Update README with branch descriptions

README.md

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 # Menhaden Ageing Model
 
-This Menhaden Ageing Model provides an innovative method for automatically estimating Menhaden age using scale images and fish length, weight, and month of catch (hereafter, “metadata”.) Built upon state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms, the model enables rapid generation of fish age predictions by simply pointing to a directory containing configuration file that instructs the model where to find the data and metadata, how to preprocess the images, and where to write the output. See the [official documentation pages](https://sefsc.github.io/FATES-BLH-ScaleAgeing/) for more thorough instructions.
+This Menhaden Ageing Model provides an innovative method for automatically estimating Menhaden fish age using scale images and fish length, weight, and month of catch (hereafter, “metadata.”) Built upon state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms, the model enables rapid generation of fish age predictions by simply pointing to a directory containing configuration file that instructs the model where to find the data and metadata, how to preprocess the images, and where to write the output. See the [official documentation pages](https://sefsc.github.io/FATES-BLH-ScaleAgeing/) for more thorough instructions.
+
+This repo consists of four primary branches, each serving a distinct purpose to facilitate development, documentation, and model deployment:
+- `main`: The main branch containing the most stable version of the code and a series of Jupyter notebooks demonstrating the workflow.
+- `dev`: A development branch where new features and updates are tested before being merged into the main branch. Any modification to and testing of the model or accompanying notebooks should be done here (or a new development branch created from `main`, if desired) and merged into `main` once changes are verified to be stable.
+- `docs`: A branch dedicated to hosting the documentation for the project. This should be updated as needed whenever changes to the model are made in `main` to ensure the model documentation remains up-to-date.
+- `gh-pages`: A branch used for GitHub Pages to serve the project's documentation website, which happens automatically using GitHub Actions whenever changes are pushed to the `docs` branch. There is no need to modify or even clone this branch.
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
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 ### License
 
-This content was created by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties. This content is not subject to copyright in the United States (17 U.S.C. §105) and is in the public domain within the United States of America. Additionally, copyright is waived worldwide through the CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication.
+This content was created by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties. This content is not subject to copyright in the United States (17 U.S.C. §105) and is in the public domain within the United States of America. Additionally, copyright is waived worldwide through the CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication.