Performance of a fishway system in a major South American dam on the Parana River (Argentina–Paraguay)

Successful design and operation of fish passage systems are important to protect fish communities from impacts of hydroelectric dams in the Río de la Plata River basin. We evaluated the performance of an elevator lift system to pass adult fish through Yacyretá dam on the Paraná River between 1995 and 1998, both for mechanical reliability and performance. The elevator lift system was mechanically inoperative 30–38% of the time during the October–December period of greatest fish migration. Target species represented 30% of total fish number in gillnet samples in the tailwater, but constituted only 10% of the total number of fish transferred. Fish collected within the system were dominated by Pimelodus clarias (>69%), although this species represented less than 10% of captures in experimental gillnets set in the tailwater. Prochilodus lineatus, a key species, represented less than 5% of transferred fish, but constituted 22.1% of tailwater samples. Estimated number of fish transferred per year ranged between 1 210 000 (1995) and 3 610 000 (1996) with biomass ranging from 631 to 1989 tons, respectively. We estimated a fish passage efficiency of 1.88% for all species and 0.62% for target species. At this efficiency, transferred species would increase the total fish yield in the reservoir by as much as 4.9 kg/ha/year, but only 0.5 kg/ha/year for target species. We conclude that fish transfer efficiency is inadequate to maintain populations of target species in the Paraná River system. We identify critical research needs to improve the passage of fish at dams. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Riverine characteristics dictate composition of fish assemblages and limit fisheries in reservoirs of the upper Paraná River basin

A qualitative comparative approach has been used to review whether fish assemblage characteristics, such as paucity of lacustrine‐adapted fish species, long food chains, and disproportionate number of piscivorous species, limit fishery yields in reservoirs of the Upper Paraná River basin. The paucity of lacustrine‐adapted species appears to limit fishery yields, but attempts to introduce lacustrine species have been generally unsuccessful. The food chains of species targeted by the fisheries are relatively long, but short food chains seem to be an adaptation of lacustrine species. Because reservoirs with many piscivorous species sustain high fishery yields elsewhere in the world, the hypothesis that an excessive number of piscivores limits yields is not supported. Instead, inadequacies of fish assemblages in reservoirs of the Upper Paraná River basin appear to be symptomatic of an unsuitable environment for lacustrine fish species. The physical characteristics of reservoirs in the Upper Paraná River basin, exacerbated by climatic patterns, may preclude the emergence of successful reservoir species from within the extant pool of riverine species. The resulting assemblages have characteristics that are neither riverine nor lacustrine, and are maladapted to support fisheries in the reservoirs. The introduction of lacustrine species is destined to failure because environmental characteristics are not lacustrine, except in reservoirs positioned high in the watershed, where increased retention times allow lacustrine conditions. Published in 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implications of an invasive fish barrier for the long‐term recovery of native fish assemblages in a previously degraded northeastern Illinois River system

Barriers to fish movement have been used to prevent the spread of invasive fishes but may also limit the movements of native fishes. We evaluated the potential consequences of a proposed barrier on the Illinois River Waterway, meant to inhibit the spread of silver and bighead carps, to the continued recovery of native fishes in the Des Plaines River following water quality improvements. We compared changes in upstream cumulative species richness and community structure from 1983 to 2013 in the DuPage River, an adjacent tributary with an impassable dam, to the area upstream of a newly proposed barrier on the Des Plaines River where fish can currently pass through a navigational lock. Fewer species displayed truncated distributions upstream of the passable lock and dam (n = 18) compared with the impassable dam (n = 23). Due to water quality improvements in the Illinois River as a whole, cumulative species richness downstream of both dams steadily increased over time. Richness also increased upstream of the passable dam but plateaued upstream of the impassable dam. Fifteen to 18 species accounted for differences in community structure between areas downstream and upstream of either dam. Most species (78–100%) were found in greater relative abundance downstream of the impassable dam, and only 53% were found in greater relative abundance downstream of the passable dam. The truncation in species richness and abundance at the impassable dam foreshadows the potential consequences of an indiscriminate barrier on native fishes and the continued recovery of native assemblages.     

Dam reverse flow events influence limnological variables and fish assemblages of a downstream tributary in a Neotropical floodplain

We used a dam‐free tributary (the Baía River) in the upper Paraná River floodplain downstream of a major dam in the Paraná River, Brazil to investigate the effects of dam‐regulated reverse flow on limnological variables and fish. We tested the hypotheses that limnological variables in tributaries change based on flow direction and that fish assemblages respond to this variation. Sampling sites were determined considering flow direction (normal or reverse) and position (near or far from the river mouth). Limnological variables showed higher values for transparency, oxygen, pH, and electrical conductivity at sites near the mouth of the Baía River during reverse flow. Species richness and evenness differed significantly in relation to position, with higher values closer to the Paraná River. The average standard length of fish species was higher near the mouth of the Baía River and during the reverse flow period. No significant differences in species abundance were found. Reverse flow into the Baía River brought nutrient‐poor water from the dammed Paraná River, thereby altering the limnological variables. This flow condition impelled the entry of species with higher average standard lengths. However, increased species richness and low evenness were due to the increase in species dispersal rates under all flow conditions. Our results emphasize that the effects of dams can extend several kilometres into the floodplain, provide basic knowledge on the effects of major dams on downstream pristine tributaries, and highlight the need for further studies to understand the wider influences.     

Variations in fish assemblages in a tributary of the upper Paraná River,Brazil: A comparison between pre and post‐closure phases of dams

This paper purposed to evaluate alterations in fish assemblage (structure and species richness) and variations in the abundance of the most abundant species captured in the Piquiri River, due to the closure of Porto Primavera (in 1998; located upstream the Piquiri River mouth) and the Itaipu (in 1982; located downstream) dams in the upper Paraná River. The effects of selected environmental variables were also determined. Fishes were sampled during four distinct periods. Six samplings were conducted in each period, at two different sites (Campina and Apertado). For sampling, gill and trammel nets were used. Species abundances were indexed by catch per unit of effort. Spatial and temporal changes in environmental variables were summarized by a principal components analysis (PCA). To summarize structure of the assemblage, a nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMS) was used. To test the significance of between‐group differences at each periods and sites we used a multiresponse permutation procedure (MRPP). To test the association between fish assemblage and the environmental variables matrices, we used procrustean superimposition approach. A total of 2693 individuals were caught, belonging to 69 species, 4 orders and 19 families. Species richness differed spatially; the Campina site had greater mean richness (13) per sampling than the Apertado site (10). The structure of the fish assemblages showed significant temporal and spatial variations, which were more evident in the last period at the Apertado site (after the closure of Porto Primavera Dam). Spatial and temporal changes in structure of fish assemblages were not associated to environmental variables. Temporal changes in abundance, both in number and in weight, of the most abundant species were verified in both sites. The lack of migratory species was highlighted, which sharply decreased in the last studied period, when they were replaced by sedentary species. These findings appear to be related to regional factors, such as the decrease of floods registered in the upper Paraná basin, exacerbated by the control prompted by dams. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bringing back ecological flows: migratory fish,hydropower and legal maladaptivity in the governance of Finnish rivers

ABSTRACT

Historically, Finnish rivers supported vital populations of migratory salmonids. Presently, these species are more or less endangered due to extensive damming and hydropower production. In this article, we study the main legal and scientific drivers for re-evaluating some of the existing hydropower operations in Finland. We argue that there is a need for re-evaluation on the basis of legal obligations stemming largely from EU law and new scientific knowledge. Theoretically, our setting opens up a classical adaptive governance problem in how to address laws and past decisions that are based on outdated assumptions about the functioning of social-ecological systems.     

Optimum fish passage and guidance designs are based in the hydrogeomorphology of natural rivers

Understanding hydrodynamic cues used by outmigrating juvenile salmon (emigrants) to guide fine‐scale swim path selection is critical to successful fish guidance and passage at man‐made structures. We show how these cues can be inferred from channel features and complex flow fields of natural rivers through which emigrants pass. We then describe a new cue, ‘total hydraulic strain’, integrating properties of flow acceleration and turbulence through the spatial gradients in velocity to create a single flow field distortion metric amenable to the analysis of fish movement at the scale of large man‐made structures. We explain how total hydraulic strain, together with the magnitude of velocity, provide sufficient information for any fish to distinguish between the two categories of channel features with their mechanosensory system. We demonstrate that total hydraulic strain, velocity magnitude and hydrostatic pressure can be integrated into rule‐sets (the Strain–Velocity–Pressure (SVP) Hypothesis) to explain emigrant swim path selection near dams. To confirm the reasonableness of the SVP Hypothesis, we describe how its separate elements can be detected by different components of the fish mechanosensory system. We evaluate the SVP Hypothesis by (1) using it to explain the traces made by acoustically tagged emigrants overlaid on coincident total hydraulic strain and velocity magnitude fields, (2) using it to explain different passage efficiencies of competing bypass designs and (3) testing it via stepwise discriminant analysis to infer the relationship between hydrodynamic pattern and emigrant orientation. We conclude the SVP Hypothesis is a reasonable and useful approximation of the strategy used by emigrants to select their swim path through complex flow fields sufficient to serve as the basis of guidance and bypass system design. Published in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Downstream Passage of Fish Larvae at the Salto Grande Dam on the Uruguay River

We evaluated the passage of early‐stage fishes through the Salto Grande Dam using high‐frequency downstream ichthyoplankton monitoring and five surveys involving samples taken upstream and downstream of the dam. Eggs and larvae of migratory fishes were captured downstream of the dam, usually during high discharges. Upstream and downstream larvae were frequently unyolked, which corresponds to individuals aged 4+ days, and represents a time significantly longer than that required for the displacement of the water mass from the dam to the sampling location. In low flow rate surveys, fish larvae of the same species and degree of development were captured immediately upstream and at 1, 10, 24 and 40 km downstream of the dam. The densities and percentage of Pimelodinae larvae captured alive by short time and low speed tows were similar upstream and downstream of the dam, indicating that larval mortality was a result of sampling and not to the passage through the turbines. The results show that the larvae of fish that spawn in the middle section are partly transported to the lower section, and suggest that both spillway and turbine discharge should be considered part of the passage. We also found evidence that the passage of small and fragile Pimelodinae larvae through the Salto Grande Kaplan turbines does not significantly affect survival rates. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do fish locks have potential in tropical rivers?

This study evaluated attraction and passage of native fish through an automated fish lock on the tropical Fitzroy River in north‐eastern Australia. In 69 samples (24 h each) taken at the exit and entrance of the fish lock, 17 fish species and 13 402 individuals were collected, at a maximum rate of 3317 fish per day. During low river flows, the fish lock transferred a broad size range of fish (35–710 mm long), though migratory biomass was small. Removal of a vertical fish‐crowding device did not affect the passage rate. Netting studies and observations of fish migrating below the weir suggested that the entrance was poorly located during high flows and another fishway near the spillway would enhance fish passage. The fish lock was inoperative for 48% of the time, due to mechanical and software failure, and a narrow operational range unsuited to the variable hydrology. Nevertheless, these design issues are site specific and reflect that fish lock technology is in its infancy in Australia. The operational reliability of the fish lock is now greatly improved but further work is needed to optimize the automatic cycling. To accommodate the inherently variable hydrology of lowland tropical/sub‐tropical rivers into fishway design, we highlight important research needs for fishways and migratory fish communities. Fish locks are often considered a less favourable fish passage option but with the operational reliability issues partially resolved, they appear to have considerable potential for tropical river systems with low minimum flows and low biomass; with further research and design, they may have wider application. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cumulative effects of dams on migratory fishes across the conterminous United States: Regional patterns in fish responses to river network fragmentation

Globally, dams fragment river networks, threatening migratory fishes which require access to distinct habitats to complete their life cycles. Efforts to understand how cumulative effects of multiple dams affect migratory fishes across large regions, such as a country or continent, could help to identify locations for connectivity-enhancing actions to conserve migratory fishes. To address this, we evaluated cumulative effects of dams on migratory fishes in rivers across nine ecoregions of the conterminous USA. First, using fish data from thousands of sites (N = 45,989), we summarized ecoregional patterns in assemblages, quantifying the number of migratory species comprising assemblages, showing the prominence of potamodromous species across the large region as well as differences in migratory life history traits among ecoregions. Next, we compared the importance of a set of river network fragmentation metrics that captured influences of multiple dams in networks versus other anthropogenic landscape stressors and natural landscape factors that impact migratory fishes by ecoregion. We found that migratory fishes were more sensitive to cumulative dam effects than other stressors including urbanization and agriculture in the eastern USA. To further identify specific effects of environmental variables on potamodromous fishes, we conducted Boosted Regression Trees analysis in the eastern ecoregions. Our results suggested that the key natural influences on river fishes included catchment area as well as river baseflow and air temperature, suggesting that migratory fishes may be affected by changing climate. Additionally, we found that downstream dams were more influential than other human stressors to potamodromous fishes, underscoring the importance of enhancing connectivity within river networks to conserve migratory fishes. Collectively, our results provide new insights in identifying threats to migratory fish species across the USA, providing information that can aid in conserving this vulnerable but ecologically and socioeconomically important group of fishes.     

鱼道进口水流对草鱼幼鱼上溯行为的影响研究

为使鱼类能够快速发现和顺利进入鱼道进口并成功过坝,设计了鱼道进口概化模型。以草鱼幼鱼为研究对象,在18±1℃的条件下研究了鱼道进口流速对鱼类上溯行为的影响。研究发现:鱼道进口水流存在一个最佳流速,在该流速下,鱼类进入鱼道进口的效率最高。利用诱鱼流道补水有助于进一步提高鱼道进鱼效率,诱鱼流道水流与鱼道进口水流之间存在一个最优流速比。针对草鱼幼鱼的鱼道进口最佳流速约为0.3 m/s,诱鱼流道水流与鱼道进口水流的最佳流速比约为2.3。通过对洄游区鱼类游泳轨迹以及流场耦合,可知草鱼幼鱼上溯的喜好流速范围是0.20~0.30 m/s。研究成果对于鱼道进口水力设计具有重要意义。     

黄河黑山峡不同开发方案对鱼类的影响

针对黄河黑山峡不同开发方案,已开展了大量的研究和论证工作,在前人研究基础上,采用类比分析方法,根据黄河上游已建水利工程对鱼类的影响,结合黑山峡河段的鱼类现状,分析不同开发方案对鱼类的影响,并分别提出保护对策措施和建议.     

Institutional factors affecting fish passage in the Columbia River Treaty renegotiation

ABSTRACT

The United States and Canada have begun renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty, which is an international model for transboundary water governance. This paper identifies six institutional factors that will affect negotiations pertaining to fish passage during the renegotiation of the treaty: geographical advantage, issue linkage, a basin commission, the duration of agreements, negotiating autonomy and side payments. These factors and the methods used to determine them can be applied to other transboundary river basins where basin states have a history of transboundary resource governance. This analysis also serves as a policy-relevant resource for Columbia River Treaty negotiators and stakeholders.     

国外典型过鱼设施建设及其运行情况

对美国哥伦比亚河及其支流蛇河水电梯级开发、日本长良川河口堰、巴西伊泰普水利枢纽工程、莱茵河鲑鱼2000计划等国外典型工程的过鱼设施设计、建设、运行效果进行了调查研究。分析结果表明,鱼道作为保护或重塑河流生态环境的重要工程措施之一,不仅可解决工程建设中的鱼类保护问题,同时将工程的建设和科研、科普教育和旅游开发相结合,促进当地的经济发展,创造出更大的经济和社会效益。     

Flow regulation by dams affecting ichthyoplankton: the case of the Porto Primavera Dam,Paraná River,Brazil

The effects of a dam closure (Porto Primavera Dam) on reproduction of the main species that use the floodplain located below a nursery area were determined. Specifically, we examined, before and after the closure of the dam, the spatial distribution of larvae and the differences in density according to life strategy (migratory and non‐migratory species). Fifteen points distributed along the channels of the Paraná, Ivinheima and Paranapanema rivers were sampled, between 1997 and 2001, (October 1997 to December 1998—pre; and between January 1999 to March 2001—post closure), during the spawning period of most fish species found in the region (October to March). Samplings were always conducted at night, using a conical‐cylindrical plankton net (0.5 mm mesh) with a flowmeter attached. There were significant differences in larvae densities between pre and post dam closure for several species. Also, there were significant differences between the pre and post‐closure periods for densities of migratory and non‐migratory species, and between sampling sites. These findings indicate decline in densities and number of taxa caught after the closure of the dam. Larvae of migratory species, formerly common in the entire study area, were registered only in points influenced by the non dammed rivers (such as the Ivinheima River), indicating that the closure of Porto Primavera caused negative impacts on fish reproduction downstream of the dam. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国鱼类洄游通道和生境恢复技术研究现状分析

我国目前处于水电开发建设的高峰时期,生态环境保护问题受到高度重视。人们对河流资源的开发利用阻隔了鱼类自由迁徙的洄游通道,大大影响了鱼类赖以生存的环境,亟需发展洄游通道和鱼类生境的恢复技术来加以保护。阐述了鱼类洄游通道和生境恢复的重要意义,总结了该类技术在我国的研究现状和发展过程,指出了我国鱼类洄游通道技术发展面临的主要问题和挑战。通过对21世纪以来(特别是最近5 a)国家自然科学基金资助的相关项目及研究成果分析,指明了目前我国鱼类洄游通道和生境恢复技术的主要努力方向,包括:①各种典型鱼类的生活习性和游泳行为能力;②鱼类种群分布及生境因子影响规律;③水电开发对鱼类生境因子的影响规律;④洄游通道和生存环境恢复措施及过鱼效果验证。     

Influence of the Abaeté River on the reproductive success of the neotropical migratory teleost Prochilodus argenteus in the São Francisco River,downstream from the Três Marias Dam,southeastern Brazil

The curimatã‐pacu Prochilodus argenteus is an important characiform from the São Francisco River basin that performs long‐distance migrations for spawning upstream during the rainy season, when the temperature and photoperiod are elevated. Despite the interruption of the migratory routes by the Três Marias Dam and accentuated decline in fishing, the curimatã‐pacu still sustains the fisheries at the Três Marias region in recent decades. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reproductive activity of P. argenteus in two sections of the São Francisco River, downstream from the Três Marias Dam, during the rainy season. In the first 34 km of the river, immediately below the dam, most of the females were in gonadal resting. At 34–54 km downstream from the dam, following the confluence with a medium‐sized tributary, the Abaeté River, there was a high frequency of males and females in reproductive activity. Follicular atresia was more frequent in the upper section of the river while postovulatory follicles occurred predominantly in the lower section. Fulton's condition factor and gonadosomatic index indicated that the females were in a better physiological and reproductive condition below the confluence with the Abaeté River. In contrast to the females, the males were less affected by damming, and testicular maturation was largely achieved in two river sections. Thus, although the section of the São Francisco River immediately below the Três Marias Dam was found to be unfavourable for the reproduction of the migratory fishes due principally to the hypolimnetic water from the reservoir, reproductive success of P. argenteus was achieved below the Abaeté River. In this section, the species encountered appropriate conditions for maturation and spawning, i.e. warm temperatures above 24°C, high water flow and dissolved oxygen, and low water transparency. These results indicate the importance of a non‐regulated tributary to minimize the ecological impact of a dam on the downstream native fish communities. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial effects of reservoirs on fish assemblages in Great Plains streams in Kansas,USA

Reservoirs are important components of modern aquatic ecosystems that have negative impacts on native aquatic biota both up‐ and downstream. We used a landscape‐scale geographic information system (GIS) approach to quantify the spatial effects of 19 large reservoirs on upstream prairie fish assemblages at 219 sites in Kansas, USA. We hypothesized that fish assemblage structure would vary with increasing distance from a reservoir and that the abundance of reservoir fishes in upstream reaches would decline with distance from a reservoir. Ordination of sample sites showed variation in fish assemblage structure occurred primarily across river basins and with stream size. Variance partitioning of a canonical ordination revealed that the pure effect of reservoir distance explained a small but significant (6%; F = 4.90, P = 0.002) amount of variability in fish assemblage structure in upstream reaches. Moreover, reservoir species catch per unit of effort (CPUE) significantly declined with distance from a reservoir, but only in fourth‐ and fifth‐ order streams (r² = 0.32, P < 0.001 and r² = 0.49, P < 0.001, respectively). Finally, a multivariate regression model including measures of stream size, catchment area, river basin, and reservoir distance successfully predicted CPUE of reservoir species at sites upstream of Kansas reservoirs (R² = 0.45, P < 0.001). Overall, we found significant upstream effects of reservoirs on Kansas stream fish assemblages, which over time has led to a general homogenization of fish assemblages because of species introductions and extirpations. However, characteristic reservoir species are present throughout these systems and the importance of spatial proximity to reservoirs is probably dependent on the availability of suitable habitat (e.g. deep pools) in these tributary streams. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.