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Use of cylindrical bristle clusters as a novel multispecies fish pass to facilitate upstream movement at gauging weirs

Use of cylindrical bristle clusters as a novel multispecies fish pass to facilitate upstream movement at gauging weirs
Use of cylindrical bristle clusters as a novel multispecies fish pass to facilitate upstream movement at gauging weirs
Globally, gauging weirs are commonly installed in rivers to monitor flows. They have widespread negative impacts on the upstream movement of fish due to the barriers created by the unfavourable hydraulic conditions on the downstream face. There is a need to develop simple low-cost solutions to enhance multi-species fish passage, while not impacting the ability of these structures to gauge flow or increasing their potential to accumulate debris. This study investigated the use of an array of Cylindrical Bristle Clusters (CBCs), mounted on the downstream face of Crump weirs, to improve upstream passage of multiple species of fish while maintaining gauging accuracy. The simplicity and modularity of the design helps improve cost effectiveness and ease of installation. Laboratory tests with roach (Rutilus rutilus) showed that the passage efficiency of a Crump weir was increased from 0% (control) to ≈30% when retrofitted with CBCs. Swim path analysis indicated fish utilised low velocity zones in the wake of clusters to facilitate passage. Time taken to pass the weir and length of the swim path were greatest under the highest cluster density, where manoeuvrability was most constrained. Following these promising experimental results, the fish pass efficiency of a weir retrofitted with a staggered array of CBCs, was evaluated in the field. Upstream passage of a number of non-salmonid fish, including chub (Squalius cephalus) and roach, was monitored using Passive Integrated Transponder telemetry at a 7 m long, 1.2 m wide, Crump weir with a 1:5 downstream slope. Overall passage efficiency, considering all species, increased from 2% to 14% when the fish pass was installed, and for chub from 0 to 52%. Debris accumulation was minimal during the test period. Assessment of the impact of a variety of CBC array densities on gauging was also undertaken. As predicted using theory, there was no effect on gauging when arrays were placed downstream of the point at which flow regime changes from sub- to supercritical. This study highlights the potential for a staggered array of CBCs to improve the upstream passage of multiple species of fish at gauging weirs, common barriers to fish migration throughout the world, without affecting the accuracy of flow gauging.
Chub, Cylindrical bristle cluster, Field installation, Fish passage, Habitat connectivity, Roach
0925-8574
Montali-Ashworth, Daniella
d7b6ad07-79da-4c1c-b593-5f5fbf22f4c3
Vowles, Andrew
c35c3a75-2199-4665-8340-e8ee7abc25f4
De Almeida, Gustavo
f6edffc1-7bb3-443f-8829-e471b6514a7e
Kemp, Paul
9e33fba6-cccf-4eb5-965b-b70e72b11cd7
Montali-Ashworth, Daniella
d7b6ad07-79da-4c1c-b593-5f5fbf22f4c3
Vowles, Andrew
c35c3a75-2199-4665-8340-e8ee7abc25f4
De Almeida, Gustavo
f6edffc1-7bb3-443f-8829-e471b6514a7e
Kemp, Paul
9e33fba6-cccf-4eb5-965b-b70e72b11cd7

Montali-Ashworth, Daniella, Vowles, Andrew, De Almeida, Gustavo and Kemp, Paul (2020) Use of cylindrical bristle clusters as a novel multispecies fish pass to facilitate upstream movement at gauging weirs. Ecological Engineering, 143, [105634]. (doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2019.105634).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Globally, gauging weirs are commonly installed in rivers to monitor flows. They have widespread negative impacts on the upstream movement of fish due to the barriers created by the unfavourable hydraulic conditions on the downstream face. There is a need to develop simple low-cost solutions to enhance multi-species fish passage, while not impacting the ability of these structures to gauge flow or increasing their potential to accumulate debris. This study investigated the use of an array of Cylindrical Bristle Clusters (CBCs), mounted on the downstream face of Crump weirs, to improve upstream passage of multiple species of fish while maintaining gauging accuracy. The simplicity and modularity of the design helps improve cost effectiveness and ease of installation. Laboratory tests with roach (Rutilus rutilus) showed that the passage efficiency of a Crump weir was increased from 0% (control) to ≈30% when retrofitted with CBCs. Swim path analysis indicated fish utilised low velocity zones in the wake of clusters to facilitate passage. Time taken to pass the weir and length of the swim path were greatest under the highest cluster density, where manoeuvrability was most constrained. Following these promising experimental results, the fish pass efficiency of a weir retrofitted with a staggered array of CBCs, was evaluated in the field. Upstream passage of a number of non-salmonid fish, including chub (Squalius cephalus) and roach, was monitored using Passive Integrated Transponder telemetry at a 7 m long, 1.2 m wide, Crump weir with a 1:5 downstream slope. Overall passage efficiency, considering all species, increased from 2% to 14% when the fish pass was installed, and for chub from 0 to 52%. Debris accumulation was minimal during the test period. Assessment of the impact of a variety of CBC array densities on gauging was also undertaken. As predicted using theory, there was no effect on gauging when arrays were placed downstream of the point at which flow regime changes from sub- to supercritical. This study highlights the potential for a staggered array of CBCs to improve the upstream passage of multiple species of fish at gauging weirs, common barriers to fish migration throughout the world, without affecting the accuracy of flow gauging.

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Montali-Ashworth et al. 2019 for PURE - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 20 October 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 9 December 2019
Published date: 15 January 2020
Keywords: Chub, Cylindrical bristle cluster, Field installation, Fish passage, Habitat connectivity, Roach

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 436368
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/436368
ISSN: 0925-8574
PURE UUID: c1dadc04-f199-488c-a371-d8f9a30a54e4
ORCID for Daniella Montali-Ashworth: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5081-7858
ORCID for Andrew Vowles: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8253-5938
ORCID for Gustavo De Almeida: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3291-3985
ORCID for Paul Kemp: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4470-0589

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Date deposited: 09 Dec 2019 17:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:07

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