Survival and migration speed of radio-tagged Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar) smolts in two large rivers: one without and one with dams
Connectivity problems in fish migration in regulated rivers have been widely studied, but few studies have rigorously compared parallel migration success between regulated and free-flowing rivers. Here, survival and migration speed of downstream migrating radio-tagged Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) s...
| Published in: | Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0134 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0134 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0134 |
| Summary: | Connectivity problems in fish migration in regulated rivers have been widely studied, but few studies have rigorously compared parallel migration success between regulated and free-flowing rivers. Here, survival and migration speed of downstream migrating radio-tagged Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts were studied in two large neighboring rivers in the northern Baltic Sea area: one without and one with dams. Both rivers have a free-flowing upper section, where the survival and migration speed of salmon smolts were similar. Survival along the lower section of the free-flowing river was about six times higher than in the lower part of the regulated river with five hydropower plants. Migration speed of smolts was also significantly faster in the river without dams. These severe problems in downstream connectivity in the regulated river pose challenging tasks for restoration of salmon populations. |
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