Effects of river morphology, hydraulic gradients, and sediment deposition on water exchange and oxygen dynamics in salmonid redds

Wildhaber, Y. Schindler; Michel, Christian; Epting, Jannis; Wildhaber, R.A.; Huber, Emanuel; Huggenberger, Peter; Burkhardt‐Holm, Patricia; Alewell, Christine

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.09.100

Cited by 26 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Salmonids are particularly sensitive to suspended solids, as they affect gravel permeability and oxygen supply in embryos (Schindler Wildhaber et al. ), swimming performance and physiology (Berli et al. ), and predator avoidance (Louhi et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human mining activity across the ages determines the genetic structure of modern brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) populations

Paris

King

Stevens

2015

Evolutionary Applications

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Humans have exploited the earth's metal resources for thousands of years leaving behind a legacy of toxic metal contamination and poor water quality. The southwest of England provides a well-defined example, with a rich history of metal mining dating to the Bronze Age. Mine water washout continues to negatively impact water quality across the region where brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) populations exist in both metal-impacted and relatively clean rivers. We used microsatellites to assess the genetic impact of mining practices on trout populations in this region. Our analyses demonstrated that metal-impacted trout populations have low genetic diversity and have experienced severe population declines. Metal-river trout populations are genetically distinct from clean-river populations, and also from one another, despite being geographically proximate. Using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), we dated the origins of these genetic patterns to periods of intensive mining activity. The historical split of contemporary metal-impacted populations from clean-river fish dated to the Medieval period. Moreover, we observed two distinct genetic populations of trout within a single catchment and dated their divergence to the Industrial Revolution. Our investigation thus provides an evaluation of contemporary population genetics in showing how human-altered landscapes can change the genetic makeup of a species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human mining activity across the ages determines the genetic structure of modern brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) populations

Paris

King

Stevens

2015

Evolutionary Applications

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“…Deposited fine sediment can decrease redd gravel permeability and hence hinder oxygen supply (Greig, Sear & Carling, ; Heywood & Walling, ). However, water exchange in salmonid redds also depends on river morphology and hydraulic gradients driving interstitial flow (Soulsby, Malcolm & Youngson, ; Malcolm, Soulsby & Youngson, ; Malcolm et al ., ; Schindler Wildhaber et al ., ). Laboratory studies indicate that hydraulic gradients can to some degree counterbalance the negative effect of fine sediment on interstitial flow and salmonid incubation success (Lapointe et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…(), 4 ‐ Schindler Wildhaber et al . () and 5 ‐ this study. Bold parameters are identified most important variables.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hydraulic gradients, either related to localized (redd scale) bed morphology and/or the artificial step structure, together with gravel permeability then jointly drive hyporheic water exchange in the redds (Huber et al ., ; Schindler Wildhaber et al ., ). Oxygen concentrations in the redds increase with hyporheic water exchange and decrease with accumulated fine sediment (Schindler Wildhaber et al ., ). Therefore, we hypothesized that (hypothesis A) the hydraulic gradients mentioned above could partly mitigate the negative impact of increased fine sediment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Together with rising water temperature, this increased organic oxygen demand could negatively affect embryo STH (hypothesis B; Schindler Wildhaber et al ., ). Finally, oxygen concentrations in redds are highly variable, leading us to hypothesize (C) that the frequency and duration of periods of low oxygen, rather than just a mean oxygen concentration, determines effects on salmonid embryo survival (Schindler Wildhaber et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Artificial steps mitigate the effect of fine sediment on the survival of brown trout embryos in a heavily modified river

et al. 2013

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Summary Understanding the factors that determine successful salmonid embryo incubation in the many structurally modified river systems of the Northern Hemisphere is crucial for maintaining healthy salmonid populations. In this context, the joint impact of fine sediment accumulation together with anthropogenic river modifications on salmonid embryo survival has been rarely investigated. We investigated brown trout embryo survival to hatch (STH) together with ten physicochemical, hydraulic and morphological parameters in artificial brown trout redds in a heavily modified stream (i.e. channelized, artificial log steps) in central Switzerland. We were interested to understand whether (i) STH is more sensitive to the timing and duration of low oxygen rather than a mean oxygen concentration, (ii) STH was negatively affected by increased fine sediment deposition decreasing redd gravel permeability, (iii) higher water levels, causing fine sediment resuspension, benefit STH, (iv) STH was negatively affected by organic content in the redds and especially (v) hydraulic gradients related to redd scale bed‐form and/or the artificial step structure benefit embryo STH, and hence could mitigate the negative impact of fine sediment and/or organic content. Up to 50%, brown trout embryos survived with interstitial oxygen exceeding 3 mg L−1. Embryos endured up to 6 days ≤ 1 mg L−1 but were more sensitive to oxygen depletion close to hatch. Therefore, timing and duration of low oxygen were important for embryo STH, and hence, oxygen dynamics need to be considered when assessing in redd conditions for salmonid STH. Partial least squares regression identified the horizontal hydraulic gradient, Fredle index, distance to artificial log steps upstream and amount of accumulated fine sediment as influential predictors for embryo STH. The water level above the redd and total organic carbon content in the redd were not influential. Among the identified influential predictors, 70.9% of the variation in STH could be explained by a logistic regression model containing redd distance to the next upstream step (26.4%, P = 0.004), Fredle index (27.2%, P = 0.003) and horizontal hydraulic gradient (10.1%, P = 0.04). In the logistic regression, the amount of accumulated fine sediment (P = 0.75), field seasons (P = 0.93) and field sites (P = 0.66) was non‐significant. In summary, brown trout STH was sensitive to redd gravel permeability, which was measured as Fredle index and affected by fine sediment deposition. At the same time, hydraulic gradients related to artificial log steps, which enhanced hyporheic exchange, benefited embryo STH, and hence mitigated fine sediment impact. This result can be probably transferred to other surface water‐dominated river systems with good hyporheic water quality. To what extent it can be transferred to river systems with other hydraulic boundary conditions remains to be evaluated. Altogether, our results clearly indicate that the impact of fine sediment on salmonid incubation success needs to be understood in the h...

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Effects of climate change on the life stages of stream‐dwelling brown trout (Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758) at the rear edge of their native distribution range

et al. 2020

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Streamflow and temperature regimes are key components of the physical habitats of instream biological communities. Iberian brown trout (Salmo trutta) populations exist in a climatic border where water scarcity and increasing water temperatures during summer could compromise their viability throughout the 21st century. We predicted climate change-induced modifications in the thermal and hydraulic habitats of both the intragravel (eggs and larvae) and free-swimming (fry, juveniles and adults) stages of brown trout in two mountain streams in central Spain. Spatial-temporal simulations of thermal and hydraulic habitats under two climate change emission scenarios-representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 (mild scenario) and RCP 8.5 (pessimistic)-were conducted at 1-m altitudinal steps using daily air temperature and streamflow predictions. Increased winter temperatures will reduce embryo and larval development time by 12% (RCP 4.5) and 30% (RCP 8.5) in downstream sites by end of the 21st century, but this reduction might be insufficient to compensate for the shortening of the period with temperatures below the viability limits for survival of intragravel phase (20% and 54%, respectively). Combining streamflow and temperature data for free-swimming stages indicated that the suitable summer habitat will be reduced by between 53% and 76% (RCP 4.5) and 70%-90% (RCP 8.5) by 2099. The predicted effects for all developmental stages are critical for determining population viability at both ends of its altitudinal distribution. However, these responses are river-specific, as limiting factors differ among rivers.

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Effects of river morphology, hydraulic gradients, and sediment deposition on water exchange and oxygen dynamics in salmonid redds

Cited by 26 publications

References 49 publications

Human mining activity across the ages determines the genetic structure of modern brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) populations

Human mining activity across the ages determines the genetic structure of modern brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) populations

Artificial steps mitigate the effect of fine sediment on the survival of brown trout embryos in a heavily modified river

Effects of climate change on the life stages of stream‐dwelling brown trout (Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758) at the rear edge of their native distribution range

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