Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) transit of a ramp equipped with studded substrate: Implications for fish passage and invasive species control

Abstract

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River connectivity restoration for upstream‐migrating European river lamprey: The efficacy of two horizontally‐mounted studded tile designs

“…Although this is lower than the passage efficiency observed by Tummers et al (2018) for SDTs, DDTs have not been tested in the field. Along with this, recent research from Hume et al (2020) using a similar quincunx "5‐dice" stud configuration in a mesocosm experiment, but with greater stud spacing for larger Great Lakes sea lamprey, demonstrated approximately 98% passage efficiency. Therefore, field‐based assessment of different stud configurations, including DDTs, is needed, as there may be potential for DDTs to provide a more effective passage option for river lamprey at sloping weirs under field conditions.…”

“…However, this does not indicate that a studded ramp passage solution for river lamprey need be ineffective if researched from a “first principles” perspective of what makes a passage route attractive and effective. Hume et al (2020) have demonstrated that a 45° studded ramp exceeding 1 m in height could deliver a passage efficiency of ~98% for Great lakes sea lamprey, suggesting that studded ramps with the right design can be effective for upstream lamprey passage.…”

“…It may be that the stud arrangements in the current study are limiting river lamprey to passing over the tiles and not travelling within the stud spacing. Hume et al (2020), showed that plastic substrate with taller and wider studs, and a greater stud spacing in a quincunx “5‐dice” arrangement, were highly effective (approximately 98% passage efficiency) at enabling ascent of Great Lakes sea lamprey (more similar in size to European river lamprey than European sea lamprey) when a low flow was passed over the studded material (depth of water between studs approximately 69.2 mm at a velocity approximately 0.2 m/s) which were also set at a steep angle (45° from horizontal). In the Hume et al (2020) study, the Great Lakes sea lamprey were observed swimming within the studded matrix, potentially made possible by the wider stud spacing and alternating stud positions.…”

“…Hume et al (2020), showed that plastic substrate with taller and wider studs, and a greater stud spacing in a quincunx “5‐dice” arrangement, were highly effective (approximately 98% passage efficiency) at enabling ascent of Great Lakes sea lamprey (more similar in size to European river lamprey than European sea lamprey) when a low flow was passed over the studded material (depth of water between studs approximately 69.2 mm at a velocity approximately 0.2 m/s) which were also set at a steep angle (45° from horizontal). In the Hume et al (2020) study, the Great Lakes sea lamprey were observed swimming within the studded matrix, potentially made possible by the wider stud spacing and alternating stud positions. Therefore, studded tiles may prove to be an effective solution for restoring habitat connectivity for river lamprey, but further research into the optimal stud arrangement and size which enables river lamprey to either swim through them or above them in a variety of flow conditions is needed.…”

“…They are designed to disturb the flow of water and to provide a physical structure in the form of studs/bristles for fish, particularly those with anguilliform movement, to use as lateral body support and afford forward propulsion through pushing‐off the studs/bristles (D'Aguiar, 2011; Rooney et al, 2015). As such, horizontally‐mounted studded tiles (where tiles are mounted flat so that the studs point upwards) are being increasingly recommended as either a mitigation measure for Petromyzontiformes passage at weirs (Rooney et al, 2015; Tummers et al, 2018; Vowles et al, 2017) or for selective removal of invasive Great Lakes sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus ; Hume, Lucas, Reinhardt, Hrodey, & Wagner, 2020). Nevertheless there remains limited knowledge regarding the efficacy of studded media, including the optimal configuration, size and spacing of studs for target species.…”