1. The effect of benthivorous bream and carp on sediment resuspension and the concentrations of nutrients and chlorophyll a were studied in sixteen experimental ponds (mean depth lm, mean area 0.1 ha, sandy clay/clay sediment), stocked with bream or carp at densities varying from 0 to 500kgha~\ Planktivorous perch {Perca fluviatilis L.) were added to some ponds to suppress zooplankton. 2. Suspended sediment concentrations increased linearly with biomass of benthivorous fish. Bream caused an increase of 46g sediment m"^ day"' per 100kg bream ha~' and a reduction of 0.38 m~' in reciprocal Secchi disc depth, corresponding to an increase in the extinction coefficient of 0.34m~V 3. No relationship was found between size of fish and amount of resuspension, but the effect of bream was twice as great as that of carp. Benthivorous feeding was reduced in May because alternative food (zooplankton) was available. 4. Assuming a linear relationship, chlorophyll a level increased by 9.0 [igl"', total P by 0.03mgr' and Kjeldahl-N by 0.48mgr' per 100kg bream ha^V Silicate, chlorophyll a, total P and total N were all positively correlated with fish biomass, but orthophosphate showed no correlation.

The suitability of rehabilitated floodplains along the lower River Rhine for rheophilic cyprinids was assessed by investigating the spatial distribution of 0-group fish among, and within, three newly created secondary channels, an oxbow lake reconnected at its downstream end and several existing groyne fields. Fish were sampled during April through September 1997-1999 with seine nets and trawls and, for each sample, the habitat (physical environment) was characterized (flow, depth, substrate and inundated terrestrial vegetation). The new water bodies provide more suitable habitats for 0-group fish than the groyne fields. Their beneficial value differs, however, between reproductive guilds and depends on the morphological and hydrological conditions. Total fish density increased along a gradient of decreasing water flow whereas the proportion of rheophilic species (Barbus barbus, Gobio gobio, Leuciscus idus and Aspius aspius) decreased. Flow velocity and water depth were the most important factors determining habitat utilization. Rheophilic fish were spatially separated from eurytopic fish (e.g. Abramis brama, Rutilus rutilus and Stizostedion lucioperca). During flood events, inundated terrestrial vegetation was an important habitat for the larvae of all species. To enhance the riverine fish community, floodplain water bodies should have complex shorelines, and a high variability of flow velocities. Their slopes should be moderate to maximize the probability of terrestrial vegetation getting inundated during spring and summer. Future management of similar floodplains should focus on more diverse and accessible aquatic habitats to increase overall fish species diversity, since different types of water body clearly have complementary values.

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Downstream migration of Anguilla anguilla silver eels was studied in the Lower Rhine, Germany, and the Rhine Delta, The Netherlands, in 2004-2006. Fish (n = 457) released near Cologne with implanted transponders were tracked by remote telemetry at 12 fixed detection locations distributed along the different possible migration routes to the North Sea. Relatively more A. anguilla migrated via the Waal than the Nederrijn, as would be expected from the ratio of river discharges at the bifurcation point at Pannerden. Downstream migration from the release site to Rhine-Xanten, close to the German-Dutch border, generally occurred in the autumn of the year of release but migration speeds tended to be low and variable and unaffected by maturation status or river discharge rates. Detection frequencies were not significantly related to discharge peaks or lunar cycles, but there was a minor detection peak 1-6 h after sunset. Between 2004 and 2009, 43% of the 457 A. anguilla released were never detected and of the 260 detected entering the Netherlands, 83 (32%) were detected escaping to the sea, 78 (94%) via the Nieuwe Waterweg and three (4%) and two (2%) via the sluices in the Haringvlietdam and Afsluitdijk, respectively. Possible causes of non-detections are discussed and it is suggested that many A. anguilla temporarily ceased migration, but that fishing mortality could have been important during passage through the Dutch parts of the Rhine. Practical implications of the results for predicting emigration routes, timings and magnitudes and use in management initiatives to promote escapement of A. anguilla silver eels to the sea are critically discussed.