Wastewater plumes can act as non-physical barriers for migrating silver eel
Non-physical barriers for migrating fish, such as effluent plumes discharged by sewage treatment plants (WWTPs), are hardly considered, and field studies on this topic are very scarce. The encounter with these plumes however may evoke behavioural responses in fish and could delay or (partially) bloc...
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ftunivwagenin:oai:library.wur.nl:wurpubs/616667 2024-04-28T07:55:13+00:00 Wastewater plumes can act as non-physical barriers for migrating silver eel Winter, Hendrik Volken van Keeken, Olvin Alior Kleissen, Frank Foekema, Edwin Matheus 2023 application/pdf https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/wastewater-plumes-can-act-as-non-physical-barriers-for-migrating- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287189 en eng https://edepot.wur.nl/634298 https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/wastewater-plumes-can-act-as-non-physical-barriers-for-migrating- doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0287189 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Wageningen University & Research PLoS ONE 18 (2023) 6 June ISSN: 1932-6203 Life Science Article/Letter to editor 2023 ftunivwagenin https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287189 2024-04-03T14:34:17Z Non-physical barriers for migrating fish, such as effluent plumes discharged by sewage treatment plants (WWTPs), are hardly considered, and field studies on this topic are very scarce. The encounter with these plumes however may evoke behavioural responses in fish and could delay or (partially) block the migration. In this study, the behavioural responses of 40 acoustically-tagged silver eel (Anguilla anguilla) were monitored in situ, when confronting a WWTP effluent plume during their downstream migration in the canal Eems, the Netherlands. Their behavioural responses and the potential blocking effect of the plume were assessed using a 2D and 3D telemetry design displayed in the waterway, and matched to a modelled and calibrated WWTP effluent plume. When confronted with the WWTP effluent plume during their downstream migration, 22 of the silver eels (59%) showed an avoidance response, varying from lateral diverting to multiple turning in the vicinity of the effluent plume. Nineteen out of these 22 (86%) eventually passed the study site. No silver eel showed attraction to the plume. Delays in migration were from several hours up to several days. Due to the strong variation in discharged volumes and flow velocity of the receiving canal, the WWTP plume did not always flow over the full width of the canal. As a result, numerous migratory windows, where silver eels could pass the WWTP while avoiding direct contact with the plume, remained available in time. When discharge points cannot be avoided, reduced or restricted to areas that are not preferred as fish migration routes, discharge points should be designed such, that the chance is limited that a waterway is (temporarily) impacted over its full width. Article in Journal/Newspaper Anguilla anguilla Wageningen UR (University & Research Centre): Digital Library PLOS ONE 18 6 e0287189 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wageningen UR (University & Research Centre): Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwagenin |
language |
English |
topic |
Life Science |
spellingShingle |
Life Science Winter, Hendrik Volken van Keeken, Olvin Alior Kleissen, Frank Foekema, Edwin Matheus Wastewater plumes can act as non-physical barriers for migrating silver eel |
topic_facet |
Life Science |
description |
Non-physical barriers for migrating fish, such as effluent plumes discharged by sewage treatment plants (WWTPs), are hardly considered, and field studies on this topic are very scarce. The encounter with these plumes however may evoke behavioural responses in fish and could delay or (partially) block the migration. In this study, the behavioural responses of 40 acoustically-tagged silver eel (Anguilla anguilla) were monitored in situ, when confronting a WWTP effluent plume during their downstream migration in the canal Eems, the Netherlands. Their behavioural responses and the potential blocking effect of the plume were assessed using a 2D and 3D telemetry design displayed in the waterway, and matched to a modelled and calibrated WWTP effluent plume. When confronted with the WWTP effluent plume during their downstream migration, 22 of the silver eels (59%) showed an avoidance response, varying from lateral diverting to multiple turning in the vicinity of the effluent plume. Nineteen out of these 22 (86%) eventually passed the study site. No silver eel showed attraction to the plume. Delays in migration were from several hours up to several days. Due to the strong variation in discharged volumes and flow velocity of the receiving canal, the WWTP plume did not always flow over the full width of the canal. As a result, numerous migratory windows, where silver eels could pass the WWTP while avoiding direct contact with the plume, remained available in time. When discharge points cannot be avoided, reduced or restricted to areas that are not preferred as fish migration routes, discharge points should be designed such, that the chance is limited that a waterway is (temporarily) impacted over its full width. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Winter, Hendrik Volken van Keeken, Olvin Alior Kleissen, Frank Foekema, Edwin Matheus |
author_facet |
Winter, Hendrik Volken van Keeken, Olvin Alior Kleissen, Frank Foekema, Edwin Matheus |
author_sort |
Winter, Hendrik Volken |
title |
Wastewater plumes can act as non-physical barriers for migrating silver eel |
title_short |
Wastewater plumes can act as non-physical barriers for migrating silver eel |
title_full |
Wastewater plumes can act as non-physical barriers for migrating silver eel |
title_fullStr |
Wastewater plumes can act as non-physical barriers for migrating silver eel |
title_full_unstemmed |
Wastewater plumes can act as non-physical barriers for migrating silver eel |
title_sort |
wastewater plumes can act as non-physical barriers for migrating silver eel |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/wastewater-plumes-can-act-as-non-physical-barriers-for-migrating- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287189 |
genre |
Anguilla anguilla |
genre_facet |
Anguilla anguilla |
op_source |
PLoS ONE 18 (2023) 6 June ISSN: 1932-6203 |
op_relation |
https://edepot.wur.nl/634298 https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/wastewater-plumes-can-act-as-non-physical-barriers-for-migrating- doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0287189 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Wageningen University & Research |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287189 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
18 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
e0287189 |
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