The environmental impact of hydropower: a systematic review of the ecological effects of sub-daily flow variability on riverine fish

Bryan B. Bozeman, Brenda M. Pracheil, Paul G. Matson

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Hydropower can help facilitate power grid decarbonization because it can respond to short-term changes in power demand and is comparatively more reliable than intermittent wind and solar. However, flexible hydropower operations can create rapid and abnormal fluctuations in downstream flow conditions, which can negatively impact aquatic ecosystems. Accordingly, we conducted a systematic review on the ecological effects of hydropower-driven sub-daily flow variability (SDFV) on riverine fishes. We reviewed and synthesized 109 articles relevant to fish-SDFV relationships from seven sources, most of which focused on Salmonids in North America and northern and western Europe and were published in the last 15 years. We found strong agreement in the literature that SDFV increases fish stranding risk, destabilizes habitat, and decreases production and diversity. We found moderate agreement that SDFV interrupts fish reproduction, increases or has no impact on condition, and prompts or discourages movement depending on local channel conditions. We found little to no agreement for relationships between SDFV and mortality, physiology, and behavior. The effects of SDFV on riverine fish ecology are intertwined in the complex suite of biotic and abiotic characteristics that structure aquatic ecosystems and are highly site-, species-, and life stage-specific. Assessments of the impact of SDFV on fish ecology should first characterize local habitat and channel quality and fish community composition to identify specific, measurable ecological outcomes to sustain or enhance, and then design mitigation strategies tailored to those ecological objectives.

Original languageEnglish
JournalReviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries
DOIs
StateAccepted/In press - 2024

Funding

This manuscript benefitted greatly from comments and suggestions from many individuals, including M. Fisher, B. Lawson, N. Miller, B. Lake, D. McCoskey, D. Steindorf, K. Colburn, B. Nasdor, and others. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Water Power Technology Office (WPTO). The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the United States Government. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is operated for the DOE by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is operated for the DOE by Battelle Memorial Institute under Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ).

Keywords

  • Environmental mitigation
  • Fish
  • Flow regimes
  • Hydropeaking
  • Regulated rivers
  • Short term flow fluctuation

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