Acoustic barriers as an acoustic deterrent for native potamodromous migratory fish species |
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| Authors: | Joaquim Jesus Maria Clara P. Amorim Paulo J. Fonseca Amílcar Teixeira Silvestre Natário João Carrola Simone Varandas Luís Torres Pereira Rui M. V. Cortes |
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| Affiliation: | 1. CITAB, Centre for the Research and Tecnhology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila-Real, Portugal;2. Department of Animal Biology and cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Channel Anges, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal;3. CIMO-ESA-IPB, Mountain Research Centre, School of Agriculture, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, Bragança, Portugal;4. OriginAL Solutions, Estrada do Cando, Casa da Fraga, Portugal |
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| Abstract: | 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. |
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| Keywords: | acoustic deterrents behavioural barrier conservation measures dam endemic fishes |
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