Linking bait and feeding opportunities to fish foraging habitat for the assessment of environmental flows and river restoration

The survival of aquatic biota in different life history stages depends on food availability, water quantity and specific hydrological conditions, and is particularly susceptible in degraded rivers due to the development of hydropower or are sensitive to climate change. Habitats with limited food availability and restricted feeding opportunities can strongly affect the habitat carrying capacity and fish growth with consequences for spawning. Few environmental flow regime frameworks are available that closely link bait and feeding opportunities to fish foraging habitat In addition, river restoration has been widely implemented to resolve the conflict between ecological demand and power generation benefits. Nevertheless, whether in-stream structures are still suitable for the joint operation of foraging and spawning habitats remains undear. In this study, a framework to integrate the requirements of both spawning and foraging habitats into environmental flow regime assessments was proposed by coupling the bait supply, fish spawning and fish feeding opportunities. Here, we used the Batang Reservoir, located in the Tibetan Plateau, as an example to determine the environmental flow regimes. The environmental flow regimes during Periods I, II and III for the conservation of the life history stages of Schizothorax dolichonem were determined, which provided high-quality food and was beneficial for increasing the probability of restoration success. After the implementation of measures, the ecological base flow rate decreased from 171.80 m(3)/s, 206.00 m(3)/s and 257.70 m(3)/s to 138.00 m(3)/s, 206.00 m(3)/s and 206.00 m(3)/s in Periods I, II and III, respectively. We concluded that traditional river restoration with the use of in-stream structures is still suitable for the joint operation of spawning and foraging habitats, but the design selection and placement of instream structures should be preoptimized. The framework proposed will help managers evaluate habitat conservation to protect degraded rivers or help develop strategies to build resilience to climate change. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The survival of aquatic biota in different life history stages is influenced by food availability, water quantity, and specific hydrological conditions, especially in degraded rivers affected by hydropower development or climate change. Limited food availability and restricted feeding opportunities in habitats can have a strong impact on habitat carrying capacity, fish growth, and spawning outcomes. Few frameworks are available that closely link bait and feeding opportunities to fish foraging habitat. River restoration has been implemented to address conflicts between ecological demands and power generation benefits, but the suitability of in-stream structures for joint operation of spawning and foraging habitats remains uncertain.