Abstract
The Iberian barbel (Luciobarbus bocagei) is one of the most common cyprinids in the Iberian Peninsula, whose migratory routes are often hampered by anthropogenic barriers. Fishways might be an effective mitigation measure if they integrate designed operational characteristics that account for the biomechanical requirements of this species. Understanding the flow conditions inside the fishway, and how barbel responds to the hydrodynamics of the flow is imperative to improve free migratory routes with minimum energetic cost associated. Herein, we analyze and synthesize the main findings of research on pool-type fishways for upstream passage of the Iberian barbel and derive recommendations of design criteria for pool-type fishways for this species and others of similar biomechanics capacities. Ultimately, we identify research needs to improve upstream passage of this species.
Highlights
River fragmentation due to the presence of anthropogenic structures has been identified as one of the main causes of the decline of many fish species [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
Higher passage rates/lower time with offset orifices Size-related behavioral responses to turbulence Reynolds shear stress (RSS) most important turbulence descriptor Behavior of larger fish strongly affected by eddies
Iberian barbel had higher passage success than Mediterranean barbel and Iberian nase Larger fish were more successful in negotiating the fishway Lower fish passage at higher discharge
Summary
River fragmentation due to the presence of anthropogenic structures (e.g., dams or weirs) has been identified as one of the main causes of the decline of many fish species [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Studies on the swimming performance conducted in respirometers or swim tunnels (e.g., [35]), ecomorphology [32,36,37], and fish biomechanical and physiological response to hydraulics in fishway physical models (e.g., [15,34,38,39,40,41]) have been conducted These studies have increased our knowledge of the behavior and hydraulic requirements of the barbel when ascending a fishway, practical guidance into how to develop fishway designs targeting this species is still lacking. We aim to provide guidelines on design criteria to improve efficiency of passage in pool-type fishways for the barbel and other species of similar biomechanical attributes. We provide guidelines for the design of fishways (Section 5) and future research directions to improve efficiency of passage (Section 6)
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