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The influence of fluctuating ramping rates on the diets of small-bodied fish species of boreal rivers

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Abstract

The response of aquatic organisms to flow regulation at hydro facilities has become a key issue for the development of sustainable management practices intending to reduce the impact in regulated rivers. In previous studies, unrestricted ramping rates have been found to have a negative effect on invertebrate communities and shortened the length of the food web. The decrease in the length of the food web was inferred from a significant decrease in the difference between macroinvertebrates and fish δ13N signatures, equivalent to the loss of the one trophic level. A before-after-control-impact (BACI) design was applied to determine the possible effects of ramping rate restrictions on the diet of small-bodied fishes in a boreal river in northern Ontario. Stomach contents were identified to the taxonomic level of order. Using these data, abundance, diversity and taxa composition were calculated to yield an understanding of the alterations that occurred in the food web, and how fish species diets may have changed to compensate for the shift in the invertebrate trophic level. It was found that unrestricted ramping rates were associated with an increase in invertebrate abundance within the stomach contents. There was no effect from the change to unlimited ramping for both stomach content EPT abundance and species diversity, as both rivers followed a similar trend over time. After unrestricted ramping rates, a greater frequency of baseline taxa and a lower frequency of predatory macroinvertebrates were found within the altered river stomach contents compared to what was expected. This demonstrates that the diets of small-bodied fishes have changed to compensate for the alterations to the food web due to unrestricted ramping rates, and implies that ramping rates should be taken into consideration in the regulation of operating regimes on altered rivers.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Brookfield Renewable Power Ltd and approved by the Canadian Council of Animal Care. Samples were provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and collected by Jérôme Marty of the Department of Biology at the University of Waterloo, and by Marla Thibodeau and Lisa Voigt of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Laboratory assistance was provided by Marla Thibodeau of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Lee Gutowsky, Jason Thiem and Emily Brady provided valuable critical commentary of the paper and statistical analysis.

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  1. Kimberly M. F. Tuor

    Present address: Natural Resources and Environmental Studies – Biology, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, V2N 4Z9, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada

    Kimberly M. F. Tuor & Steven J. Cooke

  2. Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, P6A 6W4, Canada

    Karen E. Smokorowski

  3. Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada

    Steven J. Cooke

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  1. Kimberly M. F. Tuor
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Correspondence to Kimberly M. F. Tuor.

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Tuor, K.M.F., Smokorowski, K.E. & Cooke, S.J. The influence of fluctuating ramping rates on the diets of small-bodied fish species of boreal rivers. Environ Biol Fish 98, 345–355 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-014-0264-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-014-0264-5

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