Incorporating fish habitat requirements of the complete life cycle into ecological flow regime estimation of rivers

Abstract

Maintenance of ecological flow regime for aquatic biota is essential to river ecosystem health. To estimate ecological flow, habitat simulation methods have been widely applied because of their combination of hydrological regime and species hydraulic preference. However, few methods are available to provide a flow regime that varies over time due to time-specific habitat requirements from different target species or from one target species at its different life stages. This paper described a novel approach for evaluating the ecological flow regime that was a time series of discharge considering different life stages of target species. First, an ecohydraulic model that combined multivariable habitat suitability curve of target species with a hydraulic module was developed to establish the relationship between habitat status and hydrological conditions. Then, the habitat connectivity index was adopted to assess the spatial patterns of habitat patches. Finally, the ecological flow regime considering the complete life cycle of target species was derived. The developed approach was applied to the middle reach of Huaihe River, where the flow is highly regulated by dams and sluices. The Chinese bream (Parabramis pekinensis) was chosen as the target species for ecological flow calculation. The ecological flow regime in the Lutaizi was provided for the river management. The study provided a promising method to support ecological friendly operations of hydraulic structures for river ecosystem restoration and management. K E Y W O R D S ecohydraulic model, ecological flow regime, full life cycle, habitat connectivity

Occurrence, distribution, and health risk assessment of quinolone antibiotics in water, sediment, and fish species of Qingshitan reservoir, South China

“…The habitat aquifers of collected fish samples are pelagic ( Sinibrama macrops , Hemiculter leucisculus ), benthopelagic ( Ctenopharyngodon idellus ), and demersal ( Cyprinus carpio , Carassius auratus , Silurus asotus , Pelteobagrus fulvidraco ) 41 . The results show that the highest concentration of OFX was found in demersal fish, and the lowest was found in the pelagic fish.…”

“…The highest water OFX was observed at S4 point which is located near the Goping countryside, with a high population density. OFX is an antibacterial drug shared by humans and animals, while the manure of humans and urban sewage is often used as an organic fertilizer for planting crops 41 . Besides, the concentration of the antibiotics at the lakeside was averagely higher than that at the center of the lake.…”

Crosstalk between COVID-19 Infection and Kidney Diseases: A Review on the Metabolomic Approaches

“…IL-6 is a key cytokine involved in multiple malfunctioning organs, including AKI. IL-6 levels are elevated in COVID-19 patients and are substantially associated with adverse clinical outcomes, such as ICU hospitalization, ARDS, and death [ 42 , 59 , 110 ]. The severity of the inflammatory storm that causes ARDS is also influenced by genetic predisposition linked to genes for ACE2, TNF-α, VEGF, IL-10, etc.…”

Rivers under pressure: Interdisciplinary feasibility analysis of sustainable hydropower

“…Fragmentation hinders migration between different habitats needed by many species during their life cycle. Suitable habitats may also be changed from a stream habitat to a lentic environment (Wang et al, 2020).…”

“…The ecological impacts of hydropower generation are different in large and small rivers (Poff & Hart, 2002; Wang et al, 2020). Large rivers and, consequently, large hydropower facilities (without reservoir capacity) are often situated in lowland areas.…”