Safeguarding migratory fish via strategic planning of future small hydropower in Brazil

Couto, Thiago B. A.; Messager, Mathis L.; Olden, Julian D.

doi:10.1038/s41893-020-00665-4

Cited by 75 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…In addition to mitigating impacts of existing SHPs, planning for new SHP locations and designs needs to consider how the resultant hydrological modifications may negatively affect migratory fishes and other aquatic animals, not only by producing barriers and directing most of the flow through turbines, but also altering downstream hydrology. Such planning should be conducted at the scale of entire river basins to minimize negative impacts on migratory populations (Couto and Olden, 2018;Lange et al, 2018;Couto et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Where significant impoundments exist relative to the size of the stream, artificially warm or cold water released downstream can negatively affect the aquatic biota (Zaidel et al, 2021). Dams and weirs associated with SHPs represent physical barriers for migratory species that rely on connected rivers to move upstream to spawn, to access floodplains, and for downstream migrations (Ovidio and Philippart, 2002;Santucci et al, 2005;Pompeu et al, 2012;Couto et al, 2021), and passage through turbines can harm or kill larval and adult fishes, shrimp, and other aquatic animals (DuBois and Gloss, 1993;Benstead et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hydropeaking by Small Hydropower Facilities Affects Flow Regimes on Tributaries to the Pantanal Wetland of Brazil

Figueiredo

Fantin-Cruz

Silva

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Hydroelectric facilities often release water at variable rates over the day to match electricity demand, resulting in short-term variability in downstream discharge and water levels. This sub-daily variability, known as hydropeaking, has mostly been studied at large facilities. The ongoing global proliferation of small hydropower (SHP) facilities, which in Brazil are defined as having installed capacities between 5 and 30 MW, raises the question of how these facilities may alter downstream flow regimes by hydropeaking. This study examines the individual and cumulative effects of hydropower facilities on tributaries in the upland watershed of the Pantanal, a vast floodplain wetland system located on the upper Paraguay River, mostly in Brazil. Simultaneous hourly discharge measurements from publicly available reference and downstream gage stations were analyzed for 11 reaches containing 24 hydropower facilities. Most of the facilities are SHPs and half are run-of-river designs, often with diversion channels (headraces). Comparison of daily data over an annual period, summarized by indicators of hydrological alteration (HA) that describe the magnitude, frequency, rate of change, and duration of flows, revealed differences at sub-daily scales attributable to hydropeaking by the hydropower facilities. Results showed statistically significant sub-daily HA in all 11 reaches containing hydropower facilities in all months. Discharge indicators that showed the highest percentage of days with increased variability were the mean rates of rise and fall, amplitude, duration of high pulses, maximum discharge, and number of reversals. Those that showed higher percentages of decreased variability included minimum discharge, number of high pulses, duration of stability, and number of low pulses. There was no correlation between HA values and physical characteristics of rivers or hydropower facilities (including installed capacity), and reaches with multiple facilities did not differ in HA from those with single facilities. This study demonstrates that SHPs as well as larger hydropower facilities cause hydrological alterations attributable to hydropeaking. Considering the rapid expansion of SHPs in tropical river systems, there is an urgent need to understand whether the ecological impacts of hydropeaking documented in temperate biomes also apply to these systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydropeaking by Small Hydropower Facilities Affects Flow Regimes on Tributaries to the Pantanal Wetland of Brazil

Figueiredo

Fantin-Cruz

Silva

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…The Amazon basin has been historically impacted by mining activities [1][2][3]. Mineral soils underlying the Amazon forests contain elevated levels of gold, whose exploitation results in intensive land use modifications [4] and freshwater contamination with mining spoils [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Integrative Approach to Assess the Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining Contamination in the Amazon

Capparelli

Cabrera

Rico

et al. 2021

Preprint

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As the number of legal and illegal mining sites increase, integrative methods to evaluate the effects of mining pollution on Andes-Amazonia freshwater ecosystems are paramount. Here, we sampled water and sediments in 11 sites potentially affected by mining activities in the Napo province (Ecuador). The environmental impacts were evaluated using four lines of evidence (LOEs): water physico-chemical parameters; metal exposure concentrations; macroinvertebrate community response (AAMBI); and toxicity by conducting bioassays with Lactuca sativa and Daphnia magna. Overall, dissolved oxygen and total suspended solids were, under (&lt;80%) and above (&gt;130 mg/Ls) quality standards. Ag, Al, As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn in water and V, B and Cr in sediments were detected above quality standards. Nine out of eleven sites were classified as having bad environmental quality based on the AAMBI. Ranges of L. sativa seed germination in both water (37% to 70%) and sediment (0% to 65%), indicate significant toxicity. In 5 sites, neonates of D. magna showed a 25% reduction in survival compared to the control. Our integrated LOEs index ranked sites regarding their environmental degradation. Given the importance of the Andes-Amazon region, we recommend environmental impact monitoring of the mining expansion using multiple LOEs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Freshwater fishes are among the most threatened fauna in the world (Reid et al, 2019), mainly due to habitat degradation, hydrological alterations, and non-native fish introductions (Dias et al, 2017;Couto et al, 2021). The influence of human activities on fish diversity has become a primary environmental problem, especially in dam construction (Brewitt & Colwyn, 2020;Couto et al, 2021). Dams obstruct the dispersal and migration of organisms and modify habitat conditions, both of which are directly linked to the patterns of species speciation and invasion for the most part (Johnson et al, 2008;Petesse & Petrere, 2012;Smith et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-head dams induce biotic homogenization/differentiation of fish assemblages in subtropical streams

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Human-mediated introduction of cosmopolitan species and extirpation of endemic species modify community similarity, resulting in community-distinctiveness decrease or increase. Data from four basins in the Wannan Mountains, China, was used to evaluate the effects of low-head dams on fish assemblage homogeneity/heterogeneity. We aimed to examine whether the changes in fish assemblage similarity differed between taxonomic and functional metrics, and whether the outcome of homogenization/differentiation depended on incidence-based or abundance-based approaches. Taxonomic differentiation exceeded functional differentiation for incidence-based approaches and was accompanied by weak functional homogenization for abundance-based approaches. The extent of taxonomic differentiation using incidence-based approaches was higher than that using abundance-based ones, suggesting that the former significantly overestimated the degree of taxonomic differentiation; however, an opposite trend was verified for functional aspects, suggesting that the latter could detect nuanced patterns of fish functional homogenization/differentiation. Additionally, partial pairs exhibited considerable variation in patterns of perceived homogenization and differentiation for taxonomic and functional aspects. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the strong dependence on data type of perceived patterns in homogenization/differentiation and highlights the importance of abundance-based approaches in structuring homogenization/differentiation of fish assemblages at small spatial scales; otherwise, the qualitative and quantitative conclusions may be erroneous or contradictory. Keywords: Low-head dam, Stream fish, Biotic homogenization and differentiation, Taxonomic and functional diversities

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Safeguarding migratory fish via strategic planning of future small hydropower in Brazil

Cited by 75 publications

References 57 publications

Hydropeaking by Small Hydropower Facilities Affects Flow Regimes on Tributaries to the Pantanal Wetland of Brazil

Hydropeaking by Small Hydropower Facilities Affects Flow Regimes on Tributaries to the Pantanal Wetland of Brazil

An Integrative Approach to Assess the Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining Contamination in the Amazon

Low-head dams induce biotic homogenization/differentiation of fish assemblages in subtropical streams

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