northern NJ beaches, suggested that there was much better survival success when translocating larvae (17, 29).====

After learning from the //C. Dorsalis// translocations, 100 Puritan tiger beetle larvae from the larger population in Connecticut were excavated in 2006, and moved to a smaller population in what is considered the only remaining viable patch for the beetles in Massachusetts (16, 32). The latest translocation was the largest attempt since the program began in 2000 (30). This translocation plan probably represents the last chance for the long-term survival of the Massachusetts population along the Connecticut River. Early indications show some signs of optimism (6). However, this population represents only a small portion of the Connecticut River metapopulation. The Connecticut population is not showing significant improvement (7).

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