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Regulated River (regulated + river)
Selected AbstractsEffect of brown trout body size on post-stocking survival and pike predationECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH, Issue 2 2004P. Hyvärinen Abstract,,, A total of 40 (20 age-3 + 20 age-4) radio-tagged hatchery-reared brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) and 40 wild radio-tagged northern pike (Esox lucius L.) were released into a regulated river. Age-3 brown trout were predicted and observed to be highly vulnerable to predation by pike (50% mortality), whereas age-4 brown trout were predicted and observed to enjoy an almost absolute size refuge from predation (5% mortality). Almost half of the fish from both age groups similarly emigrated and survived from the river within 3 days of the release. However, there was a considerable difference in survival between age groups for fish that remained in the river for a longer period. Of these, all except one age-3 brown trout were eaten by pike, whereas all but one age-4 fish survived predation. Resumen 1. Un total de 40 individuos de Salmo trutta (20 de edad-3 y 20 de edad-4) procedentes de piscifactoría fueron marcados con radio-transmisores y 40 individuos de Esox lucius también marcados con radio-transmisores, fueron soltados en un río regulado. Predecimos y observamos que los individuos de edad-3 de S. trutta fueron altamente vulnerables a la predación por Esox lucius (50 % de mortalidad) mientras que los individuos de edad-4 gozaron de refugio de tamaño casi absoluto de la predación (5% de mortalidad). 2. Casi la mitad de los peces de ambos grupos de edad sobrevivieron y emigraron del río durante los tres días siguientes a la suelta. Sin embargo, hubo una considerable diferencia en la supervivencia entre grupos de edad para los peces que permanecieron en el río por un período mayor de tiempo. De estos, todos excepto 1 individuo de S. trutta de edad-3 fueron comidos por E. lucius mientras que todos excepto un individuo de edad-4 sobrevivieron a la predación. [source] Winter diatom blooms in a regulated river in South Korea: explanations based on evolutionary computationFRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 10 2007DONG-KYUN KIM Summary 1. An ecological model was developed using genetic programming (GP) to predict the time-series dynamics of the diatom, Stephanodiscus hantzschii for the lower Nakdong River, South Korea. Eight years of weekly data showed the river to be hypertrophic (chl. a, 45.1 ± 4.19 ,g L,1, mean ± SE, n = 427), and S. hantzschii annually formed blooms during the winter to spring flow period (late November to March). 2. A simple non-linear equation was created to produce a 3-day sequential forecast of the species biovolume, by means of time series optimization genetic programming (TSOGP). Training data were used in conjunction with a GP algorithm utilizing 7 years of limnological variables (1995,2001). The model was validated by comparing its output with measurements for a specific year with severe blooms (1994). The model accurately predicted timing of the blooms although it slightly underestimated biovolume (training r2 = 0.70, test r2 = 0.78). The model consisted of the following variables: dam discharge and storage, water temperature, Secchi transparency, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, evaporation and silica concentration. 3. The application of a five-way cross-validation test suggested that GP was capable of developing models whose input variables were similar, although the data are randomly used for training. The similarity of input variable selection was approximately 51% between the best model and the top 20 candidate models out of 150 in total (based on both Root Mean Squared Error and the determination coefficients for the test data). 4. Genetic programming was able to determine the ecological importance of different environmental variables affecting the diatoms. A series of sensitivity analyses showed that water temperature was the most sensitive parameter. In addition, the optimal equation was sensitive to DO, Secchi transparency, dam discharge and silica concentration. The analyses thus identified likely causes of the proliferation of diatoms in ,river-reservoir hybrids' (i.e. rivers which have the characteristics of a reservoir during the dry season). This result provides specific information about the bloom of S. hantzschii in river systems, as well as the applicability of inductive methods, such as evolutionary computation to river-reservoir hybrid systems. [source] Variation in large-bodied fish-community structure and abundance in relation to water-management regime in a large regulated riverJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 10 2009T. J. Haxton Variation in life-history traits (growth, condition, mortality and recruitment) and relative abundance of 11 large-bodied fish species was investigated among three water-management regimes (unimpounded, run-of-the-river and winter reservoirs) in the large regulated Ottawa River, Canada. If waterpower management had an effect on fishes, then (1) would be expected community structuring among water-management regimes and (2) species with similar life-history traits should be affected in a similar manner. Large-bodied fish communities were assessed using two different standard index-netting techniques, one using trap nets and the other gillnets. Community structure could be discriminated based on species caught in nets using holographic neural networks (78·8% correct overall classification rate using trap nets and 76·0% using gillnets); therefore, water-management regimes affected community structure in the Ottawa River. Littoral zone benthivores were significantly lower in abundance (P < 0·001) or absent in winter reservoirs, whereas the abundance of planktivores or species that were planktivorous at young ages were significantly greater than in unimpounded river reaches. Growth, condition and mortality did not vary among reach types except smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu were in better condition in winter reservoirs than unimpounded reaches. Lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens recruitment was impaired in run-of-the-river reaches, whereas recruitment for other species that spawn in fast water was not affected. [source] Freshwater mussel assemblage structure in a regulated river in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Basin, USA,AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 1 2007Wendell R. Haag Abstract 1.This paper documents a diverse, reproducing freshwater mussel community (20 species) in Lower Lake , an impounded, regulated portion of the Little Tallahatchie River below Sardis Dam in Panola Co., Mississippi, USA. 2.Despite being regulated and impounded, the lake has a heterogeneous array of habitats that differ markedly in mussel community attributes. Four distinct habitat types were identified based on current velocity and substrate characteristics, representing a gradient from habitats having lotic characteristics to lentic habitats. All four habitat types supported mussels, but habitats most resembling unimpounded, lotic situations (relatively higher current velocity and coarser substrate) had the highest mussel abundance and species density (10.1 mussels m,2, 1.8 species m,2, respectively). Lentic habitats (no flow, fine substrate) were characterized by lower abundance and species density (2.0 mussels m,2, 0.8 species m,2, respectively), but supported mussel assemblages distinctive from lotic habitats. 3.Evidence of strong recent recruitment was observed for most species in the lake and was observed in all four habitat types. 4.Although impounded and regulated, Lower Lake represents one of the few areas of stable large-stream habitat in the region. The presence of a diverse, healthy mussel community in this highly modified habitat suggests that a large component of the regional mussel fauna is relatively resilient and adaptable and is limited primarily by the absence of stable river reaches. Management actions that increase stream stability are likely to result in expansion of the mussel fauna and restoration of a valuable component of ecosystem function in this region. Published in 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Effects of physical disturbance and granivory on establishment of native and alien riparian trees in Colorado, U.S.A.DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 1-2 2001Gabrielle L. Katz In western North America, the alien Elaeagnus angustifolia L. invades riparian habitats usually dominated by pioneer woody species such as Populus deltoides Marshall ssp. monilifera (Aiton) Eckenwalder. We conducted manipulative field experiments to compare the importance of physical disturbance and granivory for seedling establishment of these two species. We planted seeds of both species in disturbed and undisturbed study plots, and used exclosures, seed dish trials and live-trapping to assess the role of granivory. Seedling establishment of both species was increased by physical disturbance and seeds of both species were subject to granivory. However, the relative importance of these two factors differed between species. For P. deltoides, lack of physical disturbance prevented seedling establishment in uncleared subplots, but granivory did not prevent seedling establishment outside of exclosures. For E. angustifolia, granivory prevented seedling establishment outside of exclosures, but lack of physical disturbance did not prevent establishment in uncleared subplots. The lesser dependence on disturbance may enable E. angustifolia to invade areas characterized by low levels of fluvial disturbance, such as floodplains along regulated rivers, where P. deltoides recruitment does not occur. Populations of granivorous rodents may affect the susceptibility of riparian ecosystems to invasion by E. angustifolia. [source] Responses of riparian plants to flooding in free-flowing and regulated boreal rivers: an experimental studyJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2002M. E. Johansson Summary 1The long history of river regulation has resulted in extensively changed ecosystem structures and processes in rivers and their associated environments. This fact, together with changing climatic and hydrological conditions, has increased the need to recover the natural functions of rivers. To develop guidelines for river restoration, comparative ecological experiments at contrasting water-level regimes are needed. We compared growth and survival of transplanted individuals of four riparian plant species (Betula pubescens, Carex acuta, Filipendula ulmaria and Leontodon autumnalis) over 2 years on four free-flowing and four regulated riverbank sites in northern Sweden. The species were chosen as representatives of dominating life-forms and species traits on different elevations of the riverbanks. 2In Betula and Filipendula, mean proportional growth rates were significantly higher at free-flowing sites than at regulated sites, whereas no consistent differences between free-flowing and regulated sites were found in Carex and Leontodon. Differences among species were generally in accordance with natural distribution patterns along riverbank elevation gradients and with experimental evidence on flooding tolerance, although plants of all species survived and even showed positive growth rates on elevations below their natural range of occurrence. 3Partial least squares regression was used to relate plant performance (growth and survival) to duration, frequency and timing of flooding at the different sites. Flood duration and frequency typically reduced performance in all species and during all time periods, although to various degrees. Flood events early in the experiment determined the outcome to a high degree at all sites. Variables indicating a regulated regime were mostly negatively related to plant performance, whereas free-flowing regime variables were positively related to plant performance. 4We used two of the regression models generated from our data with an acceptably high predictive power to simulate a hypothetical re-regulation scenario in run-of-river impoundments. With an overall reduction in flooding duration and frequency of 50,75%, plant performance of Filipendula at low riverbank elevations showed predicted increases of about 20,30%, levelling off to zero at the highest elevations. Reductions in summer floods represented about one-third to half of this increase. 5We conclude that for a range of species individual plant performance is clearly reduced on banks of impoundments and storage reservoirs due to changes in the water-level regime. Furthermore, our model simulation suggests that rather substantial reductions of flood duration and frequency are needed to improve plant performance on riverbanks upstream from dams in impounded rivers. River restoration principles should, however, be based on a combination of experimental data on plant performance of individual species and observed long-term changes in plant communities of regulated rivers. Consequently, successful re-regulation schemes in boreal rivers should include both reductions of summer and winter floods as well as re-introduced spring floods. [source] | ||||||||||