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<br />58 <br /> <br />P. B. HOLDEN <br /> <br />these species are not game fish but, rather, are minnows, suckers, <br />darters, and other non-game fish. Therefore, most of the informa- <br />tion concerning the ecology of fishes in regulated streams comes <br />from sport or commercial fishes, such as salmon and trout, which <br />require rivers for only pert of their ecological requirements. <br /> <br />EFFECTS OF DAMS <br /> <br />The impact of damming, or regulation, of rivers on obligate <br />riverine fishes is generally negative. Approximately 60% of the <br />fishes presently listed as endangered or threatened in the U.S. are <br />obligate riverine species. Although not all were decimated by <br />regulation of their habitat, dams are one of the major causes in <br />the decline of obligate riverine species. <br /> <br />The impacts of regulation can be classified as Immediate--those <br />impacts that become immediately apparent when a dam becomes opera- <br />tional; and Delayed--those impacts that do not become evident for <br />several years after dam completion. <br /> <br />Immediate Impacts of Regulation <br /> <br />One of the most obvious immediate impacts of dams is the block- <br />age of upstream and/or downstream migration. This has been identi- <br />fied as a major problem to Pacific salmon (Raymond, 1968; Trefethen, <br />1972; Collins, 1976; Robinson, 1978), Atlantic salmon (Dominy, <br />1973), paddlefish (Branson, 1974; Pflieger, 1975), and several <br />Atlantic species of herring (Alosa sp.) and bass (Morone sp.) <br />(Nichols, 1968). These species all need to spawn in flowing water, <br />and dams have blocked their natural routes to upstream spawning <br />areas. Shikhshabekov (1971) indicated that several species of fish <br />in Russia resorbed eggs when their migrations were slowed or stalled <br />due to regulation. Dams present a special problem to downstream <br />migrating juvenile salmon and steelhead trout. Since many dams <br />these fish encounter are for hydroelectric generation, much of the <br />water passing the dam flows through turbines. Turbine-associated <br />mortality is high. Also, passage through a dam often ends in <br />stilling basins where predators, such as northern squawfish <br />(Ptychocheilus oregonensis) and sea gulls, await the disoriented <br />fish (Long and Krcma, 1969). The construction of fishways, to aid <br />upstream migrating adults, and the use of screens or the actual <br />trucking of juveniles around dams have decreased the negative <br />impact of some dams on Pacific salmon and steelhead trout (Long and <br />Krcma, 1969; Park and Farr, 1972; Collins, 1976; Raymond, 1976). <br /> <br />The other major immediate effect of dams is habitat alteration. <br />The alteration of a free-flowing river to an impoundment is a <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />~ <br />\ <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />l' <br />