Chutes and ladders and other games we play with rivers. II. Simulated effects of translocation on white sturgeon

Restoring connectivity is viewed as an important recovery option for fish species adversely affected by river fragmentation. This simulation study quantified the genetic and demographic effects of translocation on metapopulations of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) inhabiting a series of long (source) and short (sink) river segments. Genetic effects were predictable; upstream translocations increased introgression and downstream translocations had no effect. Demographic results suggest that indiscriminant efforts to reconnect populations may do more harm than good. Simulated river systems with high interspersion of long and short segments and a long segment far upstream tended to benefit most from translocation, but only when narrow screening or downstream passage was also provided below the river segment receiving fish. When combined with narrow screening, upstream translocation to a long segment subsidizing several downstream short segments produced the best results. Downstream passage outperformed narrow screening only when the translocation recipient was a short segment in a river system with low interspersion and no long, upstream river segment. This model-based evaluation of reconnection options has helped to refine ideas about restoring populations in fragmented rivers by predicting which options benefit riverine metapopulations as a whole.