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An Uncommon (yet necessary) Union Integrating Engineering and Fisheries Biology

An Uncommon (yet necessary) Union Integrating Engineering and Fisheries Biology. Chris Myrick Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Chris.Myrick@colostate.edu. Instream flows Components of a successful program Importance of flow Importance of 4-dimensional connectivity

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An Uncommon (yet necessary) Union Integrating Engineering and Fisheries Biology

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  1. An Uncommon (yet necessary) UnionIntegrating Engineering and Fisheries Biology Chris Myrick Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Chris.Myrick@colostate.edu

  2. Instream flows Components of a successful program Importance of flow Importance of 4-dimensional connectivity 4-dimensional Connectivity What happens if you disconnect? Examples Can “disconnecting” be useful? Introduction to fish movement Velocity control Fish swimming velocity ranges Measurement Fish jumping Measurement Fish passage options Fishway types Desired features Conclusions Lecture Outline

  3. Instream Flow & The Natural Flow Paradigm “The main principle…is that flow regime is the dominant variable in determining the form and function of a river.” Annear et al. 2004 “Managers…must recognize the importance of inter- and intra-annual flow variability [to] enable critical ecological processes” Annear et al. 2004

  4. Components of a Successful Instream Flow Program Ecosystem Components • Riverine components • Hydrology • Biology • Geomorphology • Water quality • Connectivity • Policy components • Legal • Institutional • Public involvement 

  5. Four-Dimensional Connectivity • Connectivity: flows, exchange, and pathways that move organisms, energy, and material through a river system • Connectivity is complex and interrelated • River connectivity has four dimensions • Longitudinal • Vertical • Lateral • Temporal (time) • Let’s focus on disruption of longitudinal connectivity from an ecological standpoint

  6. Spawning habitat with incubation of eggs Movement to spawn Movement to feed Movement to spawn Mosaic of feeding habitat(s) with favorable growth conditions Refugia from harsh environmental conditions (e.g., extreme temperatures or flows) with unfavorable growth conditions Movement to refuge hab 1 hab 2 Movement to feed hab 3 Adapted from Schlosser and Angermeier 1995 Why Connectivity Matters • Because stream fish have evolved in dynamic environments, they take advantage of, and depend on, a variety of habitats

  7. Why Connectivity Matters • Restore/maintain biophysical linkages + ecological connectivity • Allow up- and downstream movements of migrating fishes, other organisms, energy, matter • Fragmentation can lead to local extinctions & ecosystem dysfunction

  8. Riverine Fishes

  9. Dams (big ones)

  10. Waterfalls

  11. Dams (even little ones)

  12. Culverts

  13. Flood-control Structures

  14. More Flood-Control Structures!

  15. Beneficial losses of connectivity? • Yes…in a few cases • Prevent upstream movement of invasive species • Prevent loss of fish to water diversions or hydroelectric turbines

  16. Fish Swimming - Wave Propagation

  17. Velocity Control • Increase frequency of undulations • Increase amplitude of undulation • Increase surface area acting (pushing) against the water

  18. Factors Affecting Swimming Velocity • Species • sedentary vs. active • Size • Large vs. small • Water temperature • Warm vs. cool • Water quality • Pollutants • Dissolved oxygen levels • Etc.

  19. Fish Swimming Velocities • Prolonged (> 1 hour) • Sustained (1 h to 1 minute) • Burst (< 1 minute) • Measured using swimming flumes (fish treadmills)

  20. Velocity vs. Endurance

  21. Example of Swimming Experiments How else do fish negotiate fishways?

  22. What can swimming studies tell us? Peake’s Equation • Fishway length and allowable velocities • Peake’s Equation • vf = water velocity in fishway • vs = water velocity of swimming trial (fish swimming velocity) • Evs = endurance at velocity vs • d = maximum fishway length • Remember, a fish moving upstream must exceed downstream velocity

  23. Brassy Minnow Example

  24. A Common Misconception!

  25. A Situation To Avoid

  26. Measuring Jumping Ability • CSU has pioneered recent work in this area • Relies on the use of artificial waterfalls with variable pool depths and weir heights • Mandi was one of the developers of this technique • Species jumped to date: • Brook trout • Rio Grande cutthroat trout • Colorado R. cutthroat trout • Fathead minnows • Brassy minnows • Common shiners • Arkansas darters

  27. Fish Jumping Experiment

  28. Typical Fish Jumping Results

  29. Pool & Weir Fishway

  30. Pool, Weir, & Orifice Fishways

  31. Pool, Weir, and Orifice Fishways John Day Dam fish ladder

  32. Denil Fishways

  33. Vertical Slot Fishways

  34. Vertical Slot Fishways

  35. Rock-Ramp & Nature-like Fishways

  36. Rock Ramp & Nature-like Fishways

  37. And the winners are… • Rock-ramp fishways • Vertical slot fishways • Why? • Operate over a wide range of flows • Allow fish to pass without requiring jumping • Are suitable for a wide range of species w/∆ swimming abilities

  38. What Makes A Good Fishway? • Provide velocity refuges • Access to all levels of water column • Work over a wide range of flows • Provides enough attraction flows • Works for a wide range of fish sizes • Allow structure to continue hydraulic/engineered function

  39. What About Fish Barriers? • Create a situation that exceeds a fish’s performance or physically limits the fish’s movements • Drop-structures (waterfalls) • Screens • Velocity barriers

  40. Useful Tools • Instream flow techniques manuals • Fish Xing 3.0 Software • Fish passage through culverts • Coursework in fisheries biology • Fish Ecology • Fish Physiology • Ichthyology

  41. Take-Home Messages • We should (must) incorporate fishways in all potential obstacles • Effective fishways must work for most/all species and a wide range of sizes • Effective fishways have: • good attraction flows • velocity refuges • ideal entrance configurations • Engineers and biologists must learn to communicate!

  42. Take-Home Messages cont… • Effective environmental engineers • Have a basic understanding of fish biology and fisheries management (FW300, FW400, FW401, FW405/605, etc.) • Consult with fisheries biologists during design, implementation and monitoring phases of projects • Effective fish biologists • Have a basic understanding of environmental engineering (CE413, G652, CE522, CE544, etc.) • Consult with engineers during design, implementation and monitoring phases of projects

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