Swimming performance of upstream migrant fishes in open-channel flow: a new approach to predicting passage through velocity barriers

The ability to traverse barriers of high-velocity flow limits the distributions of many diadromous and other migratory fish species, yet very few data exist that quantify this ability. We provide a detailed analysis of sprint swimming ability of six migratory fish species (American shad (Alosa sapidissima), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), walleye (Stizostedion vitreum), and white sucker (Catostomus commersoni)) against controlled water velocities of 1.5–4.5 m·s–1 in a large, open-channel flume. Performance was strictly voluntary: no coercive incentives were used to motivate fish to sprint. We used these data to generate models of maximum distance traversed, taking into account effects of flow velocity, body length, and temperature. Although the maximum distance traversed decreased with increasing velocity, the magnitude of this effect varied among species. Other covariate effects were likewise variable, with divergent effects of tempera...

[1]  J. R. Brett,et al.  Metabolic Rates and Critical Swimming Speeds of Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in Relation to Size and Temperature , 1973 .

[2]  P. Webb.  Hydrodynamics and Energetics of Fish Propulsion , 1975 .

[3]  J. Kieffer,et al.  Physiological effects of catch and release angling in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) at different stages of freshwater migration , 1996 .

[4]  T. Castro‐Santos.  Swimming performance of upstream migrant fishes: New methods, new perspectives , 2002 .

[5]  Scott G. Hinch,et al.  Swim speeds and energy use of upriver-migrating sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka): role of local environment and fish characteristics , 1998 .

[6]  J. Cech,et al.  Metabolic Responses of Juvenile Striped Bass to Exercise and Handling Stress with Various Recovery Environments , 2002 .

[7]  J. R. Brett.  The Respiratory Metabolism and Swimming Performance of Young Sockeye Salmon , 1964 .

[8]  David R. Anderson,et al.  Model selection and inference : a practical information-theoretic approach , 2000 .

[9]  J. R. Brett,et al.  The Effect of Temperature on the Cruising Speed of Young Sockeye and Coho Salmon , 1958 .

[10]  Scott G. Hinch,et al.  Optimal swimming speeds and forward-assisted propulsion : energy-conserving behaviours of upriver-migrating adult salmon , 2000 .

[11]  Milo C Bell,et al.  Fisheries Handbook of Engineering Requirements and Biological Criteria , 1990 .

[12]  T. Sturm,et al.  Open Channel Hydraulics , 2001 .

[13]  M. Beach.  Fish pass design - criteria for the design and approval of fish passes and other structures to facilitate the passage of migratory fish in rivers , 1984 .

[14]  G. Lauder,et al.  The Kármán gait: novel body kinematics of rainbow trout swimming in a vortex street , 2003, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[15]  Theodore Castro-Santos,et al.  Effect of Water Acceleration on Downstream Migratory Behavior and Passage of Atlantic Salmon Smolts and Juvenile American Shad at Surface Bypasses , 1998 .

[16]  J. Loesch.  Overview of Life History Aspects of Anadromous Alewife and Blueback Herring in Freshwater Habitats , 1987 .

[17]  Iehisa Nezu,et al.  Turbulence in open-channel flows , 1993 .

[18]  R. F. Goosney,et al.  Measurement of burst swimming performance in wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) using digital telemetry , 1998 .

[19]  G. Lauder,et al.  Fish Exploiting Vortices Decrease Muscle Activity , 2003, Science.

[20]  J. R. Brett.  The Relation of Size to Rate of Oxygen Consumption and Sustained Swimming Speed of Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) , 1965 .

[21]  E. Stringham.  The Maximum Speed of Fresh-Water Fishes , 1924, The American Naturalist.

[22]  C R Weaver,et al.  Influence of Water Velocity Upon Orientation and Performance of Adult Migrating Salmonids , 1963 .

[23]  C. S. Wardle,et al.  Limit of fish swimming speed , 1975, Nature.

[24]  Webb.  Entrainment by river chub nocomis micropogon and smallmouth bass micropterus dolomieu on cylinders , 1998, The Journal of experimental biology.

[25]  R. Bainbridge,et al.  Speed and Stamina in Three Fish , 1960 .

[26]  S. Schmutz,et al.  Fish Migration and Fish Bypasses , 1998 .

[27]  Theodore Castro-Santos,et al.  Quantifying the combined effects of attempt rate and swimming capacity on passage through velocity barriers , 2004 .

[28]  M. Bhaskara Rao,et al.  Model Selection and Inference , 2000, Technometrics.

[29]  Dennis W. Rondorf,et al.  Migratory Behavior and Forebay Delay of Radio-Tagged Juvenile Fall Chinook Salmon in a Lower Snake River Impoundment , 2000 .

[30]  Elisa T. Lee,et al.  Statistical Methods for Survival Data Analysis , 1994, IEEE Transactions on Reliability.

[31]  A. Haro,et al.  Quantifying migratory delay: a new application of survival analysis methods , 2003 .

[32]  B. Tufts,et al.  Influences of temperature upon the postexercise physiology of Atlantic salmon(Salmo salar) , 1997 .

[33]  R. Bainbridge,et al.  The Speed of Swimming of Fish as Related to Size and to the Frequency and Amplitude of the Tail Beat , 1958 .

[34]  A. Haro,et al.  A passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag system for monitoring fishways , 1996 .

[35]  M. Odeh.  Discharge Rating Equation and Hydraulic Characteristics of Standard Denil Fishways , 2003 .

[36]  D. R. Gero,et al.  The hydrodynamic aspects of fish propulsion. American Museum novitates ; no. 1601 , 1952 .

[37]  C. S. Wardle,et al.  Fish swimming stride by stride: speed limits and endurance , 1991, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries.

[38]  Elisa T. Lee,et al.  Statistical Methods for Survival Data Analysis , 1994, IEEE Transactions on Reliability.

[39]  E. Black,et al.  Changes in Glycogen, Pyruvate and Lactate in Rainbow Trout Salmo gairdneri) During and Following Muscular Activity , 1962 .

[40]  P. Allison.  Survival analysis using the SAS system : a practical guide , 1995 .

[41]  A. Roy,et al.  The effect of turbulence on the cost of swimming for juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) , 2003 .

[42]  S. Cooke,et al.  Cardiac Response to Variable Forced Exercise at Different Temperatures: An Angling Simulation for Smallmouth Bass , 2001 .

[43]  R. Burrows,et al.  The Rectangular Circulating Rearing Pond , 1970 .

[44]  J F Orsborn,et al.  FISHWAYS -- AN ASSESSMENT OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN -- FINAL REPORT , 1985 .

[45]  D. S. Pavlov,et al.  The Effects of Flow Turbulence on the Behavior and Distribution of Fish , 2000 .

[46]  Jerald F. Lawless,et al.  Statistical Models and Methods for Lifetime Data. , 1983 .

[47]  C. S. Wardle.  Effects of Temperature on the Maximum Swimming Speed of Fishes , 1980 .

[48]  M. A. Ali.  Environmental Physiology of Fishes , 2014, NATO Advanced Study Institutes Series.

[49]  J. Lawless.  Statistical Models and Methods for Lifetime Data , 2002 .