Abstract
AbstractKnowledge on the extent and mechanisms of fish damage caused by hydropower facilities is important for their ecological improvement. Herein, a novel field‐based fish injury assessment protocol is proposed that includes vitality and four general health criteria, as well as nine lethal and sub‐lethal injury types across 18 body parts. The protocol was validated using 3,087 specimens from four species of hatchery‐reared fish, as well as 2,262 specimens from 32 species of wild fish. The protocol allowed a detailed and systematic evaluation of different fish injury types in the field. Injuries related to handling and to contact with different parts of the hydropower structure could be distinguished applying multivariate statistics. This approach allows quantification and comparison of fish injuries across sites, and can help to identify the technologies and operational procedures that minimise damage to fish. It may also be useful to assess fish health in other contexts including aquaculture.
Highlights
Hydropower technology is considered a clean and renewable energy source of increasing worldwide importance (Zarfl, Lumsdon, Berlekamp, Tydecks & Tockner, 2015)
Various physical mechanisms can result in various forms of fish damage, including collisions with the machinery (Killgore, Maynord, Chan & Morgan, 2001), bar screens or cleaning devices (Adam & Brujis, 2006; Nettles & Gloss, 1987; Skalski, Mathur & Heisey, 2002), shear stress near the turbine blades, in the draft tube and in the tailrace (Čada, Garrison & Fisher, 2007), barotrauma caused by pressure changes (Brown, Pflugrath, et al, 2012; Brown, Carlson, et al.,2012), cavitation forces within the runner case, turbulences and fluid shear within the suction hose as well as in the tailrace (Abernethy, Amidan & Čada, 2001)
Three main questions were investigated using an experiment comprising wild and hatchery- reared fish at a hydropower plant with Kaplan turbines: (1) Can the method distinguish the effect of turbine passage, fish handling effects as well as catch-related effects? (2) Which injuries or combinations are most important in relation to turbine passage? (3) How and to what extent do injuries vary among different fish species and origin?
Summary
Hydropower technology is considered a clean and renewable energy source of increasing worldwide importance (Zarfl, Lumsdon, Berlekamp, Tydecks & Tockner, 2015). A standard method enabling a detailed evaluation of injury patterns after power plant passage, taking into account different body parts and injury types, would help to determine the most injurious design features and improve fish-friendly turbine design and operational management. Evaluation methods should be highly sensitive and allow discrimination of different causes of injury This is important because legal regulations on water management, as formulated in the European Water Framework Directive (European Parliament, 2000), necessitate predictions on fish population-level effects of hydropower use that are derived from the survival probability of individuals. The monitoring of fish damage at hydropower plants is currently increasingly enforced by authorities in many member states This requires a standardised and detailed assessment of fish injury patterns. Three main questions were investigated using an experiment comprising wild (natural downstream movement of fish) and hatchery- reared fish (standardised damage assessment compared with predamage) at a hydropower plant with Kaplan turbines: (1) Can the method distinguish the effect of turbine passage, fish handling effects as well as catch-related effects? (2) Which injuries or combinations are most important in relation to turbine passage? (3) How and to what extent do injuries vary among different fish species and origin (hatchery- reared versus wild)?
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