Sensor Fish: using an autonomous sensor to quantify hydraulic conditions experienced by fish when passing downstream through river infrastructure — ASN Events

Sensor Fish: using an autonomous sensor to quantify hydraulic conditions experienced by fish when passing downstream through river infrastructure (#84)

Brett D Pflugrath 1 2 , Craig A Boys 1 , Daniel Deng 3 , Bruce A Cathers 2
  1. Science and Research - Aquatic Ecosystems, NSW Department of Primary Industry, Port Stephens, NSW, Australia
  2. Water Research Laboratory, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Hydrology Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, United States

Many fish species in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia, are dependent on downstream migration at various life stages; including egg, larval, juvenile or adult. During these migrations fish may be exposed to a host of hydraulic stressors when passing dams, weirs and hydropower facilities. These stressors include mechanical strike, shear forces, and rapid changes in pressure, and when severe, have been shown in the laboratory to cause injury and mortality. But what is the likelihood that fish will be exposed to hydraulic ranges severe enough to cause injury, and which infrastructure types are worse for downstream migrants? Answering such questions is critical for optimising infrastructure design and operation to improve fish passage. To better understand these stressors, hydraulic conditions were measured at a range of weir and hydropower designs within the Murray-Darling Basin using state-of-the-art Sensor Fish technology.  Sensor Fish is an autonomous device that can be deployed into extreme hydraulic environments to measures acceleration, rotation, pressure, and temperature. By associating the high-resolution Sensor Fish data with injury and mortality models obtained from laboratory studies, estimations of injury and survival rates were obtained for the range of structures. Estimates such as this can assist managing existing operations and with the design of future infrastructures to reduce or eliminate negative impacts on fish.

Full Paper