Use of electromyogram telemetry to assess the behavior of the Iberian barbel (Luciobarbus bocagei Steindachner, 1864) in a pool-type fishway

Abstract

Decline in fish species populations due to river regulation by dams and weirs promoted the development of fishways, which are becoming one of the most common measures for the restoration of connectivity in rivers. Fishways efficiency can be species specific and thus monitoring and evaluation, and subsequent adjustments to design and hydraulic features, are required to inform potential users prior to installation. In this study we tested the applicability of electromyogram telemetry to study the swimming behavior of a cyprinid potamodromous species, the Iberian barbel Luciobarbus bocagei Steindachner, 1864, in an experimental pool-type fishway. In total, 24 barbels were used in the experiment, 12 of which were tagged with EMG radio transmitters equipped with electrodes that register muscle activity, while the other 12 untagged fish were used as control. For tagged fish, a relationship between swimming speed and EMG telemetry signals was developed in a swimming tunnel, which was later used to assess barbels swimming behavior within the experimental fishway. Tagged fish exhibited high passage success and anaerobic burst swimming was only required to move through the submerged orifices of the fishway. Barbels spent successively less time when transversing the pools in the upstream direction. Measured hydraulic variables that were related with barbels' swimming speed within the fishways were the water velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, turbulence intensity and, especially, the horizontal component of Reynolds shear stress, highlighting the importance of these parameters when designing pool-type fishways.

Swimming performance and ecomorphology of the Iberian barbel Luciobarbus bocagei (Steindachner, 1864) on permanent and temporary rivers

“…Barbels from the permanent river exhibited longer pectoral and higher dorsal fins when compared with the smaller pectoral and lengthier but shorter dorsal fins found in the population inhabiting the temporary system. In studies evaluating the performance of L. bocagei in an experimental fishway, fish showed exactly this behaviour, often using pectoral fins to maintain position and rest, especially before moving upstream through the passage orifices (e.g., Silva et al 2011Silva et al , 2012Alexandre et al 2013). With the increase in flow and in more turbulent and well-defined vortical structures, which happens more intensely and frequently in permanent and high flowing environments than in temporary low flow rivers, pectoral fin activity is induced to aid fish maintaining a benthic station holding in turbulent areas (Arnold & Weihs 1978;Webb 1989).…”

Effects of flow regulation on the movement patterns and habitat use of a potamodromous cyprinid species

“…We focused on a target species, the Iberian barbel (Luciobarbus bocagei Steindachner, 1864), a potamodromous cyprinid endemic to the Iberian Peninsula (Lobón-Cerviá and Fernández-Delgado, 1984). Silva et al, 2011;Alexandre et al, 2013b), but specific research about cyprinids response to short-term flow regulation still remains scarce (e.g. This species has received some attention in recent years, mainly through studies on its aerobic swimming capacity (Mateus et al, 2008;Alexandre et al, 2014) and behaviour (e.g.…”

Ascent ability of brown trout,Salmo trutta, and two Iberian cyprinids − Iberian barbel,Luciobarbus bocagei, and northern straight-mouth nase,Pseudochondrostoma duriense− in a vertical slot fishway

“…Fishway design recommendations usually distinguish between salmonids and a large group of fish, often called "others", "non salmonids", "weak swimmers", "white fish", or "coarse fish" (Alexandre et al, 2013;Mallen-Cooper, 1999;Mateus et al, 2008). Fish passes for salmonids are designed with higher slope or drop per pool than for other fish (Larinier, 2002a).…”