Slow Recovery of Headwater-Stream Fishes Following a Catastrophic Poisoning Event

Accidental spills of chemicals and other pollutants can decimate populations of stream-dwelling species. Recovery from such accidents can be relatively fast and complete when the affected stream reaches can be recolonized from upstream and downstream sources. However, faunal recoveries from accidental spills that extirpate populations from entire headwater streams have not been extensively documented, and understanding resilience of headwater-stream biota is relevant for assessing threats to at-risk species. We assessed recovery of fish populations in a 5.7-km-long headwater stream in the southeastern United States following a complete, or nearly complete, fish-kill caused by a chemical spill near the source of the stream. We sampled for fishes at five stream locations, two downstream and three upstream from a perched, culverted road-crossing located 2.4 km upstream from the stream mouth, over a period of 18.5 mo following the poisoning event. We observed 11 fish species, representing ≤65% of the fish species expected based on occurrences in nearby tributary streams. In postpoisoning sampling, only three of these taxa were observed upstream of the culvert; all 11 species, including the federally threatened Cherokee Darter Etheostoma scotti, were found downstream of the culvert but were mostly represented by a few, large individuals. In contrast, dead individuals of at least eight taxa including the Cherokee Darter were observed upstream of the culvert at the time of the fish-kill. These observations provide evidence of slow recovery of a headwater fish fauna, and especially upstream of a barrier to fish movement, where the recolonization sources are primarily downstream. Additional case studies may reveal whether this result applies generally to headwater streams. Slow recovery could make species that primarily inhabit or maintain greatest abundances in headwaters, including multiple at-risk fishes, particularly vulnerable to the threat of accidental spills that result in local population extirpation.

Tracking the Causes of a Mass Fish Kill at a Mediterranean River within a Protected Area

In this study, an extreme event observed at the intermittent Mediterranean Bogdanas River within the territory of the protected area of the National Park of Lakes Koronia-Volvi and Macedonian Temp that led to a mass fish kill was investigated. We aimed to define the main pressures affecting water quality and biota, specifically fish. No organic poisons, pesticides or heavy metal concentrations were detected in fish tissue, while high values of BOD5, COD, TN and conductivity were measured in water samples. These results, combined with the prevailing hydroclimatic factors (high temperatures and low water flow), lead to the assumption that mass fish mortality was triggered by high organic loads discharged from an upstream point source of pollution, and in particular an active landfill.

Invasion of Ceratium furcoides in subtropical lakes in Uruguay: environmental drivers and first fish kill record

The invasive freshwater dinoflagellate Ceratium furcoides is extending its distribution in South America with increasing environmental impacts associated with its blooms. We here report two events related to C. furcoides distribution expansion in Uruguay: 1) the first appearance and main environmental drivers (physico-chemical variables, extreme wind events and zooplankton composition) of the bloom of C. furcoides in 2012 in a subtropical eutrophic shallow lake (Lake Blanca, Uruguay), and 2) the fish kill event of Prochilodus lineatus likely caused by C. furcoides in 2016 in a deep eutrophic lake (Puente de las Americas, Uruguay), which is the first fish kill attributable to C. furcoides registered in the world. The bloom of C. furcoides in Lake Blanca started in spring 2012 (October) during a clear water period with high phytoplankton species replacement after a cyanobacterial bloom of Raphidiopsis raciborskii. Extreme wind events during this period resuspended cysts from the sediments, which likely started the C. furcoides bloom. High nutrient availability and low zooplankton grazing, allowed the bloom to expand and reach 96% of the phytoplankton biomass. Our results further indicate that the fish kill of Prochilodus lineatus in Lake Puente de las Americas was likely promoted by the high biomass of C. furcoides bloom, causing gill damage and clogging together with oxygen depletion in the benthic zone. Our study is the earliest record of C. furcoides in Uruguay and it shows the drastic consequences of C. furcoides bloom in freshwaters and its potential of inducing massive fish kills.

A Mechanistic Dissolved Oxygen Modeling for Riverine Fish Kill Prevention

<p>Dissolved oxygen (DO) is a critical factor that controls the health and survival of the aquatic life. In the lower Danshuei River of Taiwan, DO was occasionally lower than 2 mg/L leading to several fish kill events. Since 2018, the Taipei city government started to continuously monitor hourly DO and other water quality factors at sites of Cheng-Mei Bridge and Cheng-De Bridge. However, at most sites, the monitoring has been conducted once a month. To provide sufficient DO predictions for preventing the occurrence of fish kills, a mechanistic DO modeling is required. As a result, in this study, we developed a system dynamic DO modeling considering oxygen exchange between the air-water and up/downstream interfaces with instream interactions of reaeration, photosynthesis, sediment oxygen demand (SOD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), respiration, and deoxygenation using the STELLA Architect software. In the model, we used meteorological data, water quality data, and hydrological data (flow rate, cross-section area, and hydraulic depth) simulated by HEC-RAS as input data to simulate daily DO at Cheng-Mei Bridge. Field measurements ranging from 0.21 to 10.34 mg/L were used to calibrate and validate the simulation results during Jan. to Aug. 2018, and Sep. to Dec. 2018, respectively. Our simulation results appeared reasonably good accuracy, in which the root mean square error (RMSE) ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 mg/L, and the percentage root mean square error (PRMSE) ranging from 5 to 15%. Moreover, results showed that DO was most sensitive to hydrological data, deoxygenation coefficient, and reaeration coefficient such that the meteorological conditions, like temperature and wind speed, were also important variables triggering hypoxia or anoxia that caused fish kills. Consequently, to better avoid or mitigate the occurrence of fish kills, we believe this physically-based DO modeling coupled with meteorological variables will offer useful information in predicting the condition of DO along the lower Danshuei River for managers to take preventative actions.</p>