Assessment of Effects of Freshwater Runoff Variability on Fisheries Production in Coastal Waters

Sinclair, Michael; Bugden, Gary; Tang, Choon Yik; Therriault, Jean‐Claude; Yeats, P. A.

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-70886-2_9

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Several mechanisms have been reported for positive effects of flow on populations (Drinkwater & Frank 1994), including bottom-up effects due to nutrient stimulation (Aleem 1972, Sutcliffe 1972, 1973, but see Sinclair et al 1986) or increased stratification with flow (Skreslet 1997), and suppression of predators on benthos by low salinity (Wilber 1992, Livingston et al 2000. Catch rates of several fishery species were related to freshwater flow in an Australian estuary, although much of that relationship may have been due to vulnerability of the fish rather than population size (Loneragan & Bunn 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sutcliffe (1972Sutcliffe ( , 1973 proposed that increased freshwater flow and nutrient loading stimulated phytoplankton production, increasing fishery yield. Sutcliffe's argument was disputed by Drinkwater & Myers (1987) on statistical grounds and by Sinclair et al (1986) on the basis of interpretation, but the concept has persisted. Phytoplankton blooms can also be stimulated through haline stratification, which may be correlated with freshwater flow (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of freshwater flow on abundance of estuarine organisms: physical effects or trophic linkages?

Kimmerer¹

2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

281

289

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All ecosystems are influenced by physical forcing. Estuarine ecosystems respond most strongly on an interannual timescale to variability in freshwater flow. Several mechanisms for positive or negative flow effects on biological populations in estuaries have been proposed; however, positive effects appear to operate mainly through stimulation of primary production with effects propagating up the food web. In the northern San Francisco Estuary, abundance or survival of several common species of fish and shrimp varied positively with flow-in data through 1992. I re-examined these relationships and those of several additional taxa in an analysis of long-term (20 to 40 yr) monitoring data. The spread of the introduced clam Potamocorbula amurensis in 1987 provided an opportunity to examine simultaneously the responses of estuarine species to flow and to changes in the food web. I separated variability into a flow response, a step change after 1987 and other sources of variability. Responses of fish and shrimp contrasted with those of lower trophic levels. All but 1 species of nekton responded positively to flow, only 2 had clear declines after 1987, and none of the relationships changed in slope after 1987. In contrast with the higher trophic levels, chlorophyll a (chl a) and several species of zooplankton declined markedly after 1987, and had either weak responses to flow or responses that changed after 1987. Thus, the food web appears strongly coupled between benthos and plankton, and weakly coupled between zooplankton and fish, as has been found in other systems. More importantly, the variation with freshwater flow of abundance or survival of organisms in higher trophic levels apparently did not occur through upward trophic transfer, since a similar relationship was lacking in most of the data on lower trophic levels. Rather, this variation may occur through attributes of physical habitat that vary with flow. KEY WORDS: Estuary · Food web · Freshwater flow · Salinity · Introduced speciesResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of freshwater flow on abundance of estuarine organisms: physical effects or trophic linkages?

Kimmerer¹

2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

281

289

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“…The St. Lawrence river system (including tributaries) drains an estimated 20 % of the total annual freshwater runoff that is discharged from North America into the North Atlantic (Sinclair et al, 1986). A food chain hypothesis, in which variability in runoff or some other largescale climatic process with which freshwater runoff is correlated, influences primary production and consequently, via food web interactions, recruitment success, has been put forward (Sutcliffe, 1972;Dickie & Trites, 1983), but it has not been possible to evaluate it with existing data (Sinclair et al, 1986). A food chain hypothesis, in which variability in runoff or some other largescale climatic process with which freshwater runoff is correlated, influences primary production and consequently, via food web interactions, recruitment success, has been put forward (Sutcliffe, 1972;Dickie & Trites, 1983), but it has not been possible to evaluate it with existing data (Sinclair et al, 1986).…”

Section: The Gulf Of St Lawrencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…1), as to make it virtually impossible at this point in time to come to a predictive understanding of possible mechanisms involving intermediate trophic levels. For example, variability in circulation patterns may influence the size of larval retention areas or the number of successful migrators to spawning sites (Iles & Sinclair, 1982;Sinclair et al, 1986). (1986) question the viability of a linear food-chain hypothesis, proposing instead that physical processes influence fish recruitment directly, bypassing the food chain (Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Should we expect a relationship between primary production and fisheries? The role of copepod dynamics as a filter of trophic variability

Runge¹

1988

Hydrobiologia

164

110

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It is frequently put forward that variability in fisheries productivity is related to interannual variation in physical processes affecting phytoplankton productivity. Here, alternative views of the role of copepods as an intermediary link in North Atlantic marine food chains are discussed. Following Bainbridge & McKay (1968) and Cushing (1982), a strong link between phytoplankton and fisheries variability is proposed for some fish stocks, like cod and redfish, that spawn in spring in regions where Calanus finmarchicus dominates the plankton. Otherwise, in regions where small copepods and other microzooplankton dominate the prey field productivity for larval fish, a weak link is proposed. Experimental studies, including laboratory observations of copepod reproductive response to food concentration and incubation techniques for measuring in situ reproductive rates, are important for understanding how copepod dynamics may filter year-to-year differences in phytoplankton production cycles.

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“…The literature abounds with numerous other examples; most of the major estuaries in the United States (Chapman, 1972; Mahmud, 1985), the Sea of Azov and the Aral Sea in the former USSR (Tolmazin, 1985; Rozengurt et al, 1985; Rozengurt and Haydock, 1981; Williams and Aladin, 1991), the Caspian Sea (Rozengurt and Hedgpeth, 1989), the Zambezi Delta in Africa (Rozengurt and Herz, 1981), off the Murray River in Australia (Harvey, 1988), in the coastal region of the Netherlands (Ferguson and Wolff, 1985; Nienhuis and Huis in 't Veld, 1985; Jong and Roelofs, 1985), French Mediterranean lagoons (Stora and Arnoux, 1988), etc. In other regions the impacts of modification on fish stocks have been masked by natural variability or fishing practices (Sinclair et al, 1986). Where changes have been measured they represent an ecological readjustment to new environmental conditions imposed by freshwater regulation or diversion.…”

Section: U Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of river regulation and diversion on marine fish and invertebrates

Drinkwater¹,

Frank²

1994

Aquatic Conservation

169

116

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ABSTRACT1. The effects of freshwater regulation and diversion on the adult and larval stages of fish and invertebrates in coastal marine waters are reviewed.2. Potential impacts of river modification are highlighted based on our present understanding of the role of fresh water on the physical, chemical and biological processes on the marine environment. These include effects on migration patterns, spawning habitat, species diversity, water quality and distribution and production of lower trophic levels. The effect of dams on anadromous and catadromous fish are also presented.3. We discuss in detail the marine response to specific river regulation projects on the Nile, Indus and rivers flowing into the Black Sea, San Francisco Bay and James Bay in Canada. A decline in some coastal fisheries with an overall negative impact on the biota is generally associated with reductions in freshwater flow.4. Extensive ecological considerations are needed during the planning stage of large-scale freshwater modification projects to minimize potential impacts.

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Assessment of Effects of Freshwater Runoff Variability on Fisheries Production in Coastal Waters

Cited by 12 publications

References 20 publications

Effects of freshwater flow on abundance of estuarine organisms: physical effects or trophic linkages?

Effects of freshwater flow on abundance of estuarine organisms: physical effects or trophic linkages?

Should we expect a relationship between primary production and fisheries? The role of copepod dynamics as a filter of trophic variability

Effects of river regulation and diversion on marine fish and invertebrates

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