Experimentation at the interface of fluvial geomorphology, stream ecology and hydraulic engineering and the development of an effective, interdisciplinary river science

One ‘2020 vision’ for fluvial geomorphology is that it sits alongside stream ecology and hydraulic engineering as a key element of an integrated, interdisciplinary river science. A challenge to this vision is that scientists from these three communities may approach problems from different perspectives with different questions and have different methodological outlooks. Refining interdisciplinary methodology is important in this context, but raises a number of issues for geomorphologists, ecologists and engineers alike. In particular, we believe that it is important that there is greater dialogue about the nature of mutually-valued questions and the adoption of mutually-acceptable methods. As a contribution to this dialogue we examine the benefits and challenges of using physical experimentation in flume laboratories to ask interdisciplinary questions. Working in this arena presents the same challenges that experimental geomorphologists and engineers are familiar with (scaling up results, technical difficulties, realism) and some new ones including recognizing the importance of biological processes, identifying hydraulically meaningful biological groups, accommodating the singular behaviour of individuals and species, understanding biological as well as physical stimuli, and the husbandry and welfare of live organisms. These issues are illustrated using two examples from flume experiments designed (1) to understand how the movement behaviours of aquatic insects through the near-bed flow field of gravelly river beds may allow them to survive flood events, and (2) how an understanding of the way in which fish behaviours and swimming capability are affected by flow conditions around artificial structures can lead to the design of effective fish passages. In each case, an interdisciplinary approach has been of substantial mutual benefit and led to greater insights than discipline-specific work would have produced. Looking forward to 2020, several key challenges for experimentalists working on the interface of fluvial geomorphology, stream ecology and hydraulic engineering are identified.

[1]  A. Roy,et al.  Reach scale variability of turbulent flow characteristics in a gravel-bed river , 2005 .

[2]  R. Myers,et al.  Effectiveness of a High-Frequency-Sound Fish Diversion System at the Annapolis Tidal Hydroelectric Generating Station, Nova Scotia , 2002 .

[3]  Xin Han,et al.  Study on the micro-replication of shark skin , 2008 .

[4]  B. Statzner,et al.  Crayfish as geomorphic agents and ecosystem engineers: effect of a biomass gradient on baseflow and flood-induced transport of gravel and sand in experimental streams , 2003 .

[5]  L. Greenberg,et al.  The use of two nature-like fishways by some fish species in the Swedish River Emån , 2007 .

[6]  John R. Post,et al.  Instream flow needs in streams and rivers: the importance of understanding ecological dynamics , 2006 .

[7]  A. R. Nowell,et al.  FLUMES : THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR SIMULATION OF BENTHIC ENVIRONMENTS* , 1987 .

[8]  J. Lancaster,et al.  Nested Hierarchies and Scale-Dependence of Mechanisms of Flow Refugium Use , 1997, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[9]  J. Laronne,et al.  Variable Source Areas of Bedload in a Gravel-Bed Stream , 1999 .

[10]  S Stahlberg,et al.  The critical swimming speed of small teleost fish species in a flume , 1987 .

[11]  David M. Hannah,et al.  Ecohydrology and hydroecology: A ‘new paradigm’? , 2004 .

[12]  S. D. Cooper,et al.  How to Avoid Train Wrecks When Using Science in Environmental Problem Solving , 2002 .

[13]  James J. Anderson,et al.  Optimum fish passage and guidance designs are based in the hydrogeomorphology of natural rivers , 2008 .

[14]  Maarten C. M. Bruijs,et al.  Assessing the impact of hydropower and fisheries on downstream migrating silver eel, Anguilla anguilla, by telemetry in the River Meuse , 2006 .

[15]  M. Palmer,et al.  Hydroecology and river restoration: Ripe for research and synthesis , 2006 .

[16]  J. Thorpe,et al.  Periodicity in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. smolt migration , 1978 .

[17]  J. Lancaster,et al.  Movement and dispersion of insects in stream channels: what role does flow play? , 2008 .

[18]  R. Ferguson.  Flow resistance equations for gravel‐ and boulder‐bed streams , 2007 .

[19]  Thomas P. Quinn,et al.  Density and size of juvenile salmonids in response to placement of large woody debris in western Oregon and Washington streams , 2001 .

[20]  J. R. Stauffer,et al.  Responses of fish to a strobe light/ air-bubble barrier , 1985 .

[21]  A. Robert,et al.  Three‐dimensional flow structure around small‐scale bedforms in a simulated gravel‐bed environment , 2001 .

[22]  J. Lancaster,et al.  Interacting environmental gradients, trade-offs and reversals in the abundance-environment relationships of stream insects: when flow is unimportant. , 2009 .

[23]  N. Bond,et al.  The independent and interactive effects of fine sediment and flow on benthic invertebrate communities characteristic of small upland streams , 2003 .

[24]  S. R. McLean,et al.  Spatially averaged flow over a wavy surface , 1977 .

[25]  M. Church,et al.  A field experiment on streambed stabilization by gravel structures , 2006 .

[26]  Lee J. Baumgartner,et al.  Passage of non‐salmonid fish through a Deelder lock on a lowland river , 2007 .

[27]  S. Peake,et al.  A re-evaluation of swimming performance in juvenile salmonids relative to downstream migration , 1998 .

[28]  Vladimir Nikora,et al.  On gravel‐bed roughness characterization , 1998 .

[29]  R. A. Antonia,et al.  Rough-Wall Turbulent Boundary Layers , 1991 .

[30]  I. J. Russon,et al.  The influence of discharge and temperature on the ability of upstream migrant adult river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) to pass experimental overshot and undershot weirs , 2011 .

[31]  T. M. Jenkins.  Social Structure, Position Choice and Micro-distribution of Two Trout Species (Salmo trutta and Salmo gairdneri) Resident in Mountain Streams , 1969 .

[32]  D. Montgomery,et al.  A Procedure for classifying textural facies in gravel‐bed rivers , 1999 .

[33]  S. Peake,et al.  Swimming performance of various freshwater Newfoundland salmonids relative to habitat selection and fishway design , 1997 .

[34]  J. Gore,et al.  Hydraulic Stream Ecology: Observed Patterns and Potential Applications , 1988, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[35]  R. H. Hadderingh.  Fish intake mortality at power stations the problem and its remedy , 1979, Hydrobiological Bulletin.

[36]  G. S. Dodds,et al.  Ecological Studies of Aquatic Insects: Adaptations of Mayfly Nymphs to Swift Streams , 1924 .

[37]  Stephen P. Rice,et al.  Flow‐ and substratum‐mediated movement by a stream insect , 2006 .

[38]  J. Weissenberger,et al.  Measurement of lift and drag forces in the m N range experienced by benthic arthropods at flow velocities below 1.2 m s−1 , 1991 .

[39]  Theodore Castro-Santos,et al.  Optimal swim speeds for traversing velocity barriers: an analysis of volitional high-speed swimming behavior of migratory fishes , 2005, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[40]  J. S. Welton,et al.  The efficacy of air, sound and acoustic bubble screens in deflecting Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., smolts in the River Frome, UK , 2002 .

[41]  U. Uehlinger,et al.  Response of benthic invertebrates to natural versus experimental disturbance in a Swiss prealpine river , 1997 .

[42]  J. Videler,et al.  Applying digital particle image velocimetry to animal-generated flows: Traps, hurdles and cures in mapping steady and unsteady flows in Re regimes between 10–2 and 105 , 2002 .

[43]  Glenn F. Cada,et al.  The Development of Advanced Hydroelectric Turbines to Improve Fish Passage Survival , 2001 .

[44]  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 .

[45]  J. Liao.  Neuromuscular control of trout swimming in a vortex street: implications for energy economy during the Kármán gait , 2004, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[46]  C. S. Wardle,et al.  Studies on the use of visual stimuli to control fish escape from codends. II. The effect of a black tunnel on the reaction behaviour of fish in otter trawl codends , 1995 .

[47]  I. Cowx,et al.  An evaluation of instream habitat restoration techniques on salmonid populations in a Newfoundland stream , 1997 .

[48]  M. Palmer,et al.  Net spinning caddisflies as stream ecosystem engineers: the influence of Hydropsyche on benthic substrate stability , 2004 .

[49]  V. Nikora,et al.  Double-averaged velocity profiles over fixed dune shapes , 2008 .

[50]  C Katopodis,et al.  An experimental study of louvers for fish diversion , 2007 .

[51]  J. Ciborowski,et al.  Importance of behaviour to the re-establishment of drifting Ephemeroptera , 1980 .

[52]  C. S. James,et al.  A framework for interdisciplinary understanding of rivers as ecosystems , 2007 .

[53]  P. Ashmore.  Laboratory modelling of gravel braided stream morphology , 2007 .

[54]  J. Armstrong,et al.  Variation in performance reveals discharge‐related energy costs for foraging Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) parr , 2006 .

[55]  B. Statzner,et al.  Morphological adaptations of benthic invertebrates to stream flow — An old question studied by means of a new technique (Laser Doppler Anemometry) , 1982, Oecologia.

[56]  B. Statzner,et al.  How Views about Flow Adaptations of Benthic Stream Invertebrates Changed over the Last Century , 2008 .

[57]  Jill Lancaster,et al.  Small‐scale movements of lotic macroinvertebrates with variations in flow , 1999 .

[58]  Jacqueline F. Savino,et al.  Predator-Prey Interaction between Largemouth Bass and Bluegills as Influenced by Simulated, Submersed Vegetation , 1982 .

[59]  Larry B. Crowder,et al.  Habitat structural complexity and the interaction between bluegills and their prey , 1982 .

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

[61]  Matthew F. Johnson,et al.  Stabilization of fine gravels by net‐spinning caddisfly larvae , 2009 .

[62]  C. Frissell,et al.  Incidence and Causes of Physical Failure of Artificial Habitat Structures in Streams of Western Oregon and Washington , 1992 .

[63]  Charles C. Coutant,et al.  Fish Behavior in Relation to Passage through Hydropower Turbines: A Review , 2000 .

[64]  J. Lancaster,et al.  Defining the limits to local density: alternative views of abundance–environment relationships , 2006 .

[65]  V. Nikora,et al.  Double-Averaging Concept for Rough-Bed Open-Channel and Overland Flows: Applications , 2007 .

[66]  B. Biggs,et al.  Distributional responses to flow disturbance by a stream-dwelling snail , 1999 .

[67]  J. Lancaster.  Geometric scaling of microhabitat patches and their efficacy as refugia during disturbance. , 2000 .

[68]  N. Bond,et al.  Linking ecological theory with stream restoration , 2007 .

[69]  Jill Lancaster,et al.  Characterizing In-stream Flow Refugia , 1993 .

[70]  R. Rader.  A functional classification of the drift: traits that influence invertebrate availability to salmonids , 1997 .

[71]  T. Pedley,et al.  The influence of turbulence on plankton predation strategies. , 2001, Journal of theoretical biology.

[72]  J. Cotton,et al.  The effects of seasonal changes to in-stream vegetation cover on patterns of flow and accumulation of sediment , 2006 .

[73]  G. Woodward,et al.  Integrating ecology with hydromorphology: a priority for river science and management , 2009 .

[74]  C. Paola,et al.  Grain Size Patchiness as a Cause of Selective Deposition and Downstream Fining , 1995 .

[75]  R. J. White,et al.  Competition Between Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) for Positions in a Michigan Stream , 1981 .

[76]  P. Ashworth.  MID‐CHANNEL BAR GROWTH AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO LOCAL FLOW STRENGTH AND DIRECTION , 1996 .

[77]  R. Millar.  Influence of bank vegetation on alluvial channel patterns , 2000 .

[78]  A. Farrell,et al.  Postexercise Physiology and Repeat Performance Behaviour of Free‐Swimming Smallmouth Bass in an Experimental Raceway* , 2005, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology.

[79]  B. Peckarsky,et al.  Predator effects on prey population dynamics in open systems , 2008, Oecologia.

[80]  Martyn C. Lucas,et al.  Migration of Freshwater Fishes , 2001 .

[81]  N. Pope,et al.  Making water flow: a comparison of the hydrodynamic characteristics of 12 different benthic biological flumes , 2006, Aquatic Ecology.

[82]  C. Schilt.  Developing fish passage and protection at hydropower dams , 2007 .

[83]  Ian Reid,et al.  The hydrodynamics of particle clusters and sediment entrapment in coarse alluvial channels , 1983 .

[84]  G. Malanson,et al.  The geomorphic influences of beaver dams and failures of beaver dams , 2005 .

[85]  J. Armstrong,et al.  Development and evaluation of a flat-bed passive integrated transponder detection system for recording movement of lowland river fishes through a baffled pass. , 1999 .

[86]  Michael Sfakiotakis,et al.  Review of fish swimming modes for aquatic locomotion , 1999 .

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

[88]  W. Dietrich,et al.  The variability of critical shear stress, friction angle, and grain protrusion in water-worked sediments , 1990 .

[89]  W. J. Young.  Clarification of the criteria used to identify near-bed flow regimes , 1992 .

[90]  J. Tunnicliffe,et al.  SEDIMENT DISPERSION IN SALMON SPAWNING STREAMS: THE INFLUENCE OF FLOODS AND SALMON REDD CONSTRUCTION 1 , 2004 .

[91]  D. M. Thompson,et al.  The Development and Historic Use of Habitat Structures in Channel Restoration in the United States: The Grand Experiment in Fisheries Management , 2004 .

[92]  R. Blust,et al.  Longer flumes increase critical swimming speeds by increasing burst–glide swimming duration in carp Cyprinus carpio, L. , 2007 .

[93]  Barbara J. Bond,et al.  Hydrology and ecology meet—and the meeting is good , 2003 .

[94]  H. B. N. Hynes,et al.  The Ecology of Running Waters , 1971 .

[95]  F. Everest,et al.  Habitat Selection and Spatial Interaction by Juvenile Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Trout in Two Idaho Streams , 1972 .

[96]  John G. Williams,et al.  The behaviour of Pacific salmonid smolts during passage over two experimental weirs under light and dark conditions , 2006 .

[97]  D. Vericat,et al.  Shaking and moving: low rates of sediment transport trigger mass drift of stream invertebrates , 2007 .

[98]  Sara Königson,et al.  Reactions in individual fish to strobe light. Field and aquarium experiments performed on whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) , 2002, Hydrobiologia.

[99]  J. Southard,et al.  Test of scale modelling of sediment transport in steady unidirectional flow , 1980 .

[100]  J. Lancaster,et al.  The effect of floods on aquatic invertebrate communities. , 2008 .

[101]  D. R. Jones,et al.  Evaluation of the Swimming Performance of Several Fish Species from the Mackenzie River , 1974 .

[102]  C. Paola,et al.  Dynamic single-thread channels maintained by the interaction of flow and vegetation , 2007 .

[103]  Panu Orell,et al.  Spatial and temporal migration of wild Atlantic salmon smolts determined from a video camera array in the sub-Arctic River Tana , 2005 .

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

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

[106]  Margaret A. Palmer,et al.  Disturbance and patch-specific responses: the interactive effects of woody debris and floods on lotic invertebrates , 2004, Oecologia.

[107]  Brian R. MacKenzie,et al.  Encounter rates and swimming behavior of pause‐travel and cruise larval fish predators in calm and turbulent laboratory environments , 1995 .

[108]  J. Chandler,et al.  A casting procedure for reproducing coarse‐grained sedimentary surfaces , 2003 .

[109]  J. Armstrong,et al.  Differential responses of kin and nonkin salmon to patterns of water flow: does recirculation influence aggression? , 2000, Animal Behaviour.

[110]  Gary E. Johnson,et al.  Evaluation of the Prototype Surface Bypass for Salmonid Smolts in Spring 1996 and 1997 at Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River, Washington , 2000 .

[111]  J. Allan,et al.  Distances Travelled by Drifting Mayfly Nymphs: Factors Influencing Return to the Substrate , 1989, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[112]  S. Diehl.  Foraging efficiency of three freshwater fishes: effects of structural complexity and light , 1988 .

[113]  Derek B. Ingham,et al.  Numerical modeling of flow processes over gravelly surfaces using structured grids and a numerical porosity treatment , 2004 .

[114]  P. Giller,et al.  Catastrophic flooding and macroinvertebrate community structure , 1991 .

[115]  L. Barmuta,et al.  The responses of a lotic mayfly Nousia sp. (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae) to moving water and light of different wavelengths , 2001 .

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

[117]  J. Lancaster,et al.  Stream hydraulics and the distribution of microcrustacea: a role for refugia? , 1995 .

[118]  Stephen P. Rice,et al.  Movements of a macroinvertebrate (Potamophylax latipennis) across a gravel-bed substrate; effects of local hydraulics and micro-topography under increasing discharge , 2007 .

[119]  Pavel Novák,et al.  Models in hydraulic engineering : physical principles and design applications , 1981 .

[120]  J. Lancaster,et al.  Spatial heterogeneity of near‐bed hydraulics above a patch of river gravel , 2006 .

[121]  Wiley Interscience,et al.  Improvement and optimization of fish guidance efficiency (FGE) at a behavioural fish protection system for downstream migrating Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts , 2003 .

[122]  Daniel P. Loucks,et al.  Forecasting 3-D fish movement behavior using a Eulerian-Lagrangian-agent method (ELAM) , 2006 .

[123]  J. Richardson,et al.  Flow Refugia for Benthic Macroinvertebrates during Flooding of a Large River , 1999, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[124]  N. Poff,et al.  Drift Responses of Benthic Invertebrates to Experimental Streamflow Variation in a Hydrologically Stable Stream , 1991 .

[125]  Arthur R. M. Nowell,et al.  Turbulent flow in a depth‐limited boundary layer , 1979 .

[126]  John G. Williams,et al.  Response of downstream migrant juvenile Pacific salmonids to accelerating flow and overhead cover , 2008, Hydrobiologia.

[127]  James J. Anderson,et al.  A Mathematical and Conceptual Framework for Ecohydraulics , 2008 .

[128]  J. Lancaster,et al.  Linking the hydraulic world of individual organisms to ecological processes: Putting ecology into ecohydraulics , 2010 .

[129]  Jill Lancaster,et al.  Flow Refugia and the Microdistribution of Lotic Macroinvertebrates , 1993, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[130]  D. Hart,et al.  PHYSICAL-BIOLOGICAL COUPLING IN STREAMS: The Pervasive Effects of Flow on Benthic Organisms , 1999 .

[131]  S. C. Riley,et al.  Trout population response to habitat enhancement in six northern Colorado streams , 1995 .

[132]  M. Palmer,et al.  Ecological Theory and Community Restoration Ecology , 1997 .

[133]  Response of migrating chinook salmon (ONCORHYNCHUS TSHAWYTSCHA) smolts to in‐stream structure associated with culverts , 2008 .

[134]  Theodore Castro-Santos,et al.  Swimming performance of upstream migrant fishes in open-channel flow: a new approach to predicting passage through velocity barriers , 2004 .

[135]  R. Naiman.  A Perspective on Interdisciplinary Science , 1999, Ecosystems.

[136]  P. S. Lake,et al.  Disturbance, patchiness, and diversity in streams , 2000, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[137]  Jeff Peakall,et al.  Physical modelling in fluvial geomorphology: principles, applications and unresolved issues , 1996 .

[138]  David R. Montgomery,et al.  King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon , 2003 .

[139]  S. Vogel,et al.  Life in Moving Fluids , 2020 .

[140]  Paul S. Kemp,et al.  Fine-Scale Behavioral Responses of Pacific Salmonid Smolts as They Encounter Divergence and Acceleration of Flow , 2005 .