Modified tide gate management for enhancing instream habitat for native fish upstream of the saline limit

Franklin, P.A.; Hodges, Michelle

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2015.04.004

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Sculpins may be particularly vulnerable to altered connectivity in river systems (Favaro and Moore 2015) and prickly sculpin abundances have previously been found to be lower in gated creeks than in non-gated creeks (Scott et al 2016). Non-native fishes, such as pumpkinseed sunfish and largemouth bass, did not appear to be sensitive to differences in floodgate operations, although previous studies have found that non-native species tend to be more abundant in areas upstream of floodgates than in creeks without floodgates (Franklin and Hodges 2015;Scott et al 2016). Due to the timing of sampling, our study did not fully assess the impacts of floodgate operations on juvenile salmon.…”

Section: Fish Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…These data indicate that increases in water exchange from changes to floodgate operations could result in water quality improvements (Raposa and Roman 2003). For example, increasing opening times could relieve hypoxic conditions found above floodgates by restoring variable flows and tidal flushing to tributaries (Franklin and Hodges 2015). Additionally, hypoxic conditions above floodgates tend to be most pronounced in the late summer (Scott et al 2016), so the impact of floodgate operations on water quality may vary seasonally.…”

Section: Water Quality and Floodgate Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Floodgates have been associated with reduced native fish diversity in tidal creeks in the Lower Fraser (Scott et al 2016), and around the world (Pollard and Hannan 1994;Halls et al 1998;Kroon and Ansell 2006 Scott et al 2016). Others have discussed mitigating these impacts through structural and operational changes, such as opening floodgates for longer periods of time (Pollard and Hannan 1994;Franklin and Hodges 2015). For example, Boys et al (2012) found that structurally modifying floodgates or intermittently opening them led to improved fish passage and shifted fish communities back towards reference communities in Australian tidal creeks.…”

Section: Fish Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, self-regulating tide gates use floats to remain open for a longer portion of the tidal cycle (Giannico and Souder 2005). Alternatively, manually leaving some floodgates open except during periods of high flood risk could improve flushing and fish passage (Franklin and Hodges 2015). A study in Oregon and Washington State demonstrated a correlation between the density of Chinook salmon and other estuary-dependent species and the "connectedness" across tide gates (an index based on the tide gate's opening size and duration) (Greene et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Floodgate Operations and Fish Communities in Tidal Creeks of the Lower Fraser River (British Columbia, Canada)

Seifert

Moore

2017

Estuaries and Coasts

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Tidal creeks in large coastal deltas can be important habitat for fish but are often highly modified by human activities. Connectivity between tributary creeks and mainstem channels is often constrained by structures such as dikes and floodgates, designed to protect urban and agricultural areas from flooding. While they play important roles in flood mitigation, floodgates can diminish habitat quality and block fish from accessing tidal creeks. It is likely that floodgates differ in their operations and may consequently open for different amounts of time; however, floodgate operations and their effects are not well quantified. We asked the question: how does the mechanical functioning of these floodgates affect fish communities in tidal creeks? We used time-lapse cameras and quantified the timing of gate openings for 22 tributaries of the Lower Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada, and related these operational data to differences in fish communities above and below floodgates. Floodgate operations varied substantially, with some floodgates opening daily while others opened less than 20% of the day, on average. Sites with floodgates that seldom opened were associated with greater differences in fish communities and with reduced upstream native species richness by about one species on average. Where floodgates opened infrequently, we also found lower upstream dissolved oxygen concentrations than at sites where floodgates opened for longer periods of time. Thus, floodgate operations can influence fish communities as well as water quality. These data indicate a large scope for improving floodgate operations for connectivity.

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Section: Fish Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 57%

Section: Water Quality and Floodgate Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fish Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Floodgate Operations and Fish Communities in Tidal Creeks of the Lower Fraser River (British Columbia, Canada)

Seifert

Moore

2017

Estuaries and Coasts

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“…While connectivity and water quality by the SRTG is generally improved over the traditional tide gates, the physical and other fish habitat conditions are still relatively poor for estuarinedependent species such as endangered or threatened fish species in the north-west Pacific region (Greene et al, 2012). Whether such Ecoengineering tide gates will partially attain desired improvements in estuarine wetland connectivity and habitat quality, depends on temporal access and habitat quality requirements of the targeted nekton species versus those more adapted to restricted tidal systems (Boys et al, 2012;Franklin and Hodges, 2015). Similarly, the amount of investment and sustained maintenance are an acceptable compromise, but made more complicated by the often energy-demanding characteristics of SRTG and other 'automatic' tide gates (Glamore, 2012;Reiner, M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 9 evolutionary dead-end" (Rozas, 2012).…”

Section: A C C E P T E D Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecoengineering with Ecohydrology: Successes and failures in estuarine restoration

Elliott

Mander

Mazik

et al. 2016

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

149

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Ecological Engineering (or Ecoengineering) is increasingly used in estuaries to re-create and restore ecosystems degraded by human activities, including reduced water flow or land poldered for agricultural use. Here we focus on ecosystem recolonization by the biota and their functioning and we separate Type A Ecoengineering where the physico-chemical structure is modified on the basis that ecological structure and functioning will then follow, and Type B Ecoengineering where the biota are engineered directly such as through restocking or replanting. Modifying the physical system to create and restore natural processes and habitats relies on successfully applying Ecohydrology, where suitable physical conditions, especially hydrography and sedimentology, are created to recover estuarine ecology by natural or human-mediated colonisation of primary producers and consumers, or habitat creation. This successional process then allows wading birds and fish to reoccupy the rehabilitated areas, thus restoring the natural food web and recreating nursery areas for aquatic biota.We describe Ecohydrology principles applied during Ecoengineering restoration projects in Europe, Australia, Asia, South Africa and North America. These show some successful and sustainable approaches but also others that were less than successful and not sustainable despite the best of intentions (and which may even have harmed the ecology). Some schemes may be 'good for the ecologists', as conservationists consider it successful that at least some habitat was created, albeit in the short-term, but arguably did little for the overall ecology of the area in space or time. We indicate M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT2 the trade-offs between the short-and long-term value of restored and created ecosystems, the success at developing natural structure and functioning in disturbed estuaries, the role of this in estuarine and wetland management, and the costs and benefits of Ecoengineering to the socio-ecological system. These global case studies provide important lessons for both the science and management of estuaries, including that successful estuarine restoration is a complex and often difficult process, and that Ecoengineering with Ecohydrology aims to control and/or simulate natural ecosystem processes.

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Moving beyond fitting fish into equations: Progressing the fish passage debate in the Anthropocene

Birnie‐Gauvin

Franklin

Wilkes

et al. 2018

Aquatic Conservation

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Realization of the importance of fish passage for migratory species has led to the development of innovative and creative solutions (‘fishways’) to mitigate the effects of artificial barriers in freshwater systems in the last few decades. In many instances, however, the first move has been to attempt to engineer a solution to the problem, thus attempting to ‘fit fish into an equation’. These fishways are often derived from designs targeting salmonids in the Northern Hemisphere. They are rarely adequate, even for these strong‐swimming fish, and certainly appear to be unsuitable for most other species, not least for those of tropical regions. Fishway design criteria do not adequately account for natural variation among individuals, populations and species. Moreover, engineered solutions cannot reinstate the natural habitat and geomorphological properties of the river, objectives that have been largely ignored. This article discusses the most prominent issues with the current management and conservation of freshwater ecosystems as it pertains to fish passage. It is not intended as a review on fish passage, but rather a perspective on the issues related to fishways, as seen by practitioners.

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Modified tide gate management for enhancing instream habitat for native fish upstream of the saline limit

Cited by 15 publications

References 37 publications

Floodgate Operations and Fish Communities in Tidal Creeks of the Lower Fraser River (British Columbia, Canada)

Floodgate Operations and Fish Communities in Tidal Creeks of the Lower Fraser River (British Columbia, Canada)

Ecoengineering with Ecohydrology: Successes and failures in estuarine restoration

Moving beyond fitting fish into equations: Progressing the fish passage debate in the Anthropocene

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