Short-term effects of a large dam decommissioning on biofilm structure and functioning

Aging dams and the rising efforts to restore stream ecosystems are increasing the number of dam decommissioning programs. Although dam decommissioning aims at improving in-stream habitat, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning in the long term, it might also cause ecological impacts in the short term due to the mobilization of the sediment accumulated in the reservoir. Benthic biofilm in particular can be impaired by episodes of high turbidity and scouring. We conducted a multiple before-after/control-impact experiment to assess the effects of the drawdown of a large dam (42 m tall), a first step to its decommissioning, on biofilm structure (biomass and chlorophyll-a) and functioning (metabolism, nutrient uptake, and organic matter breakdown). Our results show that the reservoir drawdown reduced the autotrophic biofilm biomass (chlorophyll-a) downstream from the dam, which in turn lowered metabolism. However, nitrogen and phosphorus uptake by the biofilm was not affected. Organic matter breakdown was slower below the dam than in nearby undammed reaches before and during drawdown. All drawdown effects quickly disappeared and reaches downstream from the dam approached values found in nearby undammed reaches. Thus, our results indicate that the effects of reservoir drawdown on stream biofilms exist but may be small and disappear rapidly.     

Une etude sur clarias senegalensis val. dans la region du lac kossou (cote d'ivoire)

A study on Clarias senegalensis Val. in the region of Lake Kossou (Ivory Coast). Clarias senegalensis is the dominant silurid of the man-made lake Kossou and some smaller impoundments in the same region. Comparison of data spread over a five year period starting from 1970, some months before the dam was completed, reveals that the density of C. senegalensis dropped to the original level that existed in the river after reaching a peak in the years following the damming. This phenomenon which coincides with the impoverishment of the lake waters, is explained by the fact that C. senegalensis has its optimal habitat in poorly oxygenated waters, rich in organic matter. It is able to colonize this kind of productive waters thanks to the suprabranchial organ. In these optimal conditions it mainly feeds on aquatic insects and plankton.The fecundity of C. senegalensis may reach 20o ooo ripening eggs per female. Reproduction occurs during the rainy season in flooded savannas. Growth rates are very high and the age determinations show that, in the region of Kossou, C. senegalensis reaches an average standard length of 620 mm (2.7 kg) within three years.Our results are compared to literature data on other related species of the genus Clarias and the position of C. senegalensis within this generic complex is discussed.

     

南水北调中线工程对海河流域鱼类入侵风险分析

海河流域是南水北调中线工程的受水区之一, 为评估中线工程引发海河流域鱼类入侵的风险, 本研究统计了南水北调引水区和受水区海河流域鱼类物种多样性差异, 采用水生生物入侵能力筛查系统(aquatic species invasiveness screening kit, AS-ISK)和外来鱼类入侵风险评估体系筛选引水区有入侵风险的鱼类物种, 并用MaxEnt模型预测有入侵风险的鱼类物种在海河流域的潜在适生区。结果表明, 丁鱥(Tinca tinca)、陈氏新银鱼(Neosalanx tangkahkeii)和大口鲇(Silurus meridionalis)是具有高入侵风险的鱼类, 另有3种鱼类具有中入侵风险, 均需重点监控; 而具入侵风险鱼类的适生区预测结果表明, 海河流域南部的徒骇马颊河水系、海河水系的漳卫南运河以及环渤海地区的河流是极易发生鱼类入侵的水域。因此在海河流域高入侵风险水域应开展持续性的水生生物监测, 针对具有高入侵风险的鱼类应进行早期筛查, 此外在水资源利用和分配上应加强管理, 从源头上杜绝鱼类入侵的发生, 还应尽快开展针对东线工程的鱼类资源调查和入侵风险评估工作。     

Acoustic barriers as an acoustic deterrent for native potamodromous migratory fish species

This study focused on the use of sound playbacks as acoustic deterrents to direct native potamodromous migratory species away from all kind of traps. The effects of two acoustic treatments, a repeated sine sweep up to 2 kHz (sweep-up stimulus) and an intermittent 140 Hz tone, were tested in three fish species native to Iberia: Salmo trutta, Pseudochondrostoma duriense and Luciobarbus bocagei. In contrast with S. trutta, the endemic cyprinids P. duriense and L. bocagei exhibited a strong repulse reaction to the frequency sweep-up sound. The 140 Hz stimulus did not seem to alter significantly the behaviour of any of the studied species. These results highlight the potential of acoustic stimuli as fish behavioural barriers and their application to in situ conservation measures of native Iberian fish populations, to protect them from hydropower dams. In addition, this study shows that acoustic deterrents can be used selectively on target species.     

Patterns of change in zooplankton community structures and the selective feeding of Bleak, Alburnus alburnus (L.) in the Serre Ponçon dam between 1980 and 1996

The Serre Ponçon reservoir, in the southern French alps, filled when the dam was completed in 1960. It has meso-eutrophic characteristics. Two hydrobiological studies carried out in 1980 and in 1996 showed interspecific variation in zooplankton and fish communities. A strong development of B. longirostris, D. brachyurum and C. pulchella, characteristic of eutrophic environments, was apparent in 1996, while the population of Daphnia longispina, which was dominant in 1980, had declined. At the same time, strong growth of the bleak Alburnus alburnus, was observed. Research into prey selection over several seasons showed that prey size and density were often a determining factor for capture, e.g., in C. pulchella, D. longispina and C.v. vicinus. However, some small sized rare species such as B. longirostris were also much sought after.     

Are we underestimating the genetic variances of dimorphic traits?

Populations often contain discrete classes or morphs (e.g., sexual dimorphisms, wing dimorphisms, trophic dimorphisms) characterized by distinct patterns of trait expression. In quantitative genetic analyses, the different morphs can be considered as different environments within which traits are expressed. Genetic variances and covariances can then be estimated independently for each morph or in a combined analysis. In the latter case, morphs can be considered as separate environments in a bivariate analysis or entered as fixed effects in a univariate analysis. Although a common approach, we demonstrate that the latter produces downwardly biased estimates of additive genetic variance and heritability unless the quantitative genetic architecture of the traits concerned is perfectly correlated between the morphs. This result is derived for four widely used quantitative genetic variance partitioning methods. Given that theory predicts the evolution of genotype‐by‐environment (morph) interactions as a consequence of selection favoring different trait combinations in each morph, we argue that perfect correlations between the genetic architectures of the different morphs are unlikely. A sampling of the recent literature indicates that the majority of researchers studying traits expressed in different morphs recognize this and do estimate morph‐specific quantitative genetic architecture. However, ca. 16% of the studies in our sample utilized only univariate, fixed‐effects models. We caution against this approach and recommend that it be used only if supported by evidence that the genetic architectures of the different morphs do not differ.     

Shifts of food habit and jaw position of white-spotted charr after damming

Stomach fullness of white-spotted charr, Salvelinus leucomaenis did not differ significantly between above-dam (allopatric with masu salmon) and below-dam (sympatric with masu salmon) areas, but stomach contents did. Juveniles (1+) below the dam consumed relatively more aquatic insects (benthic prey), and those above the dam consumed relatively more terrestrial insects (drifting prey), but there was no difference in the diet of >2+ fish between areas. The mouths of juveniles above the dam were more terminal than those of fish below the dam. The adaptive significance of these differences is discussed in relation to differences in fish assemblages. 1999 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles     

Estimating biogeochemical and biotic interactions between a stream channel and a created riparian wetland: A medium-scale physical model

Straightened channels and altered and drained adjacent riparian wetlands have adversely impacted streams and rivers throughout the US Midwest. This research investigated the biological connection and water quality of a 0.07 ha diversion wetland and adjacent stream at the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park in central Ohio. Before the flowthrough conditions were established, we demonstrated with mark and recapture techniques that the wetland already was a biorefuge for fish under extreme conditions; two species (Centrarchidae) captured in the stream before a total drawdown of the stream were found in the wetland a year later. In addition, water at the bottom remained at around 4 °C over the winter likely due to groundwater input, which possibly provided a warmer shelter for fish. Stream water quality of the lower section, downstream of the wetland outlet, generally improved with hydrologic pulsing in spring after flow-through reconnection due to the trapping of nutrients in the wetland. Mean removal per flood pulse for nitrate-nitrite, total nitrogen (TN), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), total phosphorus (TP) were 1.81 g-N m⁻² per pulse, 1.02 g-N m⁻² per pulse, 0.014 g-P m⁻² per pulse, and 0.004 g-P m⁻² per pulse, respectively. The wetland exported 2.8 g-C m⁻² per pulse of organic carbon. A greater attenuation of NO₃⁻ and TP occurred in the marshy outlet channel section of the wetland than the open water section. The diversion wetland successfully removed nitrate and phosphorus during storm pulses in spring. Similar designs should be applied to other locations to examine their function under different climatic and hydrological conditions.     

Unexpected CH4 emission from the Three Gorges Reservoir and its implications

Until the end of last century, scientists began to show their concern about greenhouse gas emission from reservoirs and questioned the “green credential” of hydroelectric dams since then. Through measurements along the channel of the TGR, an unexpectedly low CH₄ emission rate was recently observed from the surface of the TGR, much lower than our assumed estimate before. Moreover, the rate from the TGR is lower than that from many hydroelectric reservoirs. One possible reason for such a low emission rate is that lack of substrates supplied by decomposed vegetation limits the CH₄ production in the sediment of the TGR because of vegetation clearance since 2002 before impounding, whose primary purpose is to conserve the water quality. These results indicated that TGR is not a hotspot of CH₄ emission. On a broader sense, it also indicated that removal of flooded vegetation would help to decrease CH₄ emission from dam reservoirs before impounding, especially in the drawdown area.     

Unexpected CH4 emission from the Three Gorges Reservoir and its implications

Until the end of last century, scientists began to show their concern about greenhouse gas emission from reservoirs and questioned the “green credential” of hydroelectric dams since then. Through measurements along the channel of the TGR, an unexpectedly low CH₄ emission rate was recently observed from the surface of the TGR, much lower than our assumed estimate before. Moreover, the rate from the TGR is lower than that from many hydroelectric reservoirs. One possible reason for such a low emission rate is that lack of substrates supplied by decomposed vegetation limits the CH₄ production in the sediment of the TGR because of vegetation clearance since 2002 before impounding, whose primary purpose is to conserve the water quality. These results indicated that TGR is not a hotspot of CH₄ emission. On a broader sense, it also indicated that removal of flooded vegetation would help to decrease CH₄ emission from dam reservoirs before impounding, especially in the drawdown area.