Productive capacity of an artificial stream in the Canadian Arctic: assessing the effectiveness of fish habitat compensation

2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 849-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas E Jones ◽  
William M Tonn ◽  
Garry J Scrimgeour ◽  
Chris Katopodis
Keyword(s):  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Productive Capacity ◽  
Average Mass ◽  
Arctic Grayling ◽  
Artificial Stream ◽  
Natural Streams ◽  
Explicit Analysis ◽  
Gains And Losses ◽  
Habitat Compensation

Few fish habitat compensation projects are assessed with respect to the principle of "no net loss" of productive capacity. Using reference streams as standards against which gains and losses of functions (e.g., production of fish) could be quantified, we examined the effectiveness of a 3.4-km artificial stream in the Northwest Territories, Canada. The artificial stream restored watershed connectivity, allowing fish migration and provided spawning and nursery habitat, particularly for Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus). However, the average mass of young-of-the-year (YOY) grayling at the end of summer was lower (57%) in the artificial stream than in natural streams. This difference in growth, in concert with estimates of grayling density, meant that the standing crop produced in the artificial stream averaged 37% of that found in natural streams. A bioenergetics model indicated that cooler water temperatures in the artificial stream had limited influence on growth. Instead, low amounts of autochthonous and allochthonous organic matter and poor physical habitat in the artificial stream appeared to limit the productivity of benthic invertebrates and fish. Our explicit analysis of productive capacity will allow future compensation measures to focus on deficiencies in the artificial stream and on the improvement of its productive capacity as fish habitat.

Resource selection functions for age-0 Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) and their application to stream habitat compensation

2004 ◽  
Vol 61 (9) ◽  
pp. 1736-1746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas E Jones ◽  
William M Tonn
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Water Depth ◽  
Resource Selection ◽  
Productive Capacity ◽  
Resource Selection Functions ◽  
Arctic Grayling ◽  
Artificial Stream ◽  
Average Water ◽  
Thymallus Arcticus ◽  
Habitat Compensation

We developed resource selection functions (RSFs) for young-of-the-year (YOY) Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) in a natural Barrenlands stream and used them to assess the habitat in an artificial stream created as part of a habitat compensation agreement in the Canadian Arctic. The model for small (15–21 mm) grayling explained 55% of the variation in habitat use and included water velocity, average water depth, and percentage of detritus and fines. The model for large (38–57 mm) grayling explained 36% of the variation in habitat use and included water depth, percentage of detritus and fines, and several cover variables. Model validation using a withheld sample of data indicated that the models provided good fits to the data, correctly classifying 71–75% of habitat-use locations. Applying the RSFs to observed habitat use in the artificial stream indicated an abundance of quality habitat for small grayling, but a paucity for the larger YOY. These results reflect an ontogenetic shift in habitat requirements, from the simple needs of small YOY to the more complex demands of larger YOY, demands that could not be well met by the artificial stream. We suggest that this inability contributed to the poor productive capacity of the artificial stream.

Quantifying effective restoration: reassessing the productive capacity of a constructed stream 14 years after construction

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry J. Scrimgeour ◽  
William M. Tonn ◽  
Nicholas E. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Invertebrate ◽  
Productive Capacity ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Reference Levels ◽  
Arctic Grayling ◽  
Invertebrate Composition ◽  
Natural Streams ◽  
And Function ◽  
Ecosystem Structure And Function

Using natural streams as references against which ecosystem structure and function could be compared, we examined the short-term (1–3 years) and long-term (14 years) effectiveness of a 3.4 km constructed stream in the Northwest Territories, Canada. The constructed stream variously showed little to marked improvements 14 years after construction (2011), relative to 1998–2000 and to reference streams, depending on the stream attribute. Many attributes related to stocks of organic matter remained well below reference levels in the constructed stream after 14 years. Leaf matter processing rates increased in the constructed stream to the point of convergence with reference streams in 2011, but the latter still had superior leaf retention abilities. By Year 14, benthic invertebrate composition in the constructed stream showed some convergence with reference streams, although densities generally lagged, especially in riffles. In 2011, growth of young-of-the-year Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) from the constructed stream was substantially greater relative to 1998–2001, but remained well below contemporary reference levels. Our mixed results raise questions about the definition and time scale of successful restoration.

Stream modifications to enhance system connectivity for fish habitat compensation: a case study in the Barrenlands region of Canada

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 650-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Courtice ◽  
Abul Basar M. Baki ◽  
David Z. Zhu ◽  
Christopher Cahill ◽  
William M. Tonn
Keyword(s):  
Catchment Area ◽  
Rectangular Cross Section ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Fish Passage ◽  
First Year ◽  
Productive Capacity ◽  
Flow Depth ◽  
Lake Catchment ◽  
Habitat Compensation

This study examines stream modification efforts to increase the productive capacity of an isolated system of three small lakes in the Barrenlands region of Arctic Canada by enhancing system connectivity. The lakes’ outlet streams were modified to create conditions favourable for fish passage and thereby promote migration among the lakes and the large lake into which they drain. Gabion step pools (in two streams) and a nature-like choke-and-pool structure (in one stream) were installed. Two years of post-construction hydraulics data were compared to data collected for two years prior to construction to determine the efficacy of the various stream modifications. Initial evaluations indicated unsuccessful performance of gabion step pools, so after the first year, they were retrofitted with boulders to increase flow depth, restrict discharge, improve flow duration, and create unimpeded connections rather than sudden drops. Variation of lake levels and duration, variability, and depth of stream flow indicated that outlet geometry and lake catchment area should be important considerations when enhancing connectivity for fish migration in ephemeral systems. A narrow, rectangular cross-section was deemed effective for increasing flow depth while decreasing discharge, resulting in increased duration of flows. Catchment area was an effective indicator of a headwater lake’s potential response to connectivity enhancements. Smaller catchments may provide inadequate runoff to sustain minimum storage requirements for enhanced connectivity. Our findings should advance the knowledge of headwater system hydraulics in the Barrenlands and assist in designing future fish habitat compensation projects on similar systems.

Fish Habitat: Essential Fish Habitat and Rehabilitation

1999 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Erie ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Fish Habitats

<em>Abstract.—</em> The quality and quantity of habitats determine ecosystem productivity. Hence, they determine the potential fish productivity that sustains the fish harvests extractable from freshwaters and seas. Efforts to conserve and protect fish habitats are frustrated by key unanswered questions: which habitat types and how much must be protected to ensure natural self-sustaining fish stocks? Minns and Bakelaar presented a prototype method for assessing suitable habitat supply for fish stocks in Lake Erie, an analysis that can be used to address conservation issues. Here, the method is refined and extended, taking the assessment of habitat supply for pike <em>Esox lucius </em> in the Long Point region of Lake Erie as a case study. As with the previous study, much emphasis is placed on “learning by doing.” Because available inventories of habitat features are coarse and incomplete, improved guidelines for estimating habitat supply are expected from these prototype studies. The habitat supply method previously presented by Minns and Bakelaar is elaborated in three ways here: (1) the basic physical habitat assessment is derived from a remote-sensing inventory database; (2) methods of quantifying the thermal regime and integrating it with other habitat elements are examined; (3) habitat supply estimates are used in a pike population model, and pike biomass and production are simulated for the Long Point region of Lake Erie and then compared with available records. The roles of error and uncertainty are examined for all elements in the estimation and application of suitable habitat supply values. There is potential for supply measurement and analysis to guide fish habitat management.

Selection of Positions by Drift-Feeding Salmonids in Dominance Hierarchies: Model and Test for Arctic Grayling (Thymallus arcticus) in Subarctic Mountain Streams, Interior Alaska

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 1999-2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas F. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Bottom Topography ◽  
Lateral Diffusion ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Mountain Stream ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Arctic Grayling ◽  
Drift Feeding ◽  
Stream Salmonids ◽  
Thymallus Arcticus

In this work I describe a model to predict position choice by each individual in a dominance hierarchy of drift-feeding stream salmonids. This is an adaptation of Hughes and Dill's model (1990. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 47: 2039–2048) of position choice by solitary fish. I have included the effect that prey consumption, lateral diffusion of drifting invertebrates, and entry of invertebrates into the drift have on the density of prey downstream of feeding fish and the restrictions that dominant fish place on freedom of choice by their subordinates. l assume that each fish chooses the most profitable position that its rank in the hierarchy will allow. There was an encouraging match between the distribution patterns predicted by the model and the distribution patterns actually adopted by Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) in two pools of a mountain stream. This result suggests that Arctic grayling locate and rank positions based on their profitability. The predictions of reduced models, and the location of positions in relation to bottom topography and current flow, suggest that the physical habitat forms the template for distribution patterns by determining the location and ranking of the most profitable positions.

scholarly journals Analysis for Underwater Sound on Natural River Habitat

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 02047
Author(s):  
Jung-Eun Gu ◽  
Sang Hwa Jung ◽  
Joongu Kang ◽  
Hyoseop Woo
Keyword(s):  
Underwater Acoustics ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
High Water ◽  
Physical Structure ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Hydraulic Characteristics ◽  
Underwater Sound ◽  
Underwater Acoustic ◽  
Sound Environment

A riffle-pool structure is a representative physical structure of bed in rivers. The change in the physical parameter of the habitat could lead to changes in the sound environment of rivers, which are expressed by underwater acoustics. This change in underwater sound affects fish habitat. In this study, the changes of underwater acoustics were analyzed according to the change of pool-riffle sequence in a natural river. And the correlation between underwater acoustics and hydraulic characteristics was investigated. The survey for underwater acoustics was performed in the Namdae stream where is in Gangwon province. This stream belongs to the Han River basin and the river length is 39.01 km and the catchment area is 127.56 km2. The Namdae stream is a river that accounts for more than 70% of salmon returning to South Korea. The spawning salmon will return to this area around November after growing in the Bering Sea. It is important to manage the fish habitat in this river so there is a lot of research on the enhancement of fish habitat. Hydraulic characteristics were changed by the river bed structure. In this study, we investigated the relationship between underwater acoustic characteristics and hydraulic factors such as riverbed material, flow rate and water depth of each habitat type at 12 sites. The characteristics of underwater acoustic differed relative to different hydraulic factors of the two habitats, which is riffle and pool. The sound pressure level of riffles was relatively higher than that of the pools due to bed materials, shallow depth and high water velocity of riffles. In the future, it is considered that the underwater sound can be utilized as a parameter to evaluate the physical habitat environment of the river.

Rheotactic Differentiation between Fluvial and Lacustrine Populations of Arctic Grayling (Thymallus arcticus), and Implications for the Only Remaining Indigenous Population of Fluvial "Montana Grayling"

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin M. Kaya
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Population ◽  
Arctic Grayling ◽  
Artificial Stream ◽  
Light Intensities ◽  
Thymallus Arcticus ◽  
Permanent Stream

Rheotactic behavior of young Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) from fluvial (Big Hole River) and lacustrine (Red Rocks Lake) populations in Montana was assessed in an artificial stream to see if fluvial grayling are adapted to life-long residence in streams by having an innately greater tendency to hold position and lesser tendency to go downstream. Responses of young tested at 0–10 d post-swimup contradicted the hypothesis; the fluvial grayling had strong downstream responses similar to or greater than those of the lacustrine grayling. When tested 18–31 d post-swimup, however, rheotactic responses of the fluvial and lacustrine grayling were consistent with the hypothesis, at three light intensities (full and dim lighting and darkness). Rheotactic differences were even greater in trials at 47–72 d post-swimup (conducted only under full lighting). Big Hole River grayling appear to be adapted to permanent stream residence. Such adaptation reinforces the importance of conserving this last indigenous fluvial population of the geographically disjunct, genetically identifiable "Montana grayling."

Direct and indirect estimates of the productive capacity of fish habitat under Canada’s Policy for the Management of Fish Habitat: where have we been, where are we now, and where are we going?

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 2204-2227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles K. Minns ◽  
Robert G. Randall ◽  
Karen E. Smokorowski ◽  
Keith D. Clarke ◽  
Antonio Vélez-Espino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Management ◽  
Method Development ◽  
Dynamic Models ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Productive Capacity ◽  
No Net Loss ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
And Function

No net loss of productive capacity (PC) of fish habitat has been the central concept guiding Canadian fish habitat management policy since 1986. The purpose of this paper is to describe the concept of PC, to review the history and application of the fish habitat management policy in Canada, and to provide a critical review of the range of potential approaches to estimating PC. The approaches were grouped by their central focus: habitat, individual, population, and community–ecosystem. A set of case studies is used to illustrate the use of some approaches drawn from freshwater and marine contexts. Ten components to assessing no net loss of PC were developed and used in the review of approaches for evaluating potential limitations. The review also highlighted the likely future direction of method development, with increasing emphasis on dynamic models integrating population responses to habitat supply characteristics. More work needs to be done to turn research-based metrics of PC into practical operational management assessment tools and to better quantify the link between habitat structure and function and fisheries productivity. The evolving approaches to measure PC reinforce the ties that fish habitat management has to the emerging practices in ecosystem-based management.

Managing the Impacts of Human Activities on Fish Habitat: The Governance, Practices, and Science

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Area ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Productive Capacity ◽  
Step Method ◽  
First Order ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Significant Area ◽  
Marine Areas

<em>Abstract.</em>—Habitat Area-Production relationships (HAP) are advocated for determining first-order estimates of the productive capacity of different ecosystems and fish habitat types. HAP is a two-step method. First, an estimate of habitat capacity is determined by regressing surface area of lakes, rivers or marine areas against total production (or a proxy of production) for each area. Area-production plots are not novel, but the premise of this paper is that surface area is often the dominant factor that determines total fish production for a region or site. The second step is to investigate the region- or site-specific environmental drivers or habitat factors that affect production. Case studies based on literature data are used to demonstrate the utility of the HAP method of estimating habitat capacity in freshwater and marine areas, both among and within ecosystems, and at different spatial scales. Advantages of the area-production relationship approach are: 1) first-order estimates of productive capacity, explicitly showing the relative importance of the quantity and quality of habitat, can be determined if surface area-production data are available for specific regions; 2) area-production plots will guide further research for refining habitat function and capacity; 3) HAP provides a quantitative method of identifying both habitat perturbations and important habitat; 4) a lack of a significant area-production relationship may be instructive; and 5) the method can be applied at different spatial scales in different ecosystems. HAP relationships can be used to determine region-specific benchmarks of habitat productive capacity and to guide monitoring to assess the effectiveness of habitat restoration.

Assessment of net change of productive capacity of fish habitats: the role of uncertainty and complexity in decision making

2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles K Minns ◽  
James E Moore
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Fish Habitat ◽  
Productive Capacity ◽  
No Net Loss ◽  
Habitat Linkages ◽  
Fish Habitats ◽  
Fish Response ◽  
Lake Habitats

Canada's fish habitat management is guided by the principle of "no net loss of the productive capacity of fish habitat" (NNL). Many development proposals are assessed using habitat information alone, rather than fish data. Because fish–habitat linkages are often obscured by uncertainty, uncertainty must be factored into NNL assessments. Using a quantitative framework for assessing NNL and lake habitats as a context, the implications of uncertainty for decision making are examined. The overall behaviour of a net change equation given uncertainty is explored using Monte Carlo simulation. Case studies from Great Lakes development projects are examined using interval analysis. The results indicate that uncertainty, even when large, can be incorporated into assessments. This has important implications for the habitat management based on NNL. First, schemas to specify relative levels of uncertainty using simple habitat classifications can support robust decision making. Second, attaining NNL requires greater emphasis on minimizing habitat loss and creating new areas to compensate for losses elsewhere and less on detailing small incremental changes in modified habitats where the fish response is difficult to demonstrate. Third, the moderate to high levels of uncertainty in fish–habitat linkages require that created compensation is at least twice the losses to reasonably ensure NNL.

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