The effect of physiological and environmental conditions on smolt migration in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar

Hydropower development has negatively influenced Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) populations. Compensatory hatchery‐rearing programmes exist, but released fish suffer from high mortality that may be related to the lack of experience from natural environments in hatchery‐reared smolts and their large body size and high energetic state. Here, we used acoustic telemetry to test how body size, energetic state, and the environmental conditions of the river affect migration in hatchery‐reared smolts. The study was conducted in three consecutive years between 2011 and 2013 in the lower part of the River Umeälven, Sweden. For individual fish, there was no effect of body size but the energetic state of the fish had a negative effect on sea entry. The most important factor affecting sea entry rate was the water discharge in the old river bed that differed among years. Smolts were more likely to enter the sea in years when the discharge was high or when the discharge increased substantially shortly after release. Hatchery‐reared fish had higher migration speed at a slower flowing section compared with a faster flowing section, which was likely a result of large hesitation to enter the rapid section. The increase in water discharge led to an increase in fish migration speed disproportional to the increase in water velocity. Our results highlight the importance of water discharge for the smolts during smolt migration, and we argue that concern should be given to migrating fish when managing regulated rivers.     

Fixed location hydroacoustic monitoring of fish populations in the tidal River Hull, north-east England, in relation to water quality

Abstract  Fixed location hydroacoustic fish monitoring was carried out at a series of sites in the tidal River Hull, north-east England, in July 1996 during periods of moderate freshwater flows and spring tides. This was followed by a corresponding series during a period of lower freshwater flows and spring tides in autumn 1996. The surveys indicated substantial numbers of fish living upstream and downstream of a depleted oxygen zone which exists in the tidal Hull. Conditions in this zone of poor water quality deteriorated further during low flow periods due to reduced dilution of effluents. Fish populations moved with the tide apparently in response to gradients of dissolved oxygen and salinity. Under conditions of low freshwater flow and high tides, gradients of salinity and oxygen were steeper and fish responses appeared more marked: at higher salinities, the response to increasing salinity overrode the response to decreasing oxygen availability.     

Water quality influences the presence of Streptococcus agalactiae in cage cultured red hybrid tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus × Oreochromis mossambicus

Attempts were made to identify the association between water quality parameters and the presence of Streptococcus agalactiae in cage cultured red hybrid tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus × O. mossambicus. Fish from commercial floating net cage‐culture systems in a river and lake were randomly sampled over a 24‐month period. Swabs from the brains, eyes and kidneys were streaked directly onto blood agar to isolate S. agalactiae. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, clarity, ammonia, nitrite, sulfide, rate of water flow and depth of water at sampling sites were measured at the same time of fish sampling. The prevalence of fish that were cultured positive to S. agalactiae was significantly higher in lake compared with river. The length and weight of the infected fish were between 9 and 33 cm, and between 20 and 760 g respectively. There was a significant and positive strong correlation between the presence of S. agalactiae and fish mortalities in lake. All water quality parameters showed significant differences between river and lake. However, only water temperature, clarity and pH of lake and the ammonia, temperature and dissolved oxygen in river showed significant correlation with the presence of S. agalactiae in the cultured fish. It was concluded that several unfavourable water quality in the fish farm influencing the presence of S. agalactiae in cultured red hybrid tilapia.     

Seasonal stream habitat of adult Sakhalin taimen,Parahucho perryi,in the Bekanbeushi River system,eastern Hokkaido,Japan

Behavioural tracking of endangered adult Sakhalin taimen (Parahucho perryi) by acoustic telemetry was conducted in the Bekanbeushi River system that flows through eastern Hokkaido in 2008–2010. A total of 39 tracked P. perryi showed extensive use of the river system, both upstream and downstream, regardless of the month or year. No tracked adult P. perryi stayed in the ocean for more than 1 day. Some of the fish (20%) dwelled in upstream habitat consistently from spring to autumn, while 40% of individuals showed wide utilisation of the entire upstream and downstream systems. Although 39.4% of tracked fish utilised two or more primary tributaries to the main river, 6.1% used only the main river system. Distinct variability was observed between individuals based on the proportion of time spent in each stream reach (up‐, mid‐, and downstream). A trend was observed in 2008 and 2010 showing that tracked fish moved to the upper stream reaches when water temperatures downstream increased. This trend was not observed in 2009 when the summer water temperature downstream was more than 2 °C below average when compared to 2008 and 2010. Our results suggest that adult P. perryi in the Bekanbeushi River system exhibit high behavioural plasticity, that is, the fish can select habitats based on their own individual requirements. Our results also demonstrate the importance of physical continuity among river reaches both upstream and downstream such that P. perryi does not experience barriers in moving to optimal habitats.     

The role of flow dependency and water availability in fish assemblage homogenization in tributaries of the Chattahoochee River,Alabama, USA

The availability of water is becoming more variable as flow regime alterations intensify both locally and on a global scale. This pattern has been observed in the tributaries of the central Chattahoochee River System as water withdrawal and natural drought have caused flows to diminish. Stream discharge has steadily decreased in the study area by 31% over the last 50 years, and during this time, fish assemblage homogenization has occurred throughout the system. Our primary objective was to assess whether spawning mode and water availability are catalysts for fish assemblage change in tributaries of the Chattahoochee River System. We found that species which prefer or have adapted to low flow conditions (e.g. blacktail shiner Cyprinella venusta, redbreast sunfish Lepomis auritus and blackbanded darter Percina nigrofasciata) are becoming dominant and replacing historically dominant fluvial specialists. When examining short‐term changes between a dry year (2009) and a wet year (2010), some species preferring higher flows such as the highscale shiner Notropis hypsilepis were detected during the wet year, suggesting that the amount of water is important for the presence of these species in upstream reaches where they were historically abundant. Species that can reproduce successfully in low flow conditions are thriving and expanding their native ranges as more habitat becomes suitable. Species that require higher flows for part of their life cycle, however, appear to be declining from upstream areas as water availability continues to decrease, despite temporary recovery from downstream refugia during wet years.     

To sea or not to sea? Multiple lines of evidence reveal the contribution of non‐diadromous recruitment for supporting endemic fish populations within New Zealand's longest river

相似文献   

Environmental conditions at sea-cages, and ectoparasites on farmed European sea-bass, Dicentrarchus labrax (L.), and gilt-head sea-bream, Sparus aurata L., at two farms in Greece

Water quality in sea-cages, and metazoan ectoparasites on bass, Dicentrarchus labrax (L.), and bream, Sparus aurata L., were sampled at two fish farms in south-west Greece over 2 years. The seabed and marine life around the cages of one farm was surveyed using scuba. The most frequent and abundant parasites were the monogeans Sparicotyle chrysophrii and Furnestinia echeneis on the gills of bream, and Diplectanum aequans on the gills of bass. The copepod Caligus minimus occasionally occurred in the buccal cavity of bass, but only in low numbers. Prevalence and abundance of parasites increased with bass size but F echeneis levels decreased with bream size. There were no other clear relationships between water quality, parasite levels and fish size. Ammonia varied seasonally with sea temperature, and with oxygen levels below 6 mg 1^-1 on many occasions, it is possible that fish suffered stress from a combination of high ammonia and low oxygen conditions. There was no accumulation of waste food or faeces below the cages at the one farm surveyed, but there were thousands of wild fish, including mullet (Mugilidae), Spicara sp. and Diplodus spp., present around the cages. Water quality may be improved by changes in farm management, such as reducing stocking densities below the present 16 kg nr^-3. Oxygen should be monitored at the cages on site daily. How comparable environmental conditions and impacts, and parasitization are at other bass and bream sea cage farms is unknown.     

Fish body condition and recruitment success reflect antecedent flows in an Australian dryland river

In fluctuating aquatic environments such as intermittent streams, fish condition is often highly variable due to the associated fluctuating levels of food resources. Having the physiological capacity to both metabolise and catabolise lipids, fish can survive through droughts and rapidly gain condition during flows and floods. Dryland rivers continuously cycle through periods of boom and bust due to their intermittent patterns of rainfall and flow. To help gain an understanding of how fish respond physiologically to varying antecedent flow conditions, we examined body condition measured by percent tissue water content of two generalist fish species in an Australian dryland river. We predicted that fish would be in better condition following recent flows and poorer condition when there had been no recent flows. Our expectations were met for both species with low water tissue content after high flows and high tissue water content after significant drying. It was also found that strong juvenile recruitment was also evident when body condition was high, indicating that when there are food resource spikes driven by flow pulses fish can utilise resources both to produce offspring and to store as lipid for future survival.     

Lateral migration of fish between an oxbow lake and an Amazonian headwater river

Abstract – We report on lateral movements of fish between an Amazonian headwater river (Manu River in Manu National Park, Perú) and a 24‐ha oxbow lake (Cocha Cashu) in the adjacent floodplain. During wet season flood pulses, or ‘crecientes,’ fish can enter and exit the lake through a connecting channel that is normally dry. To investigate fish movements, we operated a bi‐directional funnel trap in the connecting channel during high water interludes. We captured 4090 fish of 60 species during the 2005 and 2006 rainy seasons and sub‐sampled the adults for gonadal state and stomach contents. We found that most exiting fish were gravid and that most entering fish had recently spawned, suggesting that fish were leaving the lake to spawn in the river or elsewhere. Entering fish had full stomachs more often than exiting fish and entering and exiting individuals of most species were of similar size.     

Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., and sea trout, Salmo trutta L., passage in a regulated northern river – fishway efficiency, fish entrance and environmental factors

The number and the size of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., using the Isohaara fishway was elevated by increasing the fishway discharge and by changing the type of the pass entrance. The fishway is intended to help fish bypass a hydroelectric station located close to the mouth of the large, regulated River Kemijoki, in northern Finland. Multi-sea-winter (MSW) salmon returned to the river mouth during peak flows in early June but did not use the fishway until 1 month later. Their number in the fishway was positively correlated with the tailwater level. One-sea winter (1-SW) salmon, which arrived approximately one month later, started to enter the fishway without corresponding delays. In autumn, a high tailwater level and a small drop at the fish entrance seemed to be needed for the successful passage of these small-sized salmon and sea trout, Salmo trutta L.     

Flow‐mediated movement of freshwater catfish,Tandanus bostocki,in a regulated semi‐urban river,to inform environmental water releases

Movement and migration of fish are critical for sustaining riverine fish populations. Water resource development alters natural flow regimes and can disconnect habitats and interfere with hydrological cues for fish movement. Environmental flow releases can counter these impacts, but to be effective they must be based on quantitative flow–biota relationships. We used radio‐telemetry to investigate the association between flow and movement of Tandanus bostocki, a plotosid fish endemic to south‐western Australia. Movement was assessed for 15 adult fish at three temporal scales: weekly, daily and bihourly to reveal seasonal patterns in movement, movement around individual flow pulses, and to describe changes in home range respectively. We used a predictive modelling approach to assess the importance of discharge and other covariates on the directional distance travelled or linear home range size. Our seasonal and flow pulse study revealed that T. bostocki undertook larger downstream movements during higher flows and smaller upstream movements during lower flows. Daily movements tended to be downstream on the ascending limb of flow pulses and upstream on the descending limb. Flow‐dependent movements at weekly or daily time scales were relatively modest (typically hundreds of metres) and were moderated by time of year and gender; however, fish underwent a synchronised 1‐km movement upstream during the known reproductive period in October. The home range study revealed that T. bostocki had larger home ranges (night‐time foraging) when baseflow was elevated. These results can assist the design of customised environmental flows in the study river and other flow‐regulated rivers.     

Spatial and temporal patterns in fish community structure and abundance in the largest U.S. river swamp,the Atchafalaya River floodplain,Louisiana

Long‐term monitoring is critical for documenting population and community trends and for management, especially in large river‐floodplain ecosystems that provide important services. Levees have reduced active floodplains in most large rivers, but connectivity in some reaches could promote community resilience. Using multivariate tools and regression, we examined spatial and temporal structure in fish community samples from two decades (>1000 samples, >100 sites) in one of the largest relatively intact river‐floodplain ecosystems in North America – the Atchafalaya River (ARB), Louisiana. Assemblages exhibited significant structure temporally and spatially, with most substantial effects of year and hydrologic subdivisions; however, season and water level also influenced community structure. Temporal trends in communities were limited to few areas, while declines in species richness were more widespread; however, rarefied richness trends suggested that declines were slight. Recent and long‐term declines in abundance of economically important species (e.g., Black Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Bigmouth Buffalo) and increases in others (e.g., Smallmouth Buffalo, Blue Catfish, Freshwater Drum) drove differences among time periods. Our results suggest that the hydrologic subdivisions of the ARB may be an appropriate scale at which to manage fish populations, hydrology and water quality. Although we could not account for several important factors affecting fish communities in the ARB (e.g., hurricanes, major floods), and were limited by sampling variability, our findings highlight the utility of long‐term datasets from large river‐floodplain ecosystems for identifying important scales for management, determining species contributions to community change and forming hypotheses about anthropogenic and environmental drivers of variation in fish communities.     

Fish assemblages and seasonal movements of fish in irrigation canals and river reaches of the middle Rio Grande, New Mexico (USA)

Abstract – Synoptic fish surveys of river and irrigation canal sites and a path-analytic approach evaluate seasonal changes in fish assemblages in canal systems and river reaches of the middle Rio Grande, NM (USA). The objective was to assess how fish assemblages within the Isleta Reach respond to irrigation season and off-season variations in water and fish contributions from upstream river channels (Albuquerque Reach) and from the Peralta irrigation system. Eighteen species of fish were found in the irrigation canals, 13 in the Isleta Reach and 15 in the Albuquerque Reach. The proportion of nonnative fishes was higher in canals (56%) than in the river (11%). Species rank abundances were used in path analyses of fish species compositions during the irrigation season and off-season. During the irrigation season, path coefficients indicated fish movements downstream from the Albuquerque Reach (0.55) to the Isleta Reach exceeded contributions by the conveyance-return (0.29) and drain-return (0.05) canals. However, as the river de-watered the return canals were important refuge habitats for native fishes. The 0.05 value represented a major decline relative to the path coefficient for the upstream Peralta drain canal (0.72). During the off-season path coefficients indicated fish movements of 0.47 downstream in the river and 0.59 in the conveyance-return canal but a negligible value for the drain-return canal (-0.06). Irrigation management could be modified to favour native fish ecology by controlling movement of nonnative predators in canal systems and in providing refuge habitats for native fish during periods when water demand exceeds the supply.     

Do Eurasian minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus L.) inhabiting brackish water enter fresh water to reproduce: Evidence from a study on otolith microchemistry

Dynamics of coastal fish assemblages in the Baltic Sea are still rather poorly understood. In particular, little information is available on migrations and movements of the small‐bodied littoral fish species like Eurasian minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus L.). Minnow is considered typically as a river and lake species, but it also inhabits brackish coastal waters of the Baltic Sea. In this study, we investigated movement patterns of brackish water inhabiting minnows using otolith microchemistry. Fish were collected from four different sites (from two bays and two stream mouths) around Saaremaa Island. The results indicated that at least three distinct migration patterns exist: (i) seawater residency, (ii) fast springtime migrations to fresh water or to bays with lower salinities (areas near stream mouths) and (iii) prolonged migrations to fresh water (some cases overwintering in streams). Migration patterns listed above were not evenly distributed among sites, and some individuals did not migrate to fresh water in every year. None of the analysed fish were freshwater residents. Additionally, potentially ontogenetic effects on Mn and Sr concentrations were observed in the otolith core regions, which may have important implications for the interpretation of otolith chemistry data. The overall findings of this study demonstrate that much more complex migration patterns exists in brackish water inhabiting minnow populations than previously thought and at least some individuals do enter freshwater to reproduce.     

A qualitative ecological risk assessment of the invasive Nile tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus in a sub‐tropical African river system (Limpopo River,South Africa)

相似文献   

Estimating post-release survival and the influential factors for recreationally caught Black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) in the Glenelg River, south eastern Australia

Black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) is the main target species amongst the estuarine recreational fisheries of Victoria, Australia. The A. butcheri fishery is managed through legal-minimum length and daily bag limits. The success of this management strategy requires that the survival rate for released fish is high. This study used the most common angling practices to estimate post-release survival and identify influential factors for undersized A. butcheri in Victoria. In total 1557 and 923 A. butcheri were caught and monitored for initial (≤1 h) and delayed (72 h) survival, respectively. Fish were caught across 3 years, with each year separated into cold and warm water periods with 8 fishing trial days in total. Only 1 of the 266 controls used to assess confinement effects died. Total survival was 95% (S.E. ± 0.8%) for shallow- and 74% (S.E. ± 3%) for deep-hooked fish and decreased as fish length increased. A post-mortem (PM) procedure was developed and showed that throat and gill injuries were the most frequent cause of deep-hooking death. It revealed that 97% of hooks left in fish remained there after 72 h and identified hooking location inaccuracies recorded at the time of capture. Total survival for deep-hooked fish was 20% higher when hooks were left in the fish. Deep-hooked fish were more likely to bleed when hooks were removed and total survival was lower for fish that bleed (58%) than fish that did not bleed (80%). Shallow-hooking rates decreased as fish length increased and were higher during warm water compared to cold water trials. The high shallow-hooking and survival rates observed suggest that A. butcheri survival in the fishery would be high, but deep-hooking has the potential to undermine the management strategy. Determining the shallow-hooking rate in the fishery would help clarify the impact of these findings at the fishery level.     

The effects of weed cutting upon the biota of a large regulated river

1. The effects of macrophyte removal from a regulated reach of the River Great Ouse, UK, were recorded. The relationship between macrophyte cover, zooplankton distribution and 0+roach Rutilus rutilus (L.) distribution, diet and growth, were compared before, directly after, and over several weeks following weed-cutting operations. 2. Both zooplankton and fish were significantly associated with the macrophyte zone before weed cutting. It is suggested that this zone provides high food densities and refuge during periods of elevated flows. 3. Removal of all but a 2 m marginal strip of the macrophyte zone led to a rapid decline in the mean densities of planktonic Cladocera, probably as a result of increased washout, fish predation and starvation. This was accompanied by a rapid decline in the growth rate of the roach, which were forced to feed on the less nutritious aufwuchs. 4. It is suggested that river management involving weed cutting adjacent to one bank in alternate years would be sufficient to prevent loss of channel capacity and would provide a refuge for fish and zooplankton.     

Riverine spawning,long distance larval drift,and floodplain recruitment of a pelagophilic fish: A case study of golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) in the arid Darling River,Australia

1. Pelagic spawning riverine fish (pelagophils) spawn in free‐flowing river habitats with downstream drift of eggs and larvae but the spatial scale is often unknown, and this constitutes a major ecological knowledge gap.
2. In the arid Darling River in south‐eastern Australia, the present objectives were: (i) to determine the potential downstream dispersal distance of young golden perch (Macquaria ambigua); and (ii) to evaluate whether provision of environmental water enhanced dispersal of young fish from Menindee Lakes to the lower Darling River (LDR) while also cueing further spawning in downstream lotic reaches.
3. Golden perch spawned in unregulated lotic tributaries on a flood pulse and larvae drifted or dispersed >1,600 km downstream and entered large ephemeral productive floodplain lake nursery habitats as fully scaled fingerlings.
4. Planned releases of environmental water cued golden perch spawning in the LDR and enabled juvenile fish to disperse downstream from the Menindee Lakes nursery into receiving populations in the LDR, Great Darling Anabranch, and southern Murray River, with some fish potentially completing an active migration of >2,100 km by age 1 year.
5. The Darling River case study highlights the need for a system‐scale approach to the conservation management of pelagophilic fish, along with multi‐year perennial flow strategies to improve ecosystem integrity in large rivers globally.

     

Osmoregulatory ability of anadromous Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus (L.), migrating towards the sea

Abstract. Hypoosmoregulatory capacity was examined in anadromous Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus (L.), caught whilst migrating towards the sea in the river Å-elva, northern Norway (69°04′N and 17°00′E). Metacercariae of the marine digenean Cryptocotyle lingua (Creplin) were found on 47% of the fish investigated, demonstrating that they had been in brackish or sea water on at least one previous occasion. The fish were randomly divided into three groups, and exposed to sea water (35 ppt salinity at 5–6°C) for 7 days- one group immediately after capture, and the other two groups after 16 days of acclimation in fresh water and brackish water (15–17ppt), respectively. Blood plasma osmolality, Na⁺ and Mg²⁺ levels showed only a small and transient rise during seawater exposure, and there were only minor changes in muscle water content, irrespective of prior treatment. A slight, but insignificant, reduction in hypoosmoregulatory capacity appeared to occur in the groups retained in fresh water or brackish water for 16 days prior to seawater exposure. The results did not indicate that the fish show any improvement of hypoosmoregulatory capacity following a period of acclimation in brackish water. The hypoosmoregulatory capacity of seaward-migrating Arctic char is well developed before they enter the sea, and may be comparable to that seen in salmonids which undergo a parr-smolt transformation. There was a negative correlation between blood plasma electrolyte levels and both body length and weight, indicating that hypoosmoregulatory capacity was affected by the size of the fish. The effects of body size upon the development of hypoosmoregulatory capacity are discussed with respect to estuarine residence and the constraints placed upon the survival of small fish in full-strength sea water.     

Temperature and dissolved oxygen influence growth and digestive enzyme activities of yellowtail kingfish Seriola lalandi (Valenciennes, 1833)

A 5 week experiment was carried out with juvenile yellowtail kingfish Seriola lalandi to investigate the interactive effects of water temperature (21, 24, or 27°C) and dissolved oxygen regime (normoxic vs. hypoxic) on the growth rate, feed intake and digestive enzyme activity of this species. Specific growth rate (SGR) was highest at 24°C, regardless of oxygen regime, but the SGRs of the fish exposed to hypoxia at 21, 24 and 27°C were 13%, 20% and 17% lower, respectively, than the SGRs recorded for the fish reared under normoxic conditions. The digestive enzyme activities (i.e. trypsin, lipase and α‐amylase) were influenced by temperature but did not appear to be affected by dissolved oxygen concentration. Information about the effects of water temperature and dissolved oxygen on feeding, growth and digestive capacity of juvenile yellowtail kingfish could contribute to improving feed management decisions for production of this fish species under different environmental conditions.