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Rate of biotic colonization following flow restoration below a diversion dam in the Bridge River, British Columbia
Author(s) -
Decker A. Scott,
Bradford Michael J.,
Higgins Paul S.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
river research and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.679
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1535-1467
pISSN - 1535-1459
DOI - 10.1002/rra.1076
Subject(s) - habitat , periphyton , colonization , streams , upstream and downstream (dna) , colonisation , environmental science , invertebrate , ecology , river ecosystem , biological dispersal , hydrology (agriculture) , juvenile , abundance (ecology) , upstream (networking) , geography , fishery , biology , geology , population , computer network , geotechnical engineering , computer science , biomass (ecology) , demography , sociology
In August 2000, a continuous flow release was initiated below a diversion dam in the Bridge River, British Columbia, to rewater 4 km of stream bed that had been without flow for 37 years. Within a month after the start of flows, periphyton and invertebrate populations were present in the previously dry reach. Juvenile salmonids were common downstream of the rewetted reach, but only a few moved upstream to the new habitats after flow restoration. However, adult salmon quickly colonized the rewetted area and spawned 1–8 months after the onset of flow. Age‐0 salmonid abundance was high 1 year later and appeared to be largely due to successful spawning in the new reach rather than the upstream migration of juveniles. We conclude that the full colonization of the new reach will take more than a year as a consequence of the migratory patterns of the salmonids species in the river, and that monitoring programs for habitat restoration should be cognizant of the lags in the response of target populations because of their life histories. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.