Session D3: Establishment of the FISHTRAC Programme to Use Fish Movement in Water Resource Management in Southern Africa
Location
Groningen, The Netherlands
Event Website
http://fishpassage.umass.edu/
Start Date
22-6-2015 4:30 PM
End Date
22-6-2015 4:45 PM
Description
Abstract:
The excessive use of aquatic ecosystem services in developing countries has caused a decline in ecosystem integrity and a loss of key ecosystem processes. Alterations to the habitat, flow and water quality variable states of these countries are amongst the main drivers of the decline in ecosystem integrity. The FISHTRAC programme has been established to promote the development of and use of fish movement variables within the evaluation of the ecological consequences of altered habitat, flow and water quality variable states in the southern Africa. Numerous studies have been undertaken through the FISHTRAC programme to evaluate the behavioural ecology, home range, daily and seasonal migratory behaviour and movement responses of fishes to changes in environmental variable states. Two recent case studies in the highly utilised Vaal River and Crocodile River have successfully demonstrated the value of using fish movement in resource management in southern Africa. These behavioural studies included the use of manual and remote fish tracking techniques developed for the FISHTRAC programme and a range of flow, water quality and habitat state evaluation methods. Various established univariate and multivariate statistical techniques and probability modelling techniques were used to evaluate the response of the fish behavioural data (up to 180 000 data strings) to the changes in environmental variable states. These case studies resulted in the establishment of a four primary levels of fish movement responses including the disruption of established behaviour, significant reduction in movement, prolonged residency of refuge areas and vacation of home ranges. These responses can be incorporated into water resource. The excessive use of aquatic ecosystem services in developing countries has caused a decline in ecosystem integrity and a loss of key ecosystem processes. Alterations to the habitat, flow and water quality variable states of these countries are amongst the main drivers of the decline in ecosystem integrity. The FISHTRAC programme has been established to promote the development of and use of fish movement variables within the evaluation of the ecological consequences of altered habitat, flow and water quality variable states in the southern Africa. Numerous studies have been undertaken through the FISHTRAC programme to evaluate the behavioural ecology, home range, daily and seasonal migratory behaviour and movement responses of fishes to changes in environmental variable states. Two recent case studies in the highly utilised Vaal River and Crocodile River have successfully demonstrated the value of using fish movement in resource management in southern Africa. These behavioural studies included the use of manual and remote fish tracking techniques developed for the FISHTRAC programme and a range of flow, water quality and habitat state evaluation methods. Various established univariate and multivariate statistical techniques and probability modelling techniques were used to evaluate the response of the fish behavioural data (up to 180 000 data strings) to the changes in environmental variable states. These case studies resulted in the establishment of a four primary levels of fish movement responses including the disruption of established behaviour, significant reduction in movement, prolonged residency of refuge areas and vacation of home ranges. These responses can be incorporated into water resource management in South Africa, and used to monitor the wellbeing of the variable states in real time, remotely using the FISHTRAC approach.
Session D3: Establishment of the FISHTRAC Programme to Use Fish Movement in Water Resource Management in Southern Africa
Groningen, The Netherlands
Abstract:
The excessive use of aquatic ecosystem services in developing countries has caused a decline in ecosystem integrity and a loss of key ecosystem processes. Alterations to the habitat, flow and water quality variable states of these countries are amongst the main drivers of the decline in ecosystem integrity. The FISHTRAC programme has been established to promote the development of and use of fish movement variables within the evaluation of the ecological consequences of altered habitat, flow and water quality variable states in the southern Africa. Numerous studies have been undertaken through the FISHTRAC programme to evaluate the behavioural ecology, home range, daily and seasonal migratory behaviour and movement responses of fishes to changes in environmental variable states. Two recent case studies in the highly utilised Vaal River and Crocodile River have successfully demonstrated the value of using fish movement in resource management in southern Africa. These behavioural studies included the use of manual and remote fish tracking techniques developed for the FISHTRAC programme and a range of flow, water quality and habitat state evaluation methods. Various established univariate and multivariate statistical techniques and probability modelling techniques were used to evaluate the response of the fish behavioural data (up to 180 000 data strings) to the changes in environmental variable states. These case studies resulted in the establishment of a four primary levels of fish movement responses including the disruption of established behaviour, significant reduction in movement, prolonged residency of refuge areas and vacation of home ranges. These responses can be incorporated into water resource. The excessive use of aquatic ecosystem services in developing countries has caused a decline in ecosystem integrity and a loss of key ecosystem processes. Alterations to the habitat, flow and water quality variable states of these countries are amongst the main drivers of the decline in ecosystem integrity. The FISHTRAC programme has been established to promote the development of and use of fish movement variables within the evaluation of the ecological consequences of altered habitat, flow and water quality variable states in the southern Africa. Numerous studies have been undertaken through the FISHTRAC programme to evaluate the behavioural ecology, home range, daily and seasonal migratory behaviour and movement responses of fishes to changes in environmental variable states. Two recent case studies in the highly utilised Vaal River and Crocodile River have successfully demonstrated the value of using fish movement in resource management in southern Africa. These behavioural studies included the use of manual and remote fish tracking techniques developed for the FISHTRAC programme and a range of flow, water quality and habitat state evaluation methods. Various established univariate and multivariate statistical techniques and probability modelling techniques were used to evaluate the response of the fish behavioural data (up to 180 000 data strings) to the changes in environmental variable states. These case studies resulted in the establishment of a four primary levels of fish movement responses including the disruption of established behaviour, significant reduction in movement, prolonged residency of refuge areas and vacation of home ranges. These responses can be incorporated into water resource management in South Africa, and used to monitor the wellbeing of the variable states in real time, remotely using the FISHTRAC approach.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/fishpassage_conference/2015/June22/68
Comments
Presenting Author Bio: Gordon is an established aquatic ecologist with specialisation in ecological risk assessments, freshwater and estuarine ichthyology, environmental water requirements and water resource management. His extensive scientific profile includes the development of and application of regional scale ecological risk assessments techniques throughout Africa. This includes the development of the PROBFLO ecological water requirement approach and application of the approach for the second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Transfer Study. Gordon is also a co-developer of a programme established to promote the use of fish movement in water resource management in southern Africa. Gordon has extensive experience as a water resource manager and contributed to the establishment of various protection measures in numerous catchments in southern and central Africa. Gordon is also an ichthyologist and for more than a decade has been researching aspects of fish biology and ecology and the use of fish as ecological indicators throughout Africa to manage fisheries and the ecosystem in which they occur. Gordon manages the Aquatic Ecosystem Research programme at the School of Life Sciences of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He collaborates with numerous international scientists on various international projects and programmes including an international Regional Scale Risk Assessment collaboration and a fish behavioural ecology collaboration.