The effect of an externally attached neutrally buoyant transmitter on mortal injury during simulated hydroturbine passage

Brown, Richard S.; Pflugrath, Brett D.; Carlson, Thomas J.; Deng, Zhiqun

doi:10.1063/1.3682062

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Carlson et al (2012) demonstrated that for juvenile Chinook Salmon exposed to rapid decompression associated with simulated turbine passage, the probability of injury and mortality increased as tag burden increased. To overcome this, we recommend using the smallest tag possible to minimize tag burden or a neutrally buoyant, externally attached tag (tag burden of 0%; Deng et al 2012;Janak et al 2012;Brown et al 2012dBrown et al , 2013b, when examining survival of fish exposed to rapid decompression associated with infrastructure passage. In addition, having a telemetry transmitter inside the body cavity may limit the amount that a swim bladder can expand before it ruptures or causes compression-related injuries.…”

Section: Field Validation Of Modeled Mortality Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Barotrauma in Fish Passing Hydro Structures: A Global Strategy for Sustainable Development of Water Resources

et al. 2014

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Freshwater fishes are one of the most imperiled groups of vertebrates, and population declines are alarming in terms of biodiversity and to communities that rely on fisheries for their livelihood and nutrition. One activity associated with declines in freshwater fish populations is water resource development, including dams, weirs, and hydropower facilities. Fish passing through irrigation and hydro infrastructures during downstream migration experience a rapid decrease in pressure, which can lead to injuries (barotrauma) that contribute to mortality. There is renewed initiative to expand hydropower and irrigation infrastructure to improve water security and increase low‐carbon energy generation. The impact of barotrauma on fish must be understood and mitigated to ensure that development is sustainable for fisheries. This will involve taking steps to expand the knowledge of barotrauma‐related injury from its current focus, mainly on seaward‐migrating juvenile salmonids of the Pacific Northwest, to incorporate a greater diversity of fish species and life stages from many parts of the world. This article summarizes research that has examined barotrauma during fish passage and articulates a research framework to promote a standardized, global approach. The suggested approach provides clearly defined links to adaptive development of fish friendly technologies, aimed at mitigating the threats faced by global freshwater fisheries from the rapid expansion of water infrastructure.

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Section: Field Validation Of Modeled Mortality Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Barotrauma in Fish Passing Hydro Structures: A Global Strategy for Sustainable Development of Water Resources

et al. 2014

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“…However, the authors also state that this may be attributed to elevated stress and subsequent infection associated with confinement in the hatchery pond [35]. Brown et al [81] compared survival of externally tagged hatchery-reared Chinook salmon juveniles during simulated turbine passage (laboratory) and found no difference in mortality between tagged and control fish. A further (field) comparison between surgically implanted (PIT-tags) and externally tagged hatchery-reared Chinook smolts during passage of hydropower stations and along river reaches showed that external tags were suitable for short-term migration studies, but not for longer periods than 10 days due to tag loss and mortality [40].…”

Section: Survivalmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of external electronic tags on fish: an evaluation of tag retention and tagging effects

et al. 2015

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External tagging of fish with electronic tags has been used for decades for a wide range of marine and freshwater species. In the early years of fish telemetry research, it was the most commonly used attachment method, but later internal implants became preferred. Recently, the number of telemetry studies using external tagging has increased, especially with the development of archival tags (data storage tags, DSTs), pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) and other environment-sensing tags. Scientific evaluations of the tagging method are rather scarce for most species. We identified 89 publications, reporting effects of external tagging for 80 different fish species, which constitute the main basis for this review. External attachment holds certain benefits compared to other tagging methods, for example, speed of application, and it may be the only option for fishes with a body shape unsuitable for surgical implantation, or when using tags with sensors recording the external environment. The most commonly reported problems with external tags are tissue damage, premature tag loss, and decreased swimming capacity, but the effects are highly context dependent and species specific. Reduced growth and survival have also been recorded, but direct mortality caused by external tagging seems rare. Most of the studies reviewed evaluate tag retention, survival, and tissue reactions. There is a general need for more research on the effects of external tagging of fish with electronic tags, but particularly there are few studies on predation risk, social interactions, and studies distinguishing capture and handling effects from tagging effects. For PSATs, especially those that are large relative to fish size, there are particular problems with a high proportion of premature tag losses, reduced swimming capacity, and likely increased predation, but there remains a paucity of tag effect studies related to the use of PSATs. Before embarking on a field study employing external tagging with electronic tags, we recommend the use of appropriate pilot studies, controlled where possible, to quantify potential impacts of tagging.

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“…Results of previous laboratory research suggest that the use of a neutrally buoyant externally attached tag may alleviate the bias encountered in turbine-passage survival studies when using internal tags (e.g., [7], [14], [15]) and this field research suggests that carrying an externally attached transmitter may not increase predation compared to carrying an internally implanted transmitter during such studies. Many aging turbines in the Lower Snake and Columbia river dams will soon be replaced with turbines designed for safer fish passage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…The fork length (FL; mm) and mass (g) of each fish were measured before being assigned to a surgeon and tag type. For external attachment of tags, fish were placed on a foam rubber pad and oriented dorsal side up (for detailed methods and images of tags, see [7], [15]). The neutrally buoyant acoustic transmitters were attached to the dorsal musculature anterior to the dorsal fin by two simple interrupted sutures (Monocryl 5-0 absorbable monofilament) using 2×2×2×2 reinforced square knots (similar to Deters et al [25]).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, when compared to fish internally implanted with an acoustic transmitter and a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag (a combined mass of 0.53 g), there was no significant difference in Ucrit [14]. Further, no mortalities or tag loss were observed during exposure to shear forces [7] and the presence of the tag did not increase the fish's susceptibility to barotrauma when compared to untagged fish [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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A Field Evaluation of an External and Neutrally Buoyant Acoustic Transmitter for Juvenile Salmon: Implications for Estimating Hydroturbine Passage Survival

et al. 2013

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Turbine-passed fish are exposed to rapid decreases in pressure which can cause barotrauma. The presence of an implanted telemetry tag increases the likelihood of injury or death from exposure to pressure changes, thus potentially biasing studies evaluating survival of turbine-passed fish. Therefore, a neutrally buoyant externally attached tag was developed to eliminate this bias in turbine passage studies. This new tag was designed not to add excess mass in water or take up space in the coelom, having an effective tag burden of zero with the goal of reducing pressure related biases to turbine survival studies. To determine if this new tag affects fish performance or susceptibility to predation, it was evaluated in the field relative to internally implanted acoustic transmitters (JSATS; Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System) used widely for survival studies of juvenile salmonids. Survival and travel time through the study reach was compared between fish with either tag type in an area of high predation in the Snake and Columbia rivers, Washington. An additional group of fish affixed with neutrally-buoyant dummy external tags were implanted with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and recovered further downstream to assess external tag retention and injury. There were no significant differences in survival to the first detection site, 12 river kilometers (rkm) downstream of release. Travel times were also similar between groups. Conversely, externally-tagged fish had reduced survival (or elevated tag loss) to the second detection site, 65 rkm downstream. In addition, the retention study revealed that tag loss was first observed in fish recaptured approximately 9 days after release. Results suggest that this new tag may be viable for short term (<8 days) single-dam turbine-passage studies and under these situations, may alleviate the turbine passage-related bias encountered when using internal tags, however further research is needed to confirm this.

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The effect of an externally attached neutrally buoyant transmitter on mortal injury during simulated hydroturbine passage

Cited by 9 publications

References 19 publications

Understanding Barotrauma in Fish Passing Hydro Structures: A Global Strategy for Sustainable Development of Water Resources

Understanding Barotrauma in Fish Passing Hydro Structures: A Global Strategy for Sustainable Development of Water Resources

The use of external electronic tags on fish: an evaluation of tag retention and tagging effects

A Field Evaluation of an External and Neutrally Buoyant Acoustic Transmitter for Juvenile Salmon: Implications for Estimating Hydroturbine Passage Survival

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