Stream connectivity is important for the ecological health of the stream and downstream waters. In this study, we use the term stream connectivity to mean hydrologically connected pools and riffles that link stream habitat along a longitudinal continuum (upstream to downstream), while also recognizing the lateral dimension (connection to flood plain) and vertical connection to groundwater. There are thousands of man‐made structures (i.e. dams, culverts, surface and groundwater withdrawal locations) in Connecticut which negatively impact stream connectivity and can result in aquatic habitat fragmentation. Cost‐effective techniques are needed to assess human alteration to streams in order to prioritize management actions to restore stream connectivity. We developed a method to characterize stream connectivity using commercially available trail cameras that cost less than approximately $500 per deployment. We developed a six‐category system to describe the variations in stream connectivity observed using the trail camera images. We then used the categorical data to calculate metrics that quantify stream connectivity. To pilot this approach, we evaluated reference locations with minimal anthropogenic influence on stream connectivity in comparison with stream reaches likely to be impacted by nearby groundwater wells. We found that metrics derived from trail camera images were useful to quantify stream connectivity. We anticipate that the methods outlined herein is a useful stream connectivity assessment tool that can be effectively communicated to scientists and non‐scientists. All source code and data for this project are freely available and open source at: https://github.com/marybecker/streamconnectivitymetrics.

中文翻译：

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一种使用后置摄像头评估流连接性的新颖方法

溪流连通性对于溪流和下游水域的生态健康至关重要。在这项研究中，我们使用“河流连通性”一词来表示水文连通的池和浅滩，这些池和浅滩将沿纵向连续体（上游至下游）的河流生境联系起来，同时也认识到横向尺寸（与洪水平原的连接）和与地下水的垂直连接。康涅狄格州有成千上万的人造结构（即水坝，涵洞，地表水和地下水取水地点），会对河流的连通性产生负面影响，并可能导致水生生境破碎化。需要经济有效的技术来评估人员对流的更改，以便优先管理操作以恢复流的连通性。我们开发了一种方法来表征流的连通性，使用市售的尾部摄像头，每次部署的成本不到500美元。我们开发了一个六类系统来描述使用后置摄像头图像观察到的河流连通性的变化。然后，我们使用分类数据来计算量化流连接性的指标。为了试验这种方法，我们比较了可能受到附近地下水井影响的河段与人为影响最小的参考位置。我们发现，从追踪摄像机图像得出的指标可用于量化流连接。我们预计，本文概述的方法是一种有用的流连通性评估工具，可以有效地传达给科学家和非科学家。