Modifications to Brandon Road Lock and Dam (BRLD), located on the Des Plaines River in northeastern Illinois, have been proposed to prevent the upstream transfer of aquatic invasive species, particularly Asian carps, into the Great Lakes Basin. These modifications, including the installation of an electric barrier, acoustic fish deterrent, and air bubble curtain, are designed to completely eliminate all upstream fish passage and may negatively impact native fish populations in the Des Plaines River by reducing upstream movement and potentially fragmenting populations. BRLD is situated just 21 km upstream of the Des Plaines River mouth, and fish are only able to pass upstream via the lock chamber. Fish species richness within the Des Plaines River watershed has increased over the last 35 years. It has been suggested that the majority of new species to the upper Des Plaines River have migrated upstream past Brandon Road Lock and Dam (BRLD), from the Illinois, Kankakee, and lower Des Plaines rivers. However, documentation of emigration needed to support that contention is lacking and there is limited knowledge of the current rate of BRLD passage by native species. To assess native fish passage through the lock, a microchemical study was conducted using fin rays from fish collected from the Des Plaines, Illinois, and Kankakee Rivers. The edge of each fin ray, which contained the most recently deposited material, was assumed to contain a microchemical signature reflective of residency in the river where the fish was sampled. Fin ray edge strontium:calcium ratio (Sr:Ca) was used to define taxonomic and river-specific signature ranges for four taxonomic groups: centrarchids, catostomids, ictalurids, and lepisosteids. Fin ray edge Sr:Ca data were input into a random forest classification model, and the classification accuracy of fish to their river of capture based on their fin ray edge Sr:Ca was > 97% in each taxonomic group. The classification model was then applied to the entire fin ray of each fish sampled upstream of Brandon Road to infer retrospective environmental history. Upstream BRLD lock passage was suggested by the presence of Sr:Ca signatures indicative of prior downstream residency in the Illinois or Kankakee rivers in a fish sampled upstream of BRLD. Results indicated some evidence of downstream residency that suggested upstream BRLD lock passage for centrarchids, catostomids, ictalurids, and lepisosteids, ranging from 15 – 37% of individuals sampled depending on taxa. An additional 19 – 80% of individuals within each taxonomic group were classified as fish with uncertain downstream residency, whereby the possibility of BLRD lock passage could not be rejected, but there was higher uncertainty in establishing downstream residency in the Illinois or Kankakee rivers. The impact of BRLD modifications and passage restriction on Des Plaines River fish populations is unknown and merits further investigation.

Aquatic invasive species are a widespread issue throughout the central United States. Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) are an aquatic invasive species and are an issue due to their unknown ecological and biological impacts that they may cause to the environment that they invade. Determining movements of an aquatic invasive species such as dam passage or inter-river movement may aid in agency efforts to reduce the spread of an invasive or implement strategies to mitigate its potential expanding range. In this study, I used otolith microchemistry paired with water samples to infer movement and dam passage of Black Carp between eight study regions within the Mississippi River basin. A total of 127 Black Carp otoliths were used and 112 (88%) were classified as immigrants, 14 were classified as potential residents, and one otolith was vateritic so no inferences about movement could be made for that fish. Of the 112 fish classified as potential immigrants, 102 (91%) showed signs of upstream dam passage, and the average instance a Black Carp was inferred to move between rivers was 7 times during their lifetime (SD ± 6.23). These results show that Black Carp may exhibit frequent occurrences of inter-river movement throughout their lives and have high instances of dam passage associated with their movement. This paper presents the first confirming evidence of lock and dam passage by Black Carp, although the apparently expanding range of the species in recent years based on reported captures suggested that lock and dam passage had likely occurred. Evidence of frequent upstream movement and lock and dam passage suggests that future studies should evaluate the efficacy of potential deterrents at locks and dams for preventing or reducing upstream passage by Black Carp.

The extensive reduction in adult Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) counts at many hydroelectric dams in the northwestern USA signals a substantial decline in lamprey numbers across the entire region in the past 40 to 50 years. Among the many potential causes of this decline, obstruction of migration routes has likely played a substantial role. Within the North Umpqua River basin in southwest Oregon, USA, I focused on the following three research goals: 1) to describe the passage efficiency and migration routes of adult Pacific lamprey at Winchester Dam; 2) to evaluate the seasonal movement patterns of adult Pacific lamprey and their use of holding habitat at Winchester Dam in relation to temperature conditions; and 3) to portray the diversity of upstream migratory behaviors of adult Pacific lamprey and the environmental factors that influence these behaviors. This radio telemetry study was conducted between March 2009 and August 2011 with a combination of fixed stations and manual tracking. Passage efficiency was low in both years (8% and 19%, respectively), and all tagged lamprey that successfully passed the dam used routes other than the fish ladder. Lamprey that migrated early within the run and those with relatively small tags had higher passage rates and traveled further than the other groups of lamprey. Lamprey released above of the dam or those that passed the dam on their own distributed themselves widely in the upstream environment, suggesting that the dam deterred their upstream migration. Using mark-recapture data for the two years, the adult Pacific lamprey population upstream of Winchester Dam was estimated at 960 (95% C.I. [188, 4760]) in 2009 and 556 (95% C.I. [110, 2798]) in 2010, which was considerably lower than historical counts at the dam (between 14,532-46,785 in 1965-1971). Most tagged lamprey that did not pass the dam remained at the base of the dam at the end of the summer migration (63% in 2009 and 67% in 2010). Types of habitat most frequently used by lamprey downstream from the dam included the dam surface (wooden structures with crevices), interface zones between fast and slow water, and highway bridge pilings. The lamprey movement changed considerably between August and September, and the frequency of movements decreased sharply during this period. Tagged lamprey were detected using thermal refuges immediately downstream of the dam that were 0.4 to 2.8 C° colder than the mean river temperature at the dam, and this temperature differential increased as the season progressed. Lamprey may be seeking overwintering habitat associated with hyporheic exchange flows at the dam towards the end of the summer season after their display of heightened activity early in the summer. Ninety-five percent of the overall upstream migration took place during the first spring/summer period, and only small-scale upstream movements were observed during the winter and second spring/summer (4% and 1%, respectively). The rate of upstream migration (median) was the fastest during the initial migration phase and was 1.9 km/day (ranging from 0.3 to 11.0 km/day) for tagged lamprey released above Winchester Dam. During winter, 71% of the lamprey remained in the same location where they initiated holding. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the total upstream distance traveled by individual lamprey was most strongly related to presence/absence of Winchester Dam, relative tag size, and water temperature and photoperiod conditions at release. The presence of Winchester Dam, large relative tag size, and high water temperature / short photoperiod conditions at release significantly reduced upstream migration distance. / Graduation date: 2012