The primary objective of this evidence synthesis is to build on previous efforts (see Abdel-Fattah and Hasnain, 2017) to clarify, from the existing literature, how shoreline alteration activities affect fish abundance and diversity in temperate regions in order to better inform fisheries management decisions. In 2016, at the request of a Canadian natural resource management agency and regulator (i.e. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, DFO), a systematic review was initiated to provide a synthesis and quantitative assessment of the effects of shoreline alteration projects on fish productivity in temperate regions (proposed in Abdel-Fattah and Hasnain, 2017). However, this systematic review was never completed in full. In 2024, DFO collaborated with the Canadian Centre for Evidence-Informed Conservation (CEIC) to address this request, with the goal of completing the synthesis. This evidence synthesis will be on a more narrowly focused subset of the originally targeted evidence base i.e., the effects of shoreline alteration activities on fish abundance and diversity in temperate regions (broadly defined in terms of abundance, biomass, diversity and richness, rather than considering all fish productivity outcomes). Specifically, we will include all shoreline alterations in the nearshore (extending from the riparian zone to 30m water depth) of freshwater, estuarine, or marine environments that occur globally in temperate regions. Further, we will include investigations of both the impact of exposure to shoreline alterations (i.e., the addition of shoreline structures/materials and/or presence of human activities that may cause environmental degradation/alteration or the removal of key habitat features/components) and the effectiveness of interventions intended to improve or restore fish habitat (i.e., the removal or amelioration of the factor causing environmental degradation and/or the reestablishment of key ecosystem components). Included studies will undergo critical appraisal of internal and external validity. A narrative synthesis will be used to describe the quantity and characteristics of the available evidence, while quantitative syntheses (i.e., meta-analyses) will be conducted to estimate how shoreline alteration activities affect fish abundance and diversity in temperate regions, and to what extent factors such as shoreline alteration type, ecosystem type, fish taxa, life stage and history characteristics, influence the effect of shoreline alteration activities on fish abundance and diversity.

Project Collaborators

Trina Rytwinski – Carleton University, Canada

Kathryn Peiman – Carleton University, Canada

Steve J. Cooke – Carleton University, Canada

Mike Dusevic – Carleton University, Canada

Cole MacLeod – Carleton University, Canada

Lisa Kelly – Carleton University, Canada

Scott Blair  – Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Susan Doka  – Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Hannah Hancock  – Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Michael Lockhart  – Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Sarah Matchett  – Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Jon Midwood – Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Luc Savoie – Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Karen Smokorowski – Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Sommer Fatth-Abdel – McMaster University

Sarah Hasnain – Sorbonne Université

Project status – Ongoing

CEIC Contact – Trina.Rytwinski@carleton.ca

Project photograph source – Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons