Spatial Extent and Dynamics of Dam Impacts on Tropical Island Freshwater Fish Assemblages

Cooney, Patrick; Kwak, Thomas J.

doi:10.1525/bio.2013.63.3.6

Cited by 94 publications

(125 citation statements)

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“…In the absence of our ability to augment discharge magnitudes (water is critical to fish persistence), we stress that increasing longitudinal connectivity and allowing access to downstream wetted refuge habitats should be among the top-ranked conservation aims for preserving fish diversity in fragmented riverscapes. This point is echoed among recent calls for increasing longitudinal connectivity to promote conservation of native fish diversity in river systems worldwide (Liermann et al 2012, Cooney andKwak 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Fragmentation and dewatering transform Great Plains stream fish communities

Perkin

Gido

Cooper

et al. 2015

Ecological Monographs

176

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Abstract. Biodiversity in stream networks is threatened globally by interactions between habitat fragmentation and altered hydrologic regimes. In the Great Plains of North America, stream networks are fragmented by .19 000 anthropogenic barriers, and flow regimes are altered by surface water retention and groundwater extraction. We documented the distribution of anthropogenic barriers and dry stream segments in five basins covering the central Great Plains to assess effects of broad-scale environmental change on stream fish community structure and distribution of reproductive guilds. We used an informationtheoretic approach to rank competing models in which fragmentation, discharge magnitude, and percentage of time streams had zero flow (a measure of desiccation) were included to predict effects of environmental alterations on the distribution of fishes belonging to different reproductive guilds. Fragmentation caused by anthropogenic barriers was most common in the eastern Great Plains, but stream desiccation became more common to the west, where rivers are underlain by the depleted (i.e., extraction . recharge) High Plains Aquifer. Longitudinal gradients in fragmentation and desiccation contributed to spatial shifts in community structure from taxonomically and functionally diverse communities dominated by pelagic reproductive guilds where fragmentation and desiccation were least, to homogenized communities dominated by benthic guilds where fragmentation and desiccation were common. Modeling results revealed these shifts were primarily associated with decline of pelagic reproductive guilds, notably small-bodied pelagophilic and lithopelagophilic fishes that declined in association with decreased fragment length and increased number of days with zero flow. Graph theory combined with a barrier prioritization approach revealed specific fragments that could be reconnected to allow fishes within these guilds to colonize currently unoccupied fragments with the mitigation or removal of small dams (,10 m height). These findings are useful for natural resource managers charged with halting or reversing the prevailing pattern of declining fish diversity in the Great Plains. Our study represents one of the most comprehensive assessments of fish diversity responses to broad-scale environmental change in the Great Plains and provides a conservation strategy for addressing the simultaneous contributions of fragmentation and flow alteration to the global freshwater biodiversity crisis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Fragmentation and dewatering transform Great Plains stream fish communities

Perkin

Gido

Cooper

et al. 2015

Ecological Monographs

176

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“…Dams also act as effective barriers for tropical catadromous fi sh assemblages, even precluding the upstream migration of climb-adapted gobies (Fam. Gobiidae; Cooney and Kwak 2013 ). Dams can also constitute important or absolute barriers for species that move along river systems, using different habitats within the year and/or during different life-history stages.…”

Section: Barrier Effectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Renewable Energy Production and Infrastructure on Wildlife

Sánchez‐Zapata

Clavero

Carrete

et al. 2016

Wildlife Research Monographs

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“…Albrecht, Caramaschi & Horn, 2009;Terra, dos Santos & Araujo, 2010). Connectivity disruption along streams and changes in physicochemical characteristics associated with hydropower production alter the composition and structure of tropical fish assemblages, and lowers fish diversity downstream from dams Agostinho, Pelicice & Gomes, 2008; Araujo, Pinto & Teixeira, 2009;Cooney & Kwak, 2013). Despite the importance of tropical aquatic macroinvertebrates as a food source for higher trophic levels (Chan, Zhang & Dudgeon, 2007;Ortaz, Martín & Lopez-Ordaz, 2011) and as a functional group in streams (Benstead, 1996;Wright & Covich, 2005), little is known about the consequences of dams on their assemblages.…”

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confidence: 99%

Downstream effects of hydropower production on aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in two rivers in Costa Rica

Chaves-Ulloa

Umaña‐Villalobos

Springer

2014

RBT

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Despite the fact that little is known about the consequences of hydropower production in tropical areas, many large dams (>15m high) are currently under construction or consideration in the tropics. We researched the effects of large hydroelectric dams on aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in two Costa Rican rivers. We measured physicochemical characteristics and sampled aquatic macroinvertebrates from March 2003 to March 2004 in two dammed rivers, Peñas Blancas and San Lorenzo, as well as in the undammed Chachagua River. Sites above and below the dam had differences in their physicochemical variables, with wide variation and extreme values in variables measured below the dam in the San Lorenzo River. Sites below the dams had reduced water discharges, velocities, and depths when compared with sites above the dams, as well as higher temperatures and conductivity. Sites above dams were dominated by collector-gatherer-scrapers and habitat groups dominated by swimmer-clingers, while sites below dams had a more even representation of groups. In contrast, a comparison between two sites at different elevation in the undammed river maintained a similar assemblage composition. Tributaries might facilitate macroinvertebrate recovery above the turbine house, but the assemblage below the turbine house resembled the one below the dam. A massive sediment release event from the dam decreased the abundance per sample and macroinvertebrate taxa below the dam in the Peñas Blancas River. Our study illustrates the effects of hydropower production on neotropical rivers, highlighting the importance of using multiple measures of macroinvertebrate assemblage structure for assessing this type of environmental impact. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (Suppl. 2): 179-201. Epub 2014 April 01.Key words: Functional feeding groups, habitat groups, hydropower, tropical river ecology, turbine house.Due to rising energy demands, hydropower production is increasingly advocated and implemented in developing, tropical countries (Revenga, Brunner, Henninger, Kassem & Payne, 2000; Anderson, Pringle & Rojas, 2006;Finer & Jenkins, 2012). While the world-wide construction rate of large hydroelectric dams (>15m, World Commission on Dams (WCD), 2000) peaked in the 1960s, the construction rate in tropical areas is still increasing (Petts, 1990;Pringle, Freeman & Freeman, 2000;Regalado, 2011). This disparity is partially due to the exhaustion of suitable undammed rivers for hydropower production in temperate, but not tropical, areas (Revenga et al., 2000;Finer & Jenkins, 2012). This rising development in hydropower generation comes with environmental and socio-economical costs for the countries involved (Pringle, 2000; WCD, 2000;Tollefson, 2011).Large hydroelectric dams affect biological communities through changes in stream physicochemical characteristics. Large dams reduce river connectivity (Pringle, 2001; Finer & Jenkins, 2012), cause habitat loss (Dudgeon et al., 2006;Freeman, Pringle & Jackson, 2007;Rodrigues & Silva, 2012), alter water temperature an...

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Spatial Extent and Dynamics of Dam Impacts on Tropical Island Freshwater Fish Assemblages

Cited by 94 publications

References 50 publications

Fragmentation and dewatering transform Great Plains stream fish communities

Fragmentation and dewatering transform Great Plains stream fish communities

Effects of Renewable Energy Production and Infrastructure on Wildlife

Downstream effects of hydropower production on aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in two rivers in Costa Rica

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