Ecological Connectivity of Rivers, Fishpasses and Bypass Channels

Dear Colleagues,

In rivers and streams, quite often hydraulic structures such as dams, weirs, river sills and drop structures, as well as road crossings act as barriers to fish movement. In this way, the ecological connectivity of rivers is broken. One could say that the loss of natural river network connectivity is presumed to be one of the more generalized and important human-induced alterations in natural environments, and is frequently perceived as one of the main causes of the decline of freshwater fish species. For instance, fish can be blocked or delayed in their spawning migration, and are subjected to injury or death when passing turbines or spillways in their downstream migration, resulting in cumulative negative impacts at the individual and population levels.

To address this, many technical solutions were introduced helping fish to migrate. The best known solutions to allow fish movement are fish passes and bypass channels. Therefore, this Special Issue focuses on both upstream and downstream fish migration research from different regions of the world and different hydraulic structures’ layouts. Firstly, because further studies based on experimental and model designs that are more specifically directed at this specific issue are needed in order to fully understand the effects of barriers on species and communities. Secondly, because we need new innovative solutions helping fish to migrate. In addition, we would like to refer to solutions close to nature with low environmental impact.

We invite contributions from the latest laboratory, field, and/or numerical research studies on the available or innovative new solutions of the structures which help fish to migrate, as well as tools to evaluate the effectiveness of the solutions. Original research papers and critical reviews will be considered. All scales of application are accepted.

Dr. Tomasz Kałuża
Prof. Dr. Artur Radecki-Pawlik
Dr. Tomasz Tymiński
Guest Editors

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• ecological connectivity
• fish passes
• bypass channels
• fish migration research