Laserfiche WebLink
squawfish traveled the furthest downstream during periods of high discharge, and returned to the <br />tailrace as discharge decreased. At high discharge, fish that remained in tailwaters were usually in <br />backwaters and sheltered shorelines, while at low discharge, they remained primarily in the main <br />channel near the dam. <br />Rogatnykh and Morozov (1988) found some species of Pacific salmon actively spawning in <br />ice free sections of rivers flowing into the Okhotsk Sea. These sections were kept open by spring-fed <br />creeks and effluents of relatively warm ground waters. They reported that freezing of spawning beds <br />was the principal cause of egg and larval mortality in Pacific salmon, and that rivers with the largest <br />sections of ice free water were the most favorable for reproduction. Absolute numbers of salmon <br />were directly related to the extent of ice free sections in river basins from which coefficients were <br />derived for identifying importance of individual rivers to reproduction by chum salmon (Onchorynchus <br />keta) and coho salmon (O. kisutch). Arctic char (Salvelinus al inus) are also known to spawn and <br />overwinter in habitat associated with perennial springs (Schmidt et al. 1987), while anadromous Dolly <br />Varden (Salvelinus malma) often overwinter in small spring-fed freshwater streams (Valdez et al. <br />1977). <br />Fish Response to Physical and Chemical Conditions <br />Habitat for overwintering riverine fish can be greatly reduced by the presence of ice and <br />supercooled water gradients. Schmidt et al. (1987) found water temperatures in overwintering areas <br />consistently at or near the freezing point for ambient salinity, with coldest temperatures occurring in <br />areas of highest salinity. Low numbers of fish were found in marginal habitats, where insufficient <br />water depth, ice-blocked passage, and overcrowding led to low-oxygen stress and mortality of some <br />fish. Fish maintained a position in the salinity gradient, where dissolved oxygen was 8-9 mgll, <br />minimising energy required for osmoregulation. Dissolved oxygen levels were greater than 5 mg/1 at <br />all stations sampled, except for one, where dissolved oxygen was 1.1 mg/l, because of the large <br />number of fish found in a relatively small pool. <br />In relating hydrologic regime to fish abundance and density in the Danube River in <br />Czechoslovakia, Holcik and Hruska (1981) identified velocities critical to fish. Velocities greater than <br />0.2 m/sec caused many fishes to be carried downstream, and explained low density of resident fishes <br />in the foothill sections of the Danube, where current velocity averages. more than 2 m/sec. <br />Winter Food Sources and Feeding Habits <br />Fish in temperate zones typically feed less in winter because colder water reduces their <br />metabolism and feeding activity. Most invertebrate food sources are concurrently at low numbers or <br />38 <br />