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Title: Migration depth and residence time of juvenile salmonids in the forebays of hydropower dams prior to passage through turbines or juvenile bypass systems: implications for turbine-passage survival

Journal Article · · Conservation Physiology
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  1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
  3. US Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla, WA (United States)
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Little is known about the three-dimensional depth distributions in rivers of individually marked fish that are in close proximity to hydropower facilities. Knowledge of the depth distributions of fish approaching dams can be used to understand how vulnerable fish are to injuries such as barotrauma as they pass through dams. To predict the possibility of barotrauma injury caused by pressure changes during turbine passage, it is necessary to understand fish behaviour relative to acclimation depth in dam forebays as they approach turbines. A guiding study was conducted using high-resolution three-dimensional tracking results of salmonids implanted with Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System transmitters to investigate the depth distributions of subyearling and yearling Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) and juvenile steelhead ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) passing two dams on the Snake River in Washington State. Multiple approaches were evaluated to describe the depth at which fish were acclimated, and statistical analyses were performed on large data sets extracted from ~28 000 individually tagged fish during 2012 and 2013. Our study identified patterns of depth distributions of juvenile salmonids in forebays prior to passage through turbines or juvenile bypass systems. This research indicates that the median depth at which juvenile salmonids approached turbines ranged from 2.8 to 12.2 m, with the depths varying by species/life history, year, location (which dam) and diel period (between day and night). One of the most enlightening findings was the difference in dam passage associated with the diel period. The amount of time that turbine-passed fish spent in the immediate forebay prior to entering the powerhouse was much lower during the night than during the day. This research will allow scientists to understand turbine-passage survival better and enable them to assess more accurately the effects of dam passage on juvenile salmon survival.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1581971
Report Number(s):
PNWD-SA-10388
Journal Information:
Conservation Physiology, Vol. 3, Issue 1; ISSN 2051-1434
Publisher:
Oxford University Press and Society for Experimental BiologyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 10 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

Juvenile Chinook Salmon Survival When Exposed to Simulated Dam Passage after Being Implanted with a New Microacoustic Transmitter journal July 2018
Surface bypass as a means of protecting downstream-migrating fish: lack of standardised evaluation criteria complicates evaluation of efficacy journal January 2018
A Hydropower Biological Evaluation Toolset (HBET) for Characterizing Hydraulic Conditions and Impacts of Hydro-Structures on Fish journal April 2018

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Related Subjects

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
Migration Depth
acclimation depth
turbine passage