Fish navigation of large dams emerges from their modulation of flow field experience.

Navigating obstacles is innate to fish in rivers, but fragmentation of the world's rivers by more than 50,000 large dams threatens many of the fish migrations these waterways support. One limitation to mitigating the impacts of dams on fish is that we have a poor understanding of why some fish enter routes engineered for their safe travel around the dam but others pass through more dangerous routes. To understand fish movement through hydropower dam environments, we combine a computational fluid dynamics model of the flow field at a dam and a behavioral model in which simulated fish adjust swim orientation and speed to modulate their experience to water acceleration and pressure (depth). We fit the model to data on the passage of juvenile Pacific salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) at seven dams in the Columbia/Snake River system. Our findings from reproducing observed fish movement and passage patterns across 47 flow field conditions sampled over 14 y emphasize the role of experience and perception in the decision making of animals that can inform opportunities and limitations in living resources management and engineering design.

Fish passage system in an irrigation dam (Pilcomayo River basin ): when engineering designs do not match ecohydraulic criteria

The Route 28 Dam has the potential to block fish movements from La Estrella marsh to the Pilcomayo River. In addition, the many fish that concentrate immediately downstream of the dam may suffer high mortality when they are stranded during low water periods. The goals of this study are to determine if fish are able to pass the spillway and to assess if the design of the installed ladders (pool and weir type) effectively supports upstream migration of Prochilodus lineatus (sábalo). Results showed that only fish longer than 39 cm should be able to ascend the spillway chute, but when water levels on the spillway crest are over 0.4 m. Fish are also unable to jump from spillway toe to spillway crest because the downstream dissipation pool does not meet the minimum depth criterion for fish to accelerate to sufficient velocity. Fish ladders have insufficient number of pools and some pool dimensions and designs depart from accepted standard designs. Volumetric dissipation power in the upper pool of each fish ladder is too low for fish to rest. Also, attraction flows relative to total spillway discharge at the entrance to each fishway are insufficient. Fish passage failures of both the spillway and pool and weir systems in La Estrella marsh can be traced to the "salmon-centric" concept used by the designers. We conclude that the Route 28 Dam design including its fish passage systems, do not follow criteria to cope with the strong hydrological variability and bioecological characteristics of fish inhabiting pulsatile systems such as La Estrella marsh.

La represa dela ruta 28 posee el potencial de bloquear el desplazamiento del sábalo (Prochilodus lineatus) desde el bañado La Estrella hacia el río Pilcomayo. Adicionalmente los numerosos peces que se concentran aguas abajo de la represa pueden sufrir una alta mortalidad cuando quedan atrapados durante el período de aguas bajas. Los objetivos de este estudio es determinar si los peces son capaces de superar el vertedero y evaluar si el diseño de los pasos para peces del tipo tanque-escalón ya instalados esadecuado para facilitar la migración hacia aguas arriba. Los resultados muestran que solo aquellos peces mayores a 39 cm de longitud total son capaces de ascender la pendiente del vertedero, pero únicamente cuando el nivel del agua en la cresta del mismo alcanza o supera los 40 cm. Los peces son incapaces de saltar desde el pie del vertedero hasta la cresta debido a que la pileta de disipación no sigue los criterios de mínima profundidad requeridos para alcanzar la suficiente velocidad y altura. Asimismo, los pasos para peces no poseen el número suficiente de tanques y algunas de sus dimensiones y su diseño se apartan de los estándares aceptados. La potencia de disipación volumétrica en el tanque superior de cada paso es inadecuada para que los peces puedan descansar, mientras que los flujos de atracción relativos a la descarga del vertedero resultan insuficientes. La baja eficiencia del vertedero y de los sistemas de pasos para peces pueden ser adjudicados a un concepto de construcción orientado a salmónidos. Concluimos que la represa de la ruta 28, incluyendo sus sistemas de pasaje para peces, no siguen los criterios adecuados para hacer frente a alta variabilidad hidrológica y las características bioecológica de los peces que habitan en bañados pulsátiles como La Estrella.