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Migration patterns and habitat use of adult barbel (Barbus barbus) and nase (Chondrostoma nasus) were monitored by radio telemetry over a period of 13 months along a 58-km-long section of the Austrian part of the Danube River. The study site is confined upstream and downstream by two hydropower plants, and contains a larger tributary, the Pielach River. Telemetry transmitters were implanted into fish caught in this tributary after spawning in June (25 individuals per species). The results show that both species use the entire available width and depth spectrum of the Danube along the full migratable river length. Nase had an average home range of 22.4 km, while that of barbel was 34.4 km. The habitat use of the two species differs significantly. While the nase was primarily encountered in the free-flowing section, barbel mainly used deep areas of the impoundment during the year. Nase showed a distinct site fidelity to certain areas in the free-flowing reach which were periodically revisited. During the spawning season, distinct homing behavior was observed in both species. All seven nase that could still be detected during the spawning season returned to the tributary (homing rate 100%). Six homing nase migrated up to the first migration barrier in the tributary but did not pass the existing fish passage facility. In contrast, only nine barbel returned to spawn in the tributary (homing rate 50%), while nine barbel were most likely using a spawning location in the head of impoundment section. Homing fish entered the tributary during darkness.

Proliferative kidney disease (PKD) is an emerging parasitic disease that affects wild and farmed salmonid fishes worldwide. Currently, it is widespread in Europe with records in many countries. This study assessed the status of PKD in the river Wulka, a small Austrian river, which was known to host a vital brown trout population despite having high water temperatures. Contrary to the initial hypothesis that the river was free from PKD, we observed an overall PKD prevalence of 92%. Noninfected fish were restricted to the uppermost river section. Twenty‐two out of 87 PKD‐positive fish of all age classes showed clinical signs, while five individuals exhibited signs of recovering from PKD infection. The severity of clinical signs was significantly dependent on the fish length and age, with smaller or younger individuals being more severely affected. Comparison of data from the earlier fish sampling events with those results from 2017 and 2018, together with the analyses of the pattern of water temperature since 2010, indicates that Wulka's brown trout population might become extinct in the near future.

In this study the effects of abiotic factors (discharge, water temperature, turbidity, light and weather conditions) on the behaviour of lake running brown trout (Salmo trutta) during spawning up- and downstream migration in the Hasliaare, Switzerland, were investigated. Trouts were counted during spawning migration in a residual flow section of the Hasliaare. The fish counting system consisted of a counting chamber (resistivity fish counter including several monitoring cameras) and a fish weir. 269 lake running brown trout movements were recorded between 15.09.2019 and 30.12.2019. Point pattern comparison was used to distinguish 104 trouts individually with 66.3 % females and 33.7 % males. Water temperatures below 4.9 °C interrupted or inhibited upstream spawning migration in the residual flow section of the Hasliaare. During downstream migration, activity increased at low barometric pressure and increased flows supported downstream migration of males and large females (≥60 cm). Furthermore, the entire migration preferably occurred in darkness.

Proliferative kidney disease (PKD) is a disease found in salmonid fish that is widespread in Europe and North America. The dependency of the clinical signs on the water temperature is extensively reported in rainbow trout, but detailed information on brown trout is lacking. In this study, juvenile brown trout were exposed to the spores of Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae and then kept at different ambient water temperatures (16°C, 19°C and 22°C) for 10 weeks along with recording of morbidity throughout the experiment. At 6, 8 and 10 weeks post‐exposure, fish from each temperature group were sampled and underwent pathoanatomical examination to survey disease progression. At 16°C, brown trout showed a significantly higher survival probability compared to those kept in 19°C and 22°C water. Additionally, the parasitic burden (MSQ) was higher and the clinical signs were more pronounced in the brown trout kept at 19°C and 22°C compared with the ones kept at 16°C. This study highlights the correlation of PKD outbreaks and water temperature increases related to global climate change, which will impact the future distribution of brown trout in natural waters.

Aquaculture is the fastest-growing animal food production sector and is expected to become increasingly important to meet future food demands. As a landlocked country, Austria’s self-sufficiency rate for fish is rather low with 6% in total and 48% for freshwater fish. Therefore, and in order to enable sustainable growth of the sector while avoiding negative impacts on the aquatic ecosystem and other uses, we developed aquaZone, a decision support tool for sustainable trout farm zoning. Thereby, 30 spatially explicit criteria related to environmental prerequisites, land use, legal constraints and water quality/quantity were defined, collected and classified according to their suitability for sustainable trout production. Criteria were combined in an integrative GIS-based modelling approach in order to perform the first countrywide and spatially-explicit zonation of suitable areas for aquaculture in Austria. Thereby, 7920 suitable areas with a mean size of 8.2 ha located in 1129 out of 5011 sub-basins (23%) were identified. The decision tree assigned the highest variable importance to water temperature, slope, agricultural unit, geology, nitrate retention capacity, fish region, minimum flow and pollution risk. These results should support decision making of investors and authorities in order to avoid conflicts and stranded investments at an early stage.

Rivers of the large Alpine valleys constitute iconic ecosystems that are highly threatened by multiple anthropogenic stressors. This stressor mix, however, makes it difficult to develop and refine conservation and restoration strategies. It is, therefore, urgent to acquire more detailed knowledge on the consequences and interactions of prevalent stressors on fish populations, in particular, on indicator species such as the European grayling Thymallus thymallus. Here, we conducted a multi-river, multi-stressor investigation to analyze the population status of grayling. Using explorative decision-tree approaches, we disentangled the main and interaction effects of four prevalent stressor groups: flow modification (i.e., hydropeaking), channelization, fragmentation, and water quality alteration. Moreover, using a modified variant of the bootstrapping method, pooled bootstrapping, we determined the optimal number of characteristics that adequately describe fish population status. In our dataset, hydropeaking had the strongest single effect on grayling populations. Grayling biomass at hydrological control sites was around eight times higher than at sites affected by hydropeaking. The primary parameters for predicting population status were downramping rate and peak amplitude, with critical ranges of 0.2–0.4 cm min-1 and 10–25 cm. In hydropeaking rivers, river morphology and connectivity were the preceding subordinated parameters. Repeating the procedure with pooled bootstrapping datasets strengthened the hypothesis that the identified parameters are most relevant in predicting grayling population status. Hence, hydropeaking mitigation based on ecological thresholds is key to protect and restore already threatened grayling populations. In hydropeaking rivers, high river network connectivity and heterogenous habitat features can dampen the adverse effects of pulsed-flow releases by offering shelter and habitats for all life cycle stages of fish. The presented approach of explorative tree analysis followed by post-hoc tests of identified effects, as well as the pooled bootstrapping method, offers a simple framework for researchers and managers to analyze multi-factorial datasets and draw solid management conclusions info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Water temperature is one of the most important abiotic parameters in rivers having direct and indirect effects on fish. Especially cold-water species like the brown trout (Salmo trutta) are limited by high temperatures. Beside direct physiological stress, higher water temperatures also reinforce the emergence of diseases. In this study we investigate thermal regimes of rivers based on a large-scale dataset covering Austria (approximately 70,000 km²). The analyses aim to clarify to what extent water temperatures support the emergence of proliferative kidney disease (PKD) and assemble physiological stress for brown trout under current and future climate conditions. Data from 274 gauging stations at 184 rivers were used to calibrate a water temperature model and to investigate critical water temperature thresholds. Therefore, we developed a risk assessment scheme to identify river reaches that already have or will develop critical thermal regimes for brown trout in respect of PKD emergence and thermal physiological stress. The results revealed severe changes in the thermal regimes of the investigated rivers under climate change. Furthermore, the variable characterising riparian vegetation played a vital role to explain cooling of the water in downstream direction. In respect of PKD, the amount of river reaches having unlikely outbreaks of PKD decreased from 72.6 % under current conditions to 37.7 % in the far future RCP8.5 scenario. Within small rivers that currently showed optimal thermal regimes over large extents (10,244 km), the habitat suitability will be reduced by combined effects of PKD and physiological stress to 6,554 km. In general, suitable habitats of S. trutta will shift upstream, thus to higher altitudes, and to smaller, alpine rivers in Austria. The warming leads to physiological stress that induces a diminished growth due to the non-positive transition of caloric values to growth as well as cardiac dysfunction in brown trout. These factors will further restrict the distribution of brown trout. However, the results also underline the enormous importance of the alpine region as a future refuge for brown trout in Central Europe. Thus, this study will help to inform managers to timely develop robust conservation strategies.

Trout and char (hereafter, trout) represent some of the more cul-turally, economically and ecologically important taxa of freshwater fishes worldwide (Kershner, Williams, Gresswell, & Lobón-Cerviá, 2019a). Native to all continents in the Northern Hemisphere (as well as western Mediterranean Africa), trout belong to seven genera (Oncorhynchus, Salvelinus, Salmo, Hucho, Parahucho, Brachymystax and Salvethymus), which are distributed across more than 60 countries (Muhlfeld et al., 2019). Despite their broad im-portance as indicators of biodiversity in cold-water ecosystems (Haak & Williams, 2013), as well as cultural icons for food and rec-reation, nearly half of the world's recognised trout species (IUCN, 2018) are imperilled or at risk of global extinction (Muhlfeld et al., 2018, 2019). The root causes of their vulnerability include broad-scale alteration of landscapes and watersheds, dams, overhar-vest, pollution, interactions with hatchery-bred conspecifics and non-native species. However, emerging threats such as climate change and related problems such as the spread of diseases and parasites pose significant challenges and uncertainties to native trout and their habitats (Kovach et al., 2016; Muhlfeld et al., 2018). Ultimately, conservation of native trout depends on understand-ing their diversity, a willingness to address threats at their root causes and implementing progressive conservation solutions that promote persistence of these iconic species in the face of growing human pressures.

Zusammenfassung Der Unterlauf der Traisen wurde von 2012 bis 2016 im Rahmen eines LIFE+ Projektes auf rund 10 km Länge gänzlich neu gestaltet. Dabei wurde der alte kanalisierte Arm mit mehreren Sohlschwellen als Altwasser bzw. Überwasserkanal erhalten und ein völlig neuer, naturnaher Lauf durch den Auwald angelegt. Das begleitende Monitoring der Fischfauna wird jährlich mittels verschiedener Methoden durchgeführt und zeigt bereits im kurzen Zeitraum seit der Fertigstellung eine schnelle Besiedelung durch eine Vielzahl von Arten und sehr hohe Dichten. Während der alte Lauf keine Laich- und kaum Juvenilhabitate aufwies, sind im neuen Lauf sehr hohe Jungfischzahlen verschiedenster Arten zu beobachten. Vor allem die vollständige Öffnung des Kontinuums zur Donau am Ende der Bauarbeiten führte unmittelbar zu einem Anstieg und dem Nachweis der Reproduktion donautypischer Fischarten.

The FishProtector, an Electric Flexible Fish Fence is investigated in ethohydraulic experiments. Fish protection potential is tested using an outdoor, experimental channel. To find optimum parameter settings, cable clearance, approach flow angle, and the size of the electric field vary within predefined limits. Due to the combination of both, the physical barrier (tensioned steel cables) and the behavioral barrier (pulsed electric field in the low voltage range), fish protection no longer depends solely on cable clearance. Generally, all investigated setups with combined physical and behavioral barriers show mean fish protection rates of higher than 97%. Cable clearances of 60 mm (largest cable clearances investigated within this study) show the same fish protection rates as cable clearances of 30 mm, each in combination with an electric field. The setup was a non-scaled section-model of a runoff river power plant. The behavioral experiments were performed with wild and PIT-tagged brown trout (Salmo trutta), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), grayling (Thymallus thymallus), and chub (Squalius cephalus). Measured body lengths were between 100 and 285 mm. The FishProtector with wide cable clearances and moderate electric fields in both size and voltage significantly improves the fish protection rate, showing significant potential for operating hydropower plants.

Review Peak-operating hydropower plants are usually the energy grid’s backbone by providing flexible energy production. At the same time, hydropeaking operations are considered one of the most adverse impacts on rivers, whereby aquatic organisms and their life-history stages can be affected in many ways. Therefore, we propose specific seasonal regulations to protect ecologically sensitive life cycle stages. By reviewing hydropeaking literature, we establish a framework for hydrological mitigation based on life-history stages of salmonid fish and their relationship with key parameters of the hydrograph. During migration and spawning, flows should be kept relatively stable, and a flow cap should be implemented to prevent the dewatering of spawning grounds during intragravel life stages. While eggs may be comparably tolerant to dewatering, post-hatch stages are very vulnerable, which calls for minimizing or eliminating the duration of drawdown situations and providing adequate minimum flows. Especially emerging fry are extremely sensitive to flow fluctuations. As fish then grow in size, they become less vulnerable. Therefore, an ‘emergence window’, where stringent thresholds on ramping rates are enforced, is proposed. Furthermore, time of day, morphology, and temperature changes must be considered as they may interact with hydropeaking. We conclude that the presented mitigation framework can aid the environmental enhancement of hydropeaking rivers while maintaining flexible energy production info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Using an outdoor experimental channel, this study evaluates downstream passage behavior of potamodromous fish species at an innovative fish protection and guidance system, the Flexible Fish Fence (FFF). Under variation of the spacing between the cables, the exposition angle and the approach velocity, the fish protection and the guidance efficiency are investigated. Experiments were carried out using wild born and PIT-tagged chubs (Squalius chephalus), graylings (Thymallus thymallus), brown trouts (Salmo trutta) and rainbow trouts (Oncorhynchus mykiss) with body lengths between 100 and 200 mm. The results show that fish protection efficiency is predominately dependent on the cable spacing and varies strongly between fish species. While all fish (100%) are prevented from passing through the FFF at 10 mm spacing, it is far less effective at 20 mm spacing (83% of chubs, 59% of trouts and 26% of graylings). The effects of the exposition angle, the approach velocity, and the fish length are identified using multinomial logistic regression models: fish protection efficiency increases significantly with increasing fish length and increasing approach velocity (particularly for the highest angle) for chubs and trouts. Increasing flow velocity induces cable vibrations presumably triggering avoidance behavior. Unfavourable hydraulic conditions at the bypass entrance (approach velocity of 0.65 m s-1, velocity changes or turbulences) negatively affect the bypass efficiency for all fish species, pointing out that the design of bypasses for downstream migration is of major relevance.

The dynamic component in hydrology, sedimentology, and, consequently, river morphology serves as a backbone for the entire river environment (Maddock 1999). In addition to water pollution, the hydro-morphological/sedimentological degradation is one of the main pressures on river systems (Ward and Stanford 1995; Dudgeon et al. 2006). The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD, Directive 2000/60/EC) mentions various aspects of hydro-morphological disturbances that must be addressed by management plans to achieve the aims of a good ecological status or a good ecological potential (Article 3/Article 4). However, to reach these goals, the sediment conditions of a river (e.g., sediment continuum) are not part of the evaluation needs. Here, to achieve “good ecological status,” it is assumed that the biotic criteria reflect the hydro-morphological status, while direct assessments of dynamic sedimentological processes are not taken into account (Hauer 2015).

Fishing is an ancient practice in the acquisition of natural resources dating back to the Middle Stone Age. The principal reasons why humans visit waters to catch fish underwent a substantial transition in many countries throughout the preceding decades. While fishing to gain food still is an important factor in tropical areas of the world, especially in Africa and Asia, it is mostly for sport in inland waters of economically higher developed countries, as in major parts of Europe and North America (Welcomme 2016). There, the majority of fishermen nowadays fish solely to obtain recreation or to experience the aesthetics of nature.

Numerical fish-habitat modelling on various scales is considered to be state of the art in river management. However, most of the concepts applied use steady-state hydraulic parameters such as flow velocity and water depth. Herein we present analysis and discussion of the possibility of including a drift-feeding parameter (SIF) into habitat evaluations based on multiplying suitability indices. “Sources” and “sinks” of benthic drift were identified according to both the zero-crossing and hydraulic-threshold methods in an alpine gravel-bed river. Minor differences could be determined between the two methods in a well-developed riffle–pool section. Macroinvertebrates, used for simulating benthic drift, were collected by multi-habitat sampling and appraised according to their critical threshold (τcr) for motion on the bed surface and sinking velocity (vs). The findings of the calculation of drift rates using one- (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic numerical models highlight a specification of best feeding position for drift-feeding fish (i.e. brown trout, grayling) considering the SIF parameter. Riffle–pool sequences are characteristic of pristine alpine streams; our findings underline their importance as production (riffles) and consumption areas (pools) in terms of holistic river function. Moreover, the results indicate that (artificial) lateral obstruction (e.g. dams) may lead to a reduced transport rate of benthic organisms due to low bottom shear stress (

An ecologically orientated flood protection project was implemented at the Austrian lowland Sulm River. Habitat modelling was conducted during a 3-year monitoring program to assess the effects of river bed embankment and the initiation of a new meander by constructing an initial side channel, and allowing self-developing side erosion. Hydrodynamic and physical habitat models were combined with statistical methods. This study focused on the necessity for including stability analysis when modelling spawning grounds. The critical erosion parameter of the cobbles at spawning grounds was analysed using numerical modelling combined with substrate maps of potential spawning grounds of nase (Chondrostoma nasus). Due to the specific characteristics of this reach of the Sulm River, instability of the riffles can hamper successful reproduction in nase. Spawning grounds of Chondrostoma nasus and their stability must be guaranteed at least for the duration of incubation. This morphodynamic necessity should be incorporated in future restoration projects and when artificially restoring spawning habitats.

In the last few decades, numerous populations of European grayling, Thymallus thymallus, have been suffering from stocking-induced genetic admixture of foreign strains into wild populations. Concordantly, genetic introgression was also reportedfor grayling stocks inhabiting the Upper Drava River, but all published genetic data based on specimens caught at least a decade ago, when stocking load was strong. Here, we applied mitochondrial control region sequencing and nuclear microsatellite genotyping to Upper Drava grayling fry collections and reference samples to update patterns and extent of human-mediated introgression. In contrast to previous data, we highlighted an almost genetic integrity of Drava grayling, evidencing limited genetic signatures of trans-basin stocking for grayling of Northern Alpine Danubian origin. Recent hybridisation was detected only twice among sixty-nine samples, while several cases of later-generation hybrids were disclosed by linking mitochondrial sequence to nuclear genetic data. The observed past, but very limited recent genetic introgression in grayling from Upper Drava seems to reflect shifting stocking trends, changing from massive introduction of trans-basin fish to more conservation-oriented strategies during the last 27 years. In a conservation context, we encourage pursuing the use of local wild grayling for supportive- and captive-breeding, but underline the need for genetic approaches in brood-stock selection programs. Finally, our integrated results from sibship reconstruction validate our strictly fry-based sampling scheme, thus offering a reasonable alternative also for other rheophilic fish species with similar life-history characteristics.

A camera inside an underwater housing was used to record a pair of Danube huchen, Hucho hucho (L.) spawning at the Ybbs River, Austria. A description of spawning behaviour is made including observations of two other Danube huchen pairs recorded at the Rivers Mur and Pielach. Results were compared with the spawning behaviour of Siberian taimen, Hucho taimen (Pall.), Manchurian trout, Brachymystax lenok (Pall.) and Sakhalin taimen, Parahucho perryi (Brevoort). Danube huchen females, likewise the Siberian taimen and Manchurian trout females, rest for a variable number of minutes after the spawning act, before covering the eggs with gentle tail beating. This behaviour joins Danube huchen with Siberian taimen intragenerically and Hucho with Brachymystax intergenerically, distinguishing it from Parahucho and strengthening our current conception of the Salmoninae subfamily.

At the Sulm River, an Austrian lowland river, an ecologically orientated flood protection project was carried out from 1998–2000. Habitat modeling over a subsequent 3-year monitoring program (2001–2003) helped assess the effects of river bed embankment and of initiating a new meander by constructing a side channel and allowing self-developing side erosion. Hydrodynamic and physical habitat models were combined with fish-ecological methods. The results show a strong influence of riverbed dynamics on the habitat quality and quantity for the juvenile age classes (0+, 1+, 2+) of nase (Chondrostoma nasus), a key fish species of the Sulm River. The morphological conditions modified by floods changed significantly and decreased the amount of weighted usable areas. The primary factor was river bed aggradation, especially along the inner bend of the meander. This was a consequence of the reduced sediment transport capacity due to channel widening in the modeling area. The higher flow velocities and shallower depths, combined with the steeper bank angle, reduced the Weighted Useable Areas (WUAs) of habitats for juvenile nase. The modeling results were evaluated by combining results of mesohabitat-fishing surveys and habitat quality assessments. Both, the modeling and the fishing results demonstrated a reduced suitability of the habitats after the morphological modifications, but the situation was still improved compared to the pre-restoration conditions at the Sulm River.