Quantifying Fishway Passage Success of Alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, and its relationship to Marine Nutrient Transfer from the Ocean to Freshwater Ecosystems

Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) is a key species in the ecology of the upper Bay of Fundy, Canada, that provides food to numerous predators and scavengers. Each year, Alewife migrate into freshwater systems to spawn in lakes. Dams and fishways often impede the migration of Alewife, which can have detrimental effects on Alewife populations, as well as nutrient exchange between marine and freshwater ecosystems. I will be using electronic tagging and tracking technology to assess fish passage through three fishways in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, to determine if the Alewife populations that use these river systems to spawn are negatively affected by dam and fishway presence, and which fishway design is the most effective. I will also be analyzing sediment cores taken from Alewife spawning grounds, to measure historical productivity changes, and to determine if dam and fishway installations negatively affected nutrient exchange, and spawning habitat suitability.

Faculty Supervisor:

Michael Stokesbury

Student:

George Nau

Partner:

Ducks Unlimited Canada

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Program: