{"title":"Global advances in fish passage research and practice","authors":"L. Baumgartner, Luiz G. M. Silva","doi":"10.1080/24705357.2019.1670745","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2019.1670745","url":null,"abstract":"The water-food-energy nexus is central to sustainable development (Poff and Olden 2017). Demand for all three is increasing, driven by a rising global population, rapid urbanization, changing diets and economic growth. In response, many countries are implementing unprecedented irrigation and hydropower expansion programs infrastructure to secure food, water and energy resources. Globally, irrigation has doubled in the last 50 years (Foley et al. 2011) and hydropower is expected to double again by 2050 (Ziv et al. 2012). Therefore, it is important that such development is planned, implemented and managed appropriately (Lynch et al. 2019) because any structure which diverts or stores water will impede the free movement of fish; in both an upstream and downstream direction. The environmental impacts of migration barriers have been recognised globally as one of the major threats for aquatic biota, particularly riverine species (Poff and Hart 2002). But there is always a significant challenge developing technical solutions that minimise impacts on fish, and create mutually beneficial outcomes for the environment and society. Fish passage has long been an intervention applied by irrigation and fisheries managers to mitigate the impacts of riverine development on fish (Clay 1995). But getting fish passage implemented correctly represents a significant engineering and biological challenge (Silva et al. 2018). Often, there are multiple solutions that may fit any given site but the best for implementation depends on a range of factors including target species and size classes, the expected ecological outcomes, local site hydrology, constructability and available budget (Larinier and Marmulla 2004). At many sites, data availability is often limited and so engineers and biologists must work collaboratively to implement functional solutions. This often requires design compromises which can only be agreed upon in collaboration (MallenCooper and Brand 2007). As has been famously noted, “An engineer may learn a lot of biology, and a biologist may learn a lot of engineering but, ultimately, both skills are needed to implement a functional solution” (Clay 1995). This special issue of Journal of Ecohydraulics explores recent biological and engineering advances in fish passage technology to help mitigate the impacts of barriers on fish migrations. The articles highlight the impacts of river infrastructure on fish and key knowledge advances for biologists and engineers to apply at future sites. Whilst these contrasting perspectives are explored from different angles, they essentially seek to arrive at the same outcome; winwin benefits for both fish and river development. Key topics include:","PeriodicalId":93201,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ecohydraulics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79820562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Water infrastructure and the migrations of amphidromous species: impacts and research requirements","authors":"Matt G. Jarvis, G. Closs","doi":"10.1080/24705357.2019.1611390","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2019.1611390","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Amphidromous species undertake a number of migrations throughout their life-history, migrating to sea immediately after hatching in freshwater, migrating back to freshwater after a pelagic larval period, and potentially undertaking adult spawning migrations. Amphidromous species are therefore likely to be highly susceptible to water infrastructure, having different migratory directions, objectives, and requirements at different life stages. We review the current state of knowledge on the migrations of amphidromous species, identifying the requirements for successful migrations, and potential threats from water infrastructure associated with anthropogenic activities. Newly hatched larvae migrating downstream are susceptible to numerous hazards associated with water infrastructure, including larval retention and starvation in freshwater, entrainment and impingement at water intakes, and barotrauma and physical damage associated with weirs and turbines. Distinct patterns of larval drift (spatial and temporal) may provide opportunities to alleviate mortality during larval emigration. While instream barriers inhibit the upstream migrations of amphidromous post-larvae and juveniles, climbing abilities are common, allowing for creative solutions facilitating upstream migration. Downstream spawning migrations are common in numerous amphidromous taxa, and are often associated with natural changes in flow regime, highlighting the need for bidirectional passage, and the potential for artificial flow alteration to negatively affect reproduction. Much research on the passage of amphidromous taxa has focussed on upstream migrating juveniles, while downstream migrating adults and larvae, which may be far more susceptible to water infrastructure, have largely been ignored. This life-stage bias represents a key research gap that must be addressed to safeguard amphidromous species in future.","PeriodicalId":93201,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ecohydraulics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87025292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Moser, S. Corbett, M. Keefer, K. Frick, S. Lopez-Johnston, C. Caudill
{"title":"Novel fishway entrance modifications for Pacific lamprey","authors":"M. Moser, S. Corbett, M. Keefer, K. Frick, S. Lopez-Johnston, C. Caudill","doi":"10.1080/24705357.2019.1604090","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2019.1604090","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Passage facilities at dams must accommodate a broad array of aquatic species to achieve full river connectivity. In an attempt to improve adult Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) passage, fishway entrance modifications were made at a large dam on the Columbia River in northwestern USA. The modifications consisted of a variable-width entrance weir and flow disrupters to create heterogeneity in water velocities near the bottom, without affecting attraction flows for adult salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) or alosids (Alosa sapidissima). Additionally, a lamprey passage structure (LPS) was installed to provide a lamprey-specific route from tailrace to forebay elevation (31 m). Passive integrated transponders and radio transmitters were used to monitor both Pacific lamprey and Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) movements. Fish use of the modified entrance was compared to that at a similar, but unmodified entrance before and after modifications. The entrance modifications resulted in increased velocity heterogeneity, but no measurable improvement in entrance efficiencies for lamprey or salmon. Lamprey successfully ascended the LPS, with annual counts ranging from 48 in 2010 to 3,851 in 2016 (0.2–8.9% of lamprey counted at the dam). Radiotelemetry indicated that tagged lamprey resumed upstream passage after LPS use and travelled at rates similar to those that used traditional fishway routes.","PeriodicalId":93201,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ecohydraulics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81957447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Global Advances in Fish Passage Research and Practice","authors":"","doi":"10.1080/24705357.2019.1684694","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2019.1684694","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":93201,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ecohydraulics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91161636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Harris, D. T. Roberts, S. O’Brien, B. Mefford, Kris S. Pitman
{"title":"A trap-and-haul fishway for upstream transfers of migrating fish at a challenging dam site","authors":"J. Harris, D. T. Roberts, S. O’Brien, B. Mefford, Kris S. Pitman","doi":"10.1080/24705357.2019.1669080","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2019.1669080","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Australia’s first trap-and-haul fishway was built to overcome site-related and biological challenges of providing upstream fish transfer at a 62 m dam. Challenges included multiple barriers, major flow alterations, infrequent spillway flows, a reservoir distant from tailwater, differing migration strategies and the presence of undesirable fish species. Planning assessments concluded upstream fish transfer would create environmental and fisheries benefits, but providing for downstream passage, other than protecting fish emigrating during spillway flows, was not justified. The trap-and-haul fishway collected upstream-migrating fish for transfer to multiple release sites. It provided flexibility to accommodate diverse species, sizes, abundance and behaviour while operating at flows ≤1:20 Annual Exceedance Probability. The fishway facilitated operational monitoring and removal of invasive and non-indigenous species, with features to limit predation. A barrier weir guided fish and minimized bypassing in spilling flows. Over four years’ operation approximately 43,700 fish, representing all the river’s 23 large and small-bodied migrating species, were transferred. Fish belonging to three unwanted species were removed. Stable, restricted flow releases through the fishway inhibited attraction, causing fish aggregations and reduced performance. Opportunities for improvement are recommended. The system’s design, operations and results have shown potential value for application at comparable sites elsewhere.","PeriodicalId":93201,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ecohydraulics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82486486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Knapp, J. Montgomery, Colin N. Whittaker, P. Franklin, C. Baker, H. Friedrich
{"title":"Fish passage hydrodynamics: insights into overcoming migration challenges for small-bodied fish","authors":"M. Knapp, J. Montgomery, Colin N. Whittaker, P. Franklin, C. Baker, H. Friedrich","doi":"10.1080/24705357.2019.1604091","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2019.1604091","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The modification and utilization of rivers in regions where small-bodied diadromous fish are prevalent has largely occurred without fully understanding the migration behaviour of these species. As a result, existing in-stream structures often prevent or restrict migration. Current fish passage design guidance generally focuses on providing average hydrodynamic conditions within the range of known critical swimming velocities for target fish species. Considerable portions of discharge capacity must be sacrificed to achieve average cross-sectional water velocities that will allow passage of weak swimmers. Furthermore, because the hydrodynamic requirements for small-bodied species are poorly understood, successful passage is still not guaranteed even when average hydrodynamic design criteria are met. Ethohydraulic research is focused on how water flow influences fish behaviour and vice versa, by studying the interaction of fish with small-scale in-flow characteristics. We discuss how an ethohydraulic approach may improve fish passage design for small-bodied fish, such as țnanga/common galaxias (Galaxias maculatus), a widespread diadromous Southern Hemisphere species. The ethohydraulic approach is discussed in detail for culverts, a commonly found structure known to impede fish passage for many small-bodied species.","PeriodicalId":93201,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ecohydraulics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79291356","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Baumgartner, M. Barwick, C. Boys, T. Marsden, K. Martin, J. McPherson, N. Ning, Oudom Phonekhampeng, W. Robinson, D. Singhanouvong, I. Stuart, G. Thorncraft
{"title":"A cautionary tale about the potential impacts of gated culverts on fish passage restoration efforts","authors":"L. Baumgartner, M. Barwick, C. Boys, T. Marsden, K. Martin, J. McPherson, N. Ning, Oudom Phonekhampeng, W. Robinson, D. Singhanouvong, I. Stuart, G. Thorncraft","doi":"10.1080/24705357.2019.1641434","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2019.1641434","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Combined fishway-culvert facilities are common in many tropical river systems in South East Asia, but little is known regarding their mutual passage effectiveness. We investigated the lateral passage of Lower Mekong Basin fish in Lao PDR, through a combined cone fishway-sluice gate culvert facility between the Mekong River and an adjacent wetland. Fish abundance and species richness were assessed during the beginning of the 2014 wet season at three locations within the fishway-culvert facility: (i) the bottom of the fishway (i.e. downstream end of the facility); (ii) the top of the fishway; and (iii) the top of the culvert (i.e. upstream end of the facility). Neither total fish abundance nor species richness varied significantly among the three locations while the wetland remained at levels where the culvert was only partially inundated and the culvert gate was fully open. However, part-way through the study the culvert became completely inundated and the culvert gate had to be partially closed to protect the downstream fishway. During this period of partial gate closure, fish abundance and species richness became significantly lower at the top of the culvert than at the two fishway locations. This suggests that sluice gate culverts are most effective at facilitating the lateral movement of fish in tropical river systems when they are designed and operated appropriately for the local hydrological conditions, and their gates remain fully open.","PeriodicalId":93201,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ecohydraulics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89294213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fish passage developments for small-bodied tropical fish: field case-studies lead to technology improvements","authors":"T. Marsden, I. Stuart","doi":"10.1080/24705357.2019.1646616","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2019.1646616","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In tropical coastal lowland rivers, there are frequently biodiverse upstream migrations of post-larval and juvenile diadromous fish from estuaries into freshwater. Tidal barriers completely block major migratory pathways for these fish and have contributed to major losses of freshwater biodiversity. In northern Australia, early efforts to improve tropical river fish passage with salmonid-style fishways completely failed. Since the mid-1990s, low gradient vertical-slot and rock fishways improved fish passage but the smallest and most abundant fish (i.e. from 10 to 100 mm long) often still failed to ascend. Since the mid-2000s, there was a paradigm shift in hydraulic design criteria for new fishways, with a renewed focus on: (i) low turbulence, (ii) maximized roughness and hydraulic boundary layers to optimise fish ascent. We used a combined methodology, firstly developing a conceptual model of fish movement to inform fishway design criteria, secondly tabulating past and present fishway design criteria, and thirdly conducting a series of brief field case-studies, at tidal barriers in tropical rivers for new technical and rock fishways. Our objective was to evaluate the success of these new designs for passage of very small (from 9 mm long) diadromous fish on low head barriers (i.e. <3 m high). We conclude that while there have been improvements in passage of small-bodied fish at tidal barriers further experimental work is still needed to test and refine current ecohydraulic fishway design criteria.","PeriodicalId":93201,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ecohydraulics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87815992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Upstream movement of river lamprey through a culvert retrofitted with spoiler baffles under experimental conditions","authors":"A. Vowles, P. Karageorgopoulos, P. Kemp","doi":"10.1080/24705357.2018.1555777","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2018.1555777","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTARCT Culverts used to convey river water under roads and embankments are one of the most common small-scale barriers to longitudinal fish movements worldwide. Using an open channel flume, this study assessed the ability of upstream migrating adult river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) to ascend a pipe culvert when unmodified (control [C]) and retrofitted with spoiler baffles (treatment [T]) under three flow regimes (low discharge [L], high discharge [H] and high discharge with a raised downstream water level [HD]). Few lamprey attempted to ascend the culvert under low (11%) and high (21%) discharge in both the control and the treatments. Despite a greater percentage attempting to pass (75%) under HD, they frequently failed. Contrary to our predictions, upstream progress was impeded by the spoiler baffles and may reflect low motivation or avoidance of the physical and/or hydraulic conditions encountered. This study emphasizes the need to better understand the factors influencing the behaviour and motivation of fish as they ascend fish passage structures, and of the importance of reporting negative results as fish passage solutions that are promising for some species may be ineffective for others.","PeriodicalId":93201,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ecohydraulics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80162235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What is the right scale? Encouraging fruitful engagement for ecology with ecohydraulics","authors":"J. Lancaster","doi":"10.1080/24705357.2018.1535260","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24705357.2018.1535260","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In ecohydraulics research, both physical and biological variables must be sampled at scales that are appropriate to the questions being addressed. This essay focuses on ecological topics that may be addressed in the context of ecohydraulics and the scales appropriate for their investigation. The first sections discuss definitions of scale, how environmental heterogeneity influences experimental and sampling designs, and the importance of recognizing that physical and ecological heterogeneity are not necessarily related. Thus, the scales appropriate for a particular research problem should be determined primarily by the ecological phenomenon of interest, plus the generation time and life-space of the study organisms. Studies over the large scales relevant to population and community ecology are logistically difficult and numerical models, but not scaled physical models, may facilitate extrapolations between scales for ecological phenomena. Three examples illustrate how complementary sets of studies executed at different scales can collectively contribute to ecological research problems in an ecohydraulics context. Two examples have strong roots in ecology (population dynamics in disturbed environments; ecosystem engineers) and the third arises from a need to solve applied problems (fish passage). These are topical areas of research to which ecohydraulics could make significant contributions.","PeriodicalId":93201,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ecohydraulics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77422511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}