The fish Strouhal number as a criterion for hydraulic fishway design

Link, Óscar; Sanhueza, Carolina; Arriagada, Pedro; Brevis, Wernher; Laborde, A.; González, A.; Wilkes, Martin; Habit, Evelyn

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.03.018

Cited by 29 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 58 publications

(94 reference statements)

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“…Fish swimming performance is a key biological aspect of fish passage structure design (Botha et al, 2018;Scruton et al, 1998;Bice and Zampatti, 2005;Katopodis et al, 2019;Link et al, 2017;Peake, 2014;Starrs et al, 2011). Excessive water velocities and turbulence are major physical barriers to fish movement that are often generated by concentrated flows associated with instream structures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Swimming performance traits of twenty-one Australian fish species: a fish passage management tool for use in modified freshwater systems

Watson

Goodrich

Cramp

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Freshwater ecosystems have been severely fragmented by artificial in-stream structures designed to manage water for human use. Significant efforts have been made to reconnect freshwater systems for fish movement, through the design and installation of dedicated fish passage structures (fishways) and by incorporating fish-sensitive design features into conventional infrastructure (e.g. culverts). Key to the success of these structures is making sure that the water velocities within them do not exceed the swimming capacities of the local fish species. Swimming performance data is scarce for Australian fish, which have a reduced swimming capacity when compared to many North American and European species. To help close this knowledge gap and assist fisheries management and civil engineering, we report the swimming performance capacities of twenty-one small-bodied fish and juveniles (< 10 cm) of large bodied species native to Australia as measured by critical swimming speed (Ucrit) and burst swimming speed (Usprint) in a recirculating flume. This data is complemented by endurance swim trials in a 12-meter hydraulic flume channel, and by measures of flume traverse success. Building on the utility of this dataset, we used a panel of morphological, behavioural and ecological traits to first assess their relative contributions to the observed swimming performance data, and second, to determine if they could be used to predict swimming performance capacity -a useful tool to assist in the management of species of conservation concern where access to swimming performance data may be limited. We found that body length combined with depth station (benthic, pelagic or surface) explained most of the interspecific variation in observed swimming performance data, followed by body shape and tail shape. These three traits were the most effective at predicting swimming performance in a model/unknown fish. This data will assist civil engineers and fisheries managers in Australia to mitigate the impact of in-stream structures on local fish populations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Swimming performance traits of twenty-one Australian fish species: a fish passage management tool for use in modified freshwater systems

Watson

Goodrich

Cramp

et al. 2019

Preprint

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show abstract

“…Most modelling approaches in fish passage research, at their core, are equations. This means that fish must be fitted into a mathematical phrase, essentially collapsing all natural variation into one ‘magic’ number, even in situations where swimming behaviour between populations is strongly divergent (Link et al, ). Whereas the biologist would be calling for explicit recognition of this divergent swimming behaviour in fishway design, the engineer may instead consider an equation that does away with this variability.…”

Section: Biases In Fish Passage Research and Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…number, even in situations where swimming behaviour between populations is strongly divergent (Link et al, 2017). Whereas the biologist would be calling for explicit recognition of this divergent swimming behaviour in fishway design, the engineer may instead consider an equation that does away with this variability.…”

Section: Requirement Mismatches and Ignoring Natural Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…It has sometimes been assumed that passage of resident fish can be mitigated using technical fishways to a degree sufficient to maintain connectivity between subpopulations (e.g. Laborde et al, 2016;Link et al, 2017). The empirical evidence for these assumptions is scarce, and metapopulation theory suggests that high dispersal rates may be necessary to avoid local extinctions, support healthy subpopulations and maintain high patch occupancy (Schnell, Harris, Pimm, & Russell, 2013;Villard & Metzger, 2014).…”

Section: Nature-like Bypassesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the habitat quality parameters considered in the BN for nature-like bypass design (water velocity, depth, substrate), non-recreational fish also have species-specific habitat associations with cover and turbulence (Link et al, 2017;Wilkes, Maddock, Link, & Habit, 2016). While these factors are partially captured by substrate and depth (which constitute two forms of cover as well as scaling parameters for turbulence), the situation is more complex in reality (Lacey, Neary, Liao, Enders, & Tritico, 2012;Wilkes, Maddock, Visser, & Acreman, 2013).…”

Section: Nature-like Bypassesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish‐Net: Probabilistic models for fishway planning, design and monitoring to support environmentally sustainable hydropower

et al. 2018

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The construction of fishways for upstream and downstream connectivity is the preferred mitigation measure for hydropower dams and other riverine barriers. Yet empirical evidence for effective design criteria for many species is missing. We therefore assembled a group of international fishway designers and combined their knowledge with available empirical data using a formal expert elicitation protocol and Bayesian networks. The expert elicitation method we use minimizes biases typically associated with such approaches. Demonstrating our application with a case‐study on the temperate Southern Hemisphere, we use the resulting probabilistic models to predict the following, given alternative design parameters: (i) the effectiveness of technical fishways for upstream movement of migratory fish; (ii) habitat quality in nature‐like bypasses for resident fish; and (iii) rates of mortality during downstream passage of all fish through turbines and spillways. The Fish Passage Network (Fish‐Net) predicts that fishways for native species could be near 0% or near 100% efficient depending on their design, suggesting great scope for adequate mitigation. Sensitivity analyses revealed the most important parameters as follows: (i) design of attraction and entrance features of technical fishways for upstream migration; (ii) habitat preferences of resident fish in nature‐like bypasses; and (iii) susceptibility of fish to barotrauma and blade strike during turbine passage. Numerical modelling predicted that mortality rates of small‐bodied fish (50–100 mm TL) due to blade strike may be higher for Kaplan than Francis turbines. Our findings can be used to support environmentally sustainable decisions in the planning, design and monitoring stages of hydropower development.

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The fish Strouhal number as a criterion for hydraulic fishway design

Cited by 29 publications

References 58 publications

Swimming performance traits of twenty-one Australian fish species: a fish passage management tool for use in modified freshwater systems

Swimming performance traits of twenty-one Australian fish species: a fish passage management tool for use in modified freshwater systems

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

Fish‐Net: Probabilistic models for fishway planning, design and monitoring to support environmentally sustainable hydropower

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