Dams have varying impacts on fish communities across latitudes: A quantitative synthesis

Turgeon, Katrine; Turpin, Christian; Gregory‐Eaves, Irene

doi:10.1101/461145

Cited by 13 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…This study addresses the period between the before impoundment to the reach of the steady state. meta-analysis examining the global effect of dam on fish biodiversity (Turgeon et al, 2019b). In 130 a nutshell, the search resulted in 668 publications (mostly peer-reviewed articles).…”

Section: General Approach 109mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A total of 30 references met our selection 136 criteria (Database A). See Turgeon et al (2019b) for a detailed methodology about the literature 137 search, and data extraction. 138…”

Section: General Approach 109mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The impacts of damming a river go well beyond changes in 322 water discharge. Dams and reservoirs drastically change the hydrological regime and the 323 riverscape connectivity and may change the strength of trophic interactions upstream and 324 downstream of the dam (Gracey and Verones, 2016;Renöfalt et al, 2010;Turgeon et al, 2019bTurgeon et al, , 325 2019a). These alterations may be much more important than change in discharge in affecting 326 change in richness.…”

Section: First Empirically Derived Cf and Is 307mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Empirical characterization factors assessing the effects of hydroelectricity on fish richness across three large biomes

Turgeon

Trottier

Turpin

et al. 2019

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15 strategy and corporate social responsibility, C.P. 8888, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, Canada, 16 H3C 3P8. 17 18 2 Highlights 19 This paper is the first to develop global and empirically based characterization factors of the 20 impact of hydroelectricity production on aquatic ecosystems biodiversity, to be used in LCA; 21  The impact of hydroelectricity production on fish species richness was significant in the 22 tropics, of smaller amplitude in temperate and minimal in boreal biome; 23  The impact of hydroelectricity production on fish richness was consistent across scales -24 same directionality and statistical significance across sampling stations, reservoirs and 25 biomes; 26  The impact of hydroelectricity production on fish richness was sensitive to the duration of 27 the study, highlighting the need for a clear understanding of transient situations before 28 reaching steady states in LCA. 29 3 Abstract 30 Hydroelectricity is often presented as a clean, reliable, and renewable energy source, but is also 31 recognized for its potential impacts on aquatic ecosystem biodiversity. We used empirical data 32 on change in fish species richness following impoundment to develop Characterisation Factors 33 (CF) and Impact Scores (IS) for hydroelectricity production for use in Life Cycle Assessment 34 (LCA). We used data collected on 89 sampling stations (63 upstream and 26 downstream of a 35 dam) belonging to 27 reservoirs from three biomes (boreal, temperate and tropical). Overall, the 36 impact of hydroelectricity production on fish species richness was significant in the tropics, of 37 smaller amplitude in temperate and minimal in boreal biome, stressing for the need of 38 regionalisation. The impact of hydroelectricity production was also quite consistent across scales 39 (i.e., same directionality and statistical significance across sampling stations, reservoirs and 40 biomes) but was sensitive to the duration of the study (i.e., the period over which data have been 41 collected after impoundment), highlighting the need for a clear understanding of transient 42 situations before reaching steady states. Our CFs and ISs contribute to fill a gap to assist decision 43 makers using LCA to evaluate alternative technologies, such as hydropower, to decarbonize the 44 worldwide economy. 45 46

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Section: General Approach 109mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A total of 30 references met our selection 136 criteria (Database A). See Turgeon et al (2019b) for a detailed methodology about the literature 137 search, and data extraction. 138…”

Section: General Approach 109mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: First Empirically Derived Cf and Is 307mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Empirical characterization factors assessing the effects of hydroelectricity on fish richness across three large biomes

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Turpin

et al. 2019

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“…Notwithstanding the climate and other benefits of hydropower development 2 , 7 – 11 , reservoirs cause ecological impacts 12 , 13 due to land flooding, freshwater habitat alteration, water quality degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) 14 . The construction of all the 1,956 identified reservoirs from Gernaat et al 5 would imply a new global reservoir area of 240,000 km 2 , which would represent almost a doubling of the actual global reservoir area (300,000 km 2 ) 15 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling biodiversity impacts of future global hydropower reservoirs by strategic site selection

Dorber

Arvesen

Gernaat

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Further reservoir-based hydropower development can contribute to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs) on affordable and clean energy, and climate action. However, hydropower reservoir operation can lead to biodiversity impacts, thus interfering with the SDGs on clean water and life on land. We combine a high-resolution, location-specific, technical assessment with newly developed life cycle impact assessment models, to assess potential biodiversity impacts of possible future hydropower reservoirs, resulting from land occupation, water consumption and methane emissions. We show that careful selection of hydropower reservoirs has a large potential to limit biodiversity impacts, as for example, 0.3% of the global hydropower potential accounts for 25% of the terrestrial biodiversity impact. Local variations, e.g. species richness, are the dominant explanatory factors of the variance in the quantified biodiversity impact and not the mere amount of water consumed, or land occupied per kWh. The biodiversity impacts are mainly caused by land occupation and water consumption, with methane emissions being much less important. Further, we indicate a trade-off risk between terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity impacts, as due to the weak correlation between terrestrial and aquatic impacts, reservoirs with small aquatic biodiversity impacts tend to have larger terrestrial impacts and vice versa.

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“…Dams frequently act as barrier for migratory fish species, hindering the upstream movement of adults to spawn and delaying the downstream movement of juveniles (Oldani & Baigún, 2002; Quirós, Bechara, & de Resende, 2007; Quirós & Boveri, 1999). Conversely, another important effect of dams is facilitation of aquatic invasions, including exotic fishes or other organisms that may affect fish assemblage (Gois, Pelicice, Gomes, & Agostinho, 2015; Havel, Lee, & Zanden, 2014; Liew, Tan, & Yeo, 2016; Turgeon, Turpin, & Gregory‐Eaves, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of a hydroelectric power plant on migratory fishes in the Uruguay River

Cataldo

Gattás

Leites³

et al. 2020

River Research & Apps

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Dams alter river functioning and hinders the free movement of migratory fishes. We analysed the effects of a subtropical dam on the reproduction of migratory fishes using data from ichthyoplankton monitoring surveys. These were conducted at six sampling stations upstream, downstream and within the reservoir on a weekly basis during 6 years. The dam had a direct impact on fish movement, leading to the fragmentation of fish populations. Two different and independent reproductive areas became evident: one located in the reservoir headwater area and the other downstream of the dam. The long temporal scale of our study facilitated the detection of the impact of Salto Grande on the species of ichthyoplankton. Freshwater secondary fish species (mainly Lycengraulis grossidens) increased in abundance in the stations located inside the reservoir and closer to the dam, whereas most fishes found in the headwater of the reservoir corresponded to river migratory species (potamodromous fish). These differences are most likely due to changes in the physicochemical characteristics of the water induced by the transformation of a river into a reservoir. During rainy summers, Microcystis spp. densities were lower than 1,000 cells ml −1 and fish densities were higher than 4 ind. m −3 , whereas in dry summers, there were important Microcystis spp. blooms (401,573 ± 112,559 cells ml −1) and fish larvae decreased sharply (<1 ind. m −3) in the reservoir headwater area. This could indicate that the discharge of water in the reservoir may also indirectly affect the regulation of fish reproduction. The alternating periods between dry and rainy summers associated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation poses a challenge to ichthyofauna management in the reservoir.

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Dams have varying impacts on fish communities across latitudes: A quantitative synthesis

Cited by 13 publications

References 102 publications

Empirical characterization factors assessing the effects of hydroelectricity on fish richness across three large biomes

Empirical characterization factors assessing the effects of hydroelectricity on fish richness across three large biomes

Controlling biodiversity impacts of future global hydropower reservoirs by strategic site selection

Impact of a hydroelectric power plant on migratory fishes in the Uruguay River

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