Biological effectiveness of an inexpensive nature‐like fishway for passage of warmwater fish in a small <scp>O</scp>ntario stream

Abstract

Abstract Few studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of nature‐like fishways, particularly in low gradient warmwater streams with diverse fish communities. We evaluated a nature‐like fishway that was installed to facilitate upstream passage at a low head dam on I ndian C reek near S pencerville, O ntario, C anada. A passive integrated transponder ( PIT ) array was used to quantify attraction and passage efficiency for 391 PIT tagged warmwater fish, represented by seven species. Attraction efficiency for the three most common species, common shiner ( Luxilus cornutus ), creek chub ( Semotilus atromaculatus ) and white sucker ( Catostomus commersonii ), was 63.3%, 83.7% and 65.6%, respectively, and passage efficiencies were 5.1%, 38.4% and 25%, respectively. Creek chub were able to locate the fishway in less time than white sucker and common shiner; however, took longer to successfully pass. Manipulation of creek chub release locations was used to separate issues of attraction and passage and revealed that passage efficiency was highest (76.2%) for those released within the fishway and intermediate for those released at the entrance (42.1%). This multispecies fishway improved stream connectivity, but additional work is needed to fine tune its configuration. Similar projects that engage stakeholders in nature‐like fishway construction are a promising approach for the thousands of small dams that occur on low gradient streams around the globe, but those studies should incorporate a biological evaluation to ensure that attraction and passage efficiency are optimised.