Establishing and using study criteria to ensure the rigor and robustness of survival compliance testing at hydroelectric dams

John R. Skalski (), Mark A. Weiland, Gene R. Ploskey, Christa M. Woodley, M. Brad Eppard, Gary E. Johnson, Thomas J. Carlson and Richard L. Townsend
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John R. Skalski: University of Washington
Mark A. Weiland: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Gene R. Ploskey: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Christa M. Woodley: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
M. Brad Eppard: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District
Gary E. Johnson: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Thomas J. Carlson: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richard L. Townsend: University of Washington

Environment Systems and Decisions, 2016, vol. 36, issue 4, 404-420

Abstract: Abstract An elaborate set of criteria have been developed by fish managers and regulators to assure the accuracy, precision, representativeness, and robustness of survival compliance studies coordinated within the Federal Columbia River Power System in the northwestern USA. Dam passage survival, defined as survival from the dam face to the tailrace mixing zone, must be ≥96 % for spring out migrating juvenile salmonids [i.e., yearling Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss)] and ≥93 % for summer outmigrants (i.e., subyearling Chinook salmon). Survival must be estimated with a standard error ≤1.5 %. However, these quantitative benchmarks are only part of a multifaceted set of criteria, including representative dam operations, river discharge levels, and fish selection, along with tests of model validity that must be satisfied. These criteria are illustrated using acoustic-tag survival compliance studies conducted at The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River, 2010–2012. The results suggest evaluation criteria for survival compliance tests must balance the needs for rigor and robustness with the ability to reasonably perform the tests in naturally varying riverine systems.

Keywords: Acoustic tags; Compliance studies; Columbia River; Dams; Juvenile salmonids; Snake River; Survival studies; Tagging studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10669-016-9615-4

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