Linked effects of dam-released floods and water temperature on spawning of the Clanwilliam yellowfish Barbus capensis

In South Africa, modified flow regimes designed to maintain ecosystem functioning at some pre-determined level are recommended for all rivers involved in major water-resource developments. One component of such flow regimes of special interest in the winter-rainfall region of the country is the small pulses of higher flow that occur in the dry season (November–April), here called freshes. Research was carried out in the Olifants River, in the winter-rainfall region of South Africa, on the link between freshes and spawning of an endemic, vulnerable cyprinid, the Clanwilliam yellowfish Barbus capensis. Experimental releases from Clanwilliam Dam on the Olifants River in a previous year showed that a greater than usual spawning success, assessed by larval recruitment levels, was correlated with hypolimnetic freshes released during the species' breeding season (October–January). In the study reported on here, a hypolimnetic fresh of the same size, duration and timing as those linked with successful spawning failed to induce spawning. Differences in the thermal regime of water releases appeared to be responsible. Two warm (19–21 °C), epilimnetic freshes of 15 hours duration were then released, and correlated with fish moving onto the spawn beds and exhibiting pre-spawning behaviour. However, the fish moved downstream away from the spawn beds when cold (16–18 °C) hypolimnetic baseflows were released for 15 hours between the two epilimnetic freshes and continually after the second one. The presence of free embryos and larval B. capensis indicated, from their developmental stages, that spawning had probably occurred before the experimental releases began, when warm (21–23 °C) epilimnetic water was spilling over the dam, and had halted once spillage stopped and hypolimnetic releases began. Indeed, the presence of dead and deformed young suggested that the cold water may have had a detrimental affect on those spawned during the earlier warmer spell. A summary table details the conditions, including the hydraulic characteristics of the spawn beds, believed to induce spawning and support early life stages of B. capensis. It is concluded that freshes released from Clanwilliam Dam at the appropriate time (October–January) should be able to increase spawning success of B. capensis, but only if the water temperature at the spawn site is at or above 19 °C and stable or rising. However, successful spawning will not necessarily lead to high recruitment if water temperatures are not then maintained at appropriate levels for some time for development of the embryos and larvae. This implies that additional epilimnetic releases will be required following critical trigger flows.