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<br />.. <br /> <br />ECOLOGY OF RIVERINE FISHES IN REGULATED STREAM SYSTEMS <br /> <br />59 <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />considerable change. Impounded waters preclude obligate riverine <br />fishes, since they require flowing water for all their ecological <br />requirements (Fraser, 1972). There is some evidence that white <br />sturgeon prefer free-flowing areas and would not maintain viable <br />populations in reservoirs (Haynes et al., 1978). Such is also the <br />case for blue suckers (Pflieger, 1975; Smith, 1979) and for the <br />widely publicized snail darter (Peraina tanasi) (Williams and <br />Finnley, 1977). Other species that require only rivers for spawning <br />may be found in the reservoir for a few years following impoundment <br />but will disappear due to a lack of recruitment if appropriate <br />spawning areas are inundated. For species such as the paddlefish in <br />the Missouri River, the adults often live in reservoirs but migrate <br />upstream to spawn in tributary rivers (Pflieger, 1975). These pop- <br />ulations will be adversely affected if reservoirs cover their <br />spawning areas. Lewis (1974) noted a decrease in fishes of the <br />family Mormyridae, which are primarily riverine species, when the <br />River Niger was dammed to form Lake Kainji and attributed the change <br />primarily to food availability. Bottom feeding insectivores no <br />longer had a plentiful food supply in the reservoir. Blake (1977) <br />indicated that the loss of riverine species in the lake was prima=ily <br />due to a reduction in reproductive success. Balon (1978) and Petr <br />(1978) review similar situations in other tropical reservoirs. <br /> <br />Therefore, it appears that reservoirs impact adult riverine <br />fishes primarily by not providing basic living conditions, such as <br />food supply, and by not providing adequate habitat for successful <br />reproduction. Other factors that may be important include changes <br />in water chemistry and interactions with other species that become <br />abundant in the reservoir. <br /> <br />Reservoirs also create adverse situations for downstream <br />migrating juvenile fish. Passage of young Pacific and Atlantic sal- <br />mon through large reservoirs is only one-third as fast as that <br />through free-flowing sections (Raymond, 1969; Dominy, 1973; Raymond, <br />1976). This delay causes increased mortality due to increased <br />exposure to disease and predation (Collins, 1976). The thermal <br />stratification of large reservoirs can also cause passage problems <br />to young salmon (Collins, 1976). The upper layers may be too warm <br />for the fish, and the lower layers too low in oxygen. Furthermore, <br />reservoirs can accumulate pollutants to levels that become toxic to <br />the juvenile fishes (Dominy, 1973). <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Dams result in habitat alteration in tailwater reaches, which <br />may have major impacts on riverine fishes. Downstream changes are <br />not nearly as obvious as the change seen in a reservoir but are <br />often just as effective in eliminating riverine fishes. A major <br />effect of dams on downstream habitat is a change in temperature. <br />The temperature below a dam usually depends on the level of with- <br />drawal from the reservoir. A dam with a high intake will generally <br />