Tennessee Aquarium to Open Freshwater Biodiversity and Conservation Research Institute [Slide Show]
The Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, the first of its kind in the U.S., will in part focus on captive breeding endangered freshwater fish
![Tennessee Aquarium to Open Freshwater Biodiversity and Conservation Research Institute [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/4BAD1D52-7F18-4787-822C83922C4191D3.jpg?w=590&h=393)
Tennessee Aquarium to Open Freshwater Biodiversity and Conservation Research Institute [Slide Show]
- THE NEW FACILITY Officially announced today, the Tennessee Aquarium’s new 1,300-square-meter facility will be the first in the U.S. to exclusively focus on freshwater biodiversity and conservation research. It will include facilities for captive breeding of endangered species as well as state-of-the-art research facilities and classrooms for public education and outreach. “This is a watershed moment in the Southeast,” says Anna George, director and chief research scientist of the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute. “We will make a difference in how we celebrate and conserve freshwater life.” Image courtesy Thom Benson, Tennessee Aquarium
- SURGEON FIELD RESEARCH Bernard Kuhajda, a conservation biologist at the Tennessee Aquarium, studies an endangered lake sturgeon in its natural habitat. “Lake sturgeon were once plentiful across eastern North America, but a combination of overharvest[ing], poor water quality and widespread construction of dams led to their decline in the Southeast during the 1960s,” George says. Image courtesy Thom Benson, Tennessee Aquarium
- A CLOSER LOOK A student volunteer examines captive-reared shiners before their release into the wild. The Tennessee Aquarium staff works closely with local schools and community organizations to educate the public about local conservation issues. To that effect, many students participate in field releases. Image courtesy Thom Benson, Tennessee Aquarium
- STURGEON CAPTIVE BREEDING Aquarium staffers check on captive-reared lake sturgeon that will eventually be released into the wild. “Over the past 14 years, since releases began, we’ve returned over 125,000 lake sturgeon to Tennessee waters,” George says. “We’re starting to increase our monitoring effort with sonic tagging now, and we hope that the next few years bring us a successful wild sturgeon spawn here—making them the first baby lake sturgeon spawned in the wild in Tennessee in 50 years.” Image courtesy Thom Benson, Tennessee Aquarium
- BROOK TROUT EGGS A close-up photo of southern Appalachian brook trout eggs reared in captivity for release into the wild. “Southern Appalachian brook trout are considered distinct from brook trout in other parts of their range, with genetic signatures that reflect a high degree of differentiation over the many years they’ve spent in the southern Appalachians,” George says. “In Tennessee and North Carolina they are restricted to about 3 percent of their native range due to a combination of historic threats, such as poor logging practices that caused erosion and sedimentation, competition with introduced rainbow and brown trout as well as more recent concerns like changing patterns of rainfall due to climate change.” Image courtesy Thom Benson, Tennessee Aquarium
