Short-term reservoir draining to streambed for juvenile salmon passage and non-native fish removal.

ABSTRACT: Fish passage out of reservoirs is a critical issue for downstream movement of juvenile salmonids and other migratory species. Reservoirs can delay downstream migrations by juvenile salmon for months or years. Here, we examine whether a novel management activity implementing annual short-term draining of a reservoir to streambed improves timely downstream migration of juvenile salmonids. We analyse 12 years of fish capture data from a screw trap located downstream of Fall Creek Reservoir (Oregon, USA) to examine changes in timing of passage out of the reservoir and to compare fish species composition pre- and post-draining. We observed a contraction in the timing of downstream migration for juvenile Chinook Salmon and reduction of yearlings in years following draining. We suggest that brief

SUBMITTER: Murphy CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6853229 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature