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At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
USGS2013

Effects of dietary exposure to brominated flame retardant BDE-47 on thyroid condition, gonadal development and growth of zebrafish

Little is known about the effects of brominated flame retardants in teleosts and some of the information currently available is inconsistent. This study examined effects of dietary exposure to 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) on thyroid condition, body mass and size, and gonadal development of zebrafish. Pubertal, 49-day-old (posthatch) fish were fed diets without BDE-47 (control) or with 1, 5 or 25 μg/g BDE-47/diet. Treatments were conducted in triplicate 30-L tanks each containing 50 zebrafish, and 15 fish per treatment (5 per tank) were sampled at days 40, 80 and 120 of exposure. Measurements were taken of body mass, standard length, head depth and head length. Sex (at 40–120 days of exposure), germ cell stage (at 40 days) and thyroid condition (at 120 days; follicular cell height, colloid depletion, angiogenesis) were histologically determined. Whole-body BDE-47 levels at study completion were within the high end of levels reported in environmentally exposed (wild) fishes. Analysis of variance was used to determine differences among treatments at each sampling time. No effects were observed on thyroid condition or germ cell stage in either sex. Reduced head length was observed in females exposed to BDE-47 at 80 days but not at 40 or 120 days. In males, no apparent effects of BDE-47 were observed at 40 and 80 days, but fish exposed to 25 μg/g had lower body mass at 120 days compared to control fish. These observations suggest that BDE-47 at environmentally relevant whole-body concentrations does not affect thyroid condition or pubertal development of zebrafish but does affect growth during the juvenile-to-adult transition, especially in males.

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry↗
USGS2021

Non-native Asian swamp eel, Monopterus albus/javanensis (Zuiew, 1973/Lacepede, 1800), responses to low temperatures

Asian swamp eel, Monopterus albus/javanensis [Zuiew, 1973/Lacepede 1800], has been established in the southeastern USA since at least 1994, yet little is known about its ability to survive low winter temperatures. We use standard thermal methodologies to quantify low temperature responses and provide a detailed description of swamp eel reactions to cold temperatures. When exposed to chronic temperature decreases of 1.0 °C day −1 , swamp eel ceased foraging at 15.0 °C, markedly diminished movements below 11.0 °C, and became incapacitated near 9.6 °C. During critical thermal minima trials, swamp eel exposed to acute temperature drops (0.25 °C min −1 ) tolerated temperatures as low as 6.2 °C. Swamp eel exhibited a moderate cold acclimation response, gaining 0.23 °C in cold tolerance for every 1 °C drop in acclimation temperature. Progressive time-series critical thermal minimum temperatures (CTmin) estimates for eel acclimated to 20.5 °C followed by an acute temperature decrease to 16.0 °C, revealed that cold acclimation may occur in only 8 days. Fringe populations of swamp eel in their native range periodically experience colder winter temperatures, which may explain the ability of introduced populations to survive winter cold fronts in Florida. Understanding Asian swamp eel acute and chronic thermal limits may be useful in assessing dispersal risk and range expansion in the southeastern USA.

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry↗
USGS1999

Influence of cortisol, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor I and 3,3′,5-triiodo-l-thyronine on hypoosmoregulatory ability in the euryhaline teleost Fundulus heteroclitus

The capacity of cortisol, ovine growth hormone (oGH), recombinant bovine insulin-like growth factor I (rbIGF-I) and 3,3′,5-triiodo-l-thyronine (T 3 ) to increase hypoosmoregulatory capacity in the euryhaline teleost Fundulus heteroclitus was examined. Fish acclimated to brackish water (BW, 10 ppt salinity) were injected with a single dose of hormone suspended in oil and transferred to seawater (SW, 35 ppt salinity) 10 days post-injection. Fish were sampled 24 h after transfer and plasma osmolality and gill Na + , K + -ATPase activity were examined. Transfer from BW to SW induced significantly increased plasma osmolality but not gill Na + , K + -ATPase activity. Cortisol (50 μg g −1 body weight) improved the ability to maintain plasma osmolality and to increase gill Na + , K + -ATPase activity. oGH (5 μg g −1 body weight) also increased hypoosmoregulatory ability and gill Na + , K + -ATPase activity. A cooperation between oGH and cortisol was observed in increasing hypoosmoregulatory ability but not in increasing gill Na + , K + -ATPase activity. rbIGF-I (0.5 μg g −1 body weight) alone was without effect in increasing salinity tolerance or gill Na + , K + -ATPase activity. rbIGF-I and oGH showed a positive interaction in increasing salinity tolerance, but not gill Na + , K + -ATPase activity. Treatment with T 3 (5 μg g −1 body weight) alone did not increase salinity tolerance or gill Na + , K + -ATPase activity, and there was no consistent significant interaction between cortisol and T 3 or between GH and T 3 . The results confirm the classical role of cortisol as a seawater-adapting hormone and indicate an interaction between cortisol and the GH/IGF-I axis during seawater acclimation of Fundulus heteroclitus.

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry↗
USGS1999

The effect of migration distance and timing on metabolic enzyme activity in an anadromous clupeid, the American shad (Alosa sapidissima)

The American shad (Alosa sapidissima) is a common anadromous fish species with ecological and economic importance on the east coast of North America. This iteroparous species undergoes an energetically costly upriver spawning migration in spring. To evaluate metabolic changes associated with this migration, we assessed the maximum activity of five metabolic enzymes (citrate synthase (CS), phosphofructokinase (PFK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), β-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase (HOAD), alanine aminotransferase (GPT)) in liver, red muscle and white muscle during upstream migration in two successive years in the Connecticut River. For aerobic capacity (CS), glycolytic capacity (LDH) and utilization of stored lipid and protein energy (HOAD and GPT), there is a general pattern of increasing activity with a subsequent decline at the most upriver sites. Red muscle CS activity increased by as much as 40% during the migration while white muscle CS activity was 120% higher in the river than in the ocean. In contrast, muscle anaerobic capacity, indicated by PFK, was low as fish entered the river and then increased 5-fold at the most upriver sites. White muscle HOAD increased ∼30% while red muscle HOAD and muscle GPT increased as much as 60%. There were interannual and sex-associated differences in enzyme activity during upstream migration and through time at a single location. In some cases interannual differences can be larger than those seen during upriver migration as in the case of red muscle CS where sampling years differed by 125%. These interannual differences may be a result of differing river conditions that affect migratory effort. We have demonstrated that American shad use tissue and sex-specific regulation of enzyme activity during migration and we suggest that American shad metabolically acclimate to upstream migration.

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry↗
USGS2001

Ontogeny of the stress response in chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Whole body concentrations of cortisol were determined via radioimmunoassay in chinook salmon, Onchorynchus tshawytscha, during early development in both stressed and non-stressed fish to determine when the corticosteroidogenic stress response first appeared. Progeny from both pooled and individual females were examined to determine if differences existed in offspring from different females. Levels of cortisol were low in eyed eggs, increased at hatch, decreased 2 weeks later and then remained constant thereafter. Differences in cortisol between stressed and control fish were found 1 week after hatch and persisted for the remainder of the study. The magnitude of the stress response, or relative amount of cortisol produced, generally increased from the time when it was first detected, but a decrease in the ability to elicit cortisol was seen 4 weeks after hatching. Cortisol content of separate progeny from two individual females showed a similar pattern to that seen in pooled eggs. Our results indicate that chinook salmon are capable of producing cortisol following a stressful event approximately 1 week after the time of hatching. The decrease in endogenous cortisol content seen 2 weeks after hatching, and the decrease in the magnitude of the stress response seen 4 weeks after hatching may be comparable to developmental events documented in mammals where corticosteroid synthesis is inhibited to neutralize possible detrimental effects of these hormones during critical periods of development.

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry↗
USGS2002

Gonadotropin-dependent oocyte maturational competence requires activation of the protein kinase A pathway and synthesis of RNA and protein in ovarian follicles of Nibe, Nibea mitsukurii (Teleostei, Sciaenidae)

Luteinizing hormone- (LH)-dependent ovarian follicle maturation has been recently described in two stages for teleost fishes. The oocyte's ability to respond to the steroidal maturation-inducing hormone (MIH), also known as oocyte maturational competence (OMC), is acquired during the first stage; whereas the MIH-dependent resumption of meiosis occurs during the second stage. However, studies directly addressing OMC have been performed with a limited number of species and therefore the general relevance of the two-stage model and its mechanisms remain uncertain. In this study, we examined the hormonal regulation of OMC and its basic transduction mechanisms in ovarian follicles of the sciaenid teleost, Nibe (Nibea mitsukurii). Exposure to MIH [17,20??-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one or 17,20??,21-trihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one] stimulated germinal vesicle breakdown (index of meiotic resumption) in full-grown follicles primed with human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG, an LH-like gonadotropin) but not in those pre-cultured in plain incubation medium. The induction of OMC by HCG was mimicked by protein kinase A (PKA) activators (forskolin and dibutyryl cyclic AMP), and blocked by specific inhibitors of PKA (H89 and H8) as well as inhibitors of RNA (actinomycin D) and protein (cycloheximide) synthesis. Forskolin-induced OMC was also inhibited by actinomycin D and cycloheximide. A strong activator of protein kinase C, PMA, inhibited HCG-dependent OMC. In conclusion, OMC in Nibe ovarian follicles is gonadotropin-dependent and requires activation of the PKA pathway followed by gene transcription and translation events. These observations are consistent with the two-stage model of ovarian follicle maturation proposed for other teleosts, and suggest that Nibe can be used as new model species for mechanistic studies of ovarian follicle differentiation and maturation in fishes.

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry↗
USGS2003

Ovarian follicle maturation and ovulation: An integrated perspective

Numerous studies with teleosts have addressed the regulation and mechanisms of oocyte maturation, but largely at the exclusion of ovulation. A smaller but still considerable number of studies have focused on ovulation, and ignored maturation. Consequently, little is known about the mechanistic linkages between these two events. New information is presented here indicating that luteinizing hormone regulates the acquisition not only of oocyte maturational competence, but also ovulatory competence. The thesis is presented that maturation and ovulation are closely integrated and overlapping events that are best viewed conceptually and experimentally as parts of a functional whole. ?? 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry↗
USGS2003

Plasma insulin-like growth factor-I concentrations in yearling chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) migrating from the Snake River Basin, USA

During the parr-to-smolt transformation (smoltification) of juvenile salmonids, preadaptive changes in osmoregulatory and ionoregulatory ability are regulated in part by the growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) axis. If food intake is sufficient, plasma IGF-I increases during smoltification. On the other hand, plasma IGF-I typically decreases in fasting fish and other vertebrate animals. Because food availability is limited for juvenile salmonids undertaking an extended 6- to 12-week spring migration to and through the Snake-Columbia River hydropower system (northwestern USA), IGF-I concentrations might be expected to decrease, potentially compromising seawater tolerance. To address this possibility, yearling chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha reared in three Snake River Basin hatcheries were sampled before release and at two downstream dams. Dry masses of migrating fish either did not increase during the migration (in 2000, an average-flow year), or decreased significantly (in 2001, a low-flow year). In both years, plasma IGF-I levels were significantly higher (1.6-fold in 2000, 3.7-fold in 2001) for fish sampled at the last dam on the lower Columbia River than for fish sampled prior to release. Plasma IGF-I concentrations in migrating fish may, nonetheless, have been nutritionally down-regulated to some degree, because plasma IGF-I concentrations in juvenile chinook salmon captured at a Snake River dam and transported to the laboratory increased in fed groups, but decreased in unfed groups. The ability of migrating smolts to maintain relatively elevated IGF-I levels despite restricted food intake and loss of body mass is likely related to smoltification-associated changes in hormonal balance. ?? 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry↗
USGS2011

Development of a bioenergetics model for humpback chub and evaluation of water temperature changes in the Grand Canyon, Colorado River

The construction of Glen Canyon Dam above the Grand Canyon (Arizona) has reduced the water temperature in the Colorado River and altered the growth rate and feeding patterns of the federally endangered humpback chub Gila cypha. A bioenergetics model for humpback chub was developed and used to examine how warmer water temperatures in the lower Colorado River (achieved through a temperature control device [TCD] at Glen Canyon Dam) might influence their growth rate and food requirements. Parameter values for humpback chub were developed by Monte Carlo filtering and fitting to laboratory growth. Parameter bounds were established from the literature for Gila species, random parameter sets were selected within these bounds, and the growth of modeled humpback chub was compared with criteria from a laboratory growth experiment at 24??C. This method of parameter estimation could be applied to other imperiled fishes where physiological studies are impractical. Final parameter values were corroborated by comparison with the growth rates of humpback chub from independent field and laboratory studies. Simulations indicated that increasing water temperatures from approximately 9??C to 16??C during summer and fall, the change expected from the TCD, may have a minimal effect on humpback chub growth rate unless food availability also increases with temperature. To evaluate the effects of increased temperatures on humpback chub in the lower Colorado River, it will be essential to monitor their growth rate, the invertebrate community, and the predators of humpback chub, which are also influenced by temperature changes. Bioenergetics models for humpback chub and their predators should be helpful tools for identifying potential scenarios and evaluating the complex interactions resulting from a TCD. ?? Copyright by the American Fisheries Society 2005.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society↗
USGS2024

Modelling effects of flow withdrawal scenarios on riverine and riparian features of the Yampa River in Dinosaur National Monument

The National Park Service (NPS) is charged with maintaining natural riverine resources and processes in its parks along the Yampa River and downstream along the Green River. This mission requires information on how proposed water withdrawals would affect resources. We present a methodology that quantifies the impact on natural riverine and riparian features of Dinosaur National Monument based on alternative withdrawals that vary in volume and timing. This methodology uses a reverse quantification and develops tools to enable the NPS to ensure that if withdrawals must occur, the adverse impacts would be minimized by prescribing or constraining the timing, magnitude, and duration of withdrawal. The reverse quantification, well-suited for unregulated rivers such as the Yampa, strives to protect all flows minus extractions from daily flows based on three parameters: 1) a minimum flow, below which water diversion does not occur; 2) the percentage of the flow above the minimum that is diverted; 3) the maximum daily flow that is diverted. We apply 350 flow extraction scenarios, each defined by a unique set of parameters, to the 99 historic annual hydrographs of daily flows (water year (WY) 1922–2020), and to the more recent 20 years (WY 2001–2020). We also consider how hydrologic year type (wet to dry) influences the flow volume extracted and impact to the resource. Recognizing the seasonal differences in flow and ecological and geomorphic response, we divide each year into four distinct seasonal periods and use relations from the literature between flow, channel change, riparian vegetation and fish behavior, physiology, and habitat to define hydrograph and resource metrics used to evaluate impacts to the resource. While our analysis demonstrates that all withdrawals will damage the resource, extractions during the Early Runoff Period (March 15 – April 30) are least detrimental and extractions during the Summer Baseflow Period (July 16 – October 31) are most detrimental. We find that most aspects of the resource are more sensitive to increasing extractions during drier years than during wetter years. Recent decades have seen a shift towards more frequent drier years, resulting in less water in most periods. As a result, our analysis suggests that extractions in recent decades would have had a greater impact on the resource when compared to similar extractions during the full historical record. Finally, we demonstrate how the NPS may use these results to develop limits on extractions for resource protection.

Colorado, Utah↗
USGS2016

Physiological basis of climate change impacts on North American inland fishes

Global climate change is altering freshwater ecosystems and affecting fish populations and communities. Underpinning changes in fish distribution and assemblage-level responses to climate change are individual-level physiological constraints. In this review, we synthesize the mechanistic effects of climate change on neuroendocrine, cardiorespiratory, immune, osmoregulatory, and reproductive systems of freshwater and diadromous fishes. Observed climate change effects on physiological systems are varied and numerous, including exceedance of critical thermal tolerances, decreased cardiorespiratory performance, compromised immune function, and altered patterns of individual reproductive investment. However, effects vary widely among and within species because of species, population, and even sex-specific differences in sensitivity and resilience and because of habitat-specific variation in the magnitude of climate-related environmental change. Research on the interactive effects of climate change with other environmental stressors across a broader range of fish diversity is needed to further our understanding of climate change effects on fish physiology.

Fisheries↗
USGS2013

Physiological responses of adult rainbow trout experimentally released through a unique fish conveyance device

We assessed the physiological stress responses (i.e., plasma levels of cortisol, glucose, and lactate) of adult Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss at selected time intervals after they had passed a distance of 15 m through a unique fish conveyance device (treatment fish) or not (controls). This device differs from traditional fish pumps in two important ways: (1) it transports objects in air, rather than pumping them from and with water; and (2) it uses a unique tube for transport that has a series of soft, deformable baffles spaced evenly apart and situated perpendicular within a rigid, but flexible outer shell. Mean concentrations of the plasma constituents never differed (P > 0.05) between control and treatment fish at 0, 1, 4, 8, or 24 h after passage, and only minor differences were apparent between the different time intervals within a group. We observed no obvious injuries on any of our fish. Our results indicate that passage through this device did not severely stress or injure fish and it may allow for the rapid and safe movement of fish at hatcheries, sorting or handling facilities, or passage obstacles.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗
USGS2011

Statistical models of temperature in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta under climate-change scenarios and ecological implications

Changes in water temperatures caused by climate change in California's Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta will affect the ecosystem through physiological rates of fishes and invertebrates. This study presents statistical models that can be used to forecast water temperature within the Delta as a response to atmospheric conditions. The daily average model performed well ( R 2 values greater than 0.93 during verification periods) for all stations within the Delta and San Francisco Bay provided there was at least 1 year of calibration data. To provide long-term projections of Delta water temperature, we forced the model with downscaled data from climate scenarios. Based on these projections, the ecological implications for the delta smelt, a key species, were assessed based on temperature thresholds. The model forecasts increases in the number of days above temperatures causing high mortality (especially along the Sacramento River) and a shift in thermal conditions for spawning to earlier in the year.

California↗
USGS2011

Behavior and movement of formerly landlocked juvenile coho salmon after release into the free-flowing Cowlitz River, Washington

Formerly landlocked Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) juveniles (age 2) were monitored following release into the free-flowing Cowlitz River to determine if they remained in the river or resumed seaward migration. Juvenile Coho Salmon were tagged with a radio transmitter (30 fish) or Floy tag (1050 fish) and their behavior was monitored in the lower Cowlitz River. We found that 97% of the radio-tagged fish remained in the Cowlitz River beyond the juvenile outmigration period, and the number of fish dispersing downstream decreased with increasing distance from the release site. None of the tagged fish returned as spawning adults in the 2 y following release. We suspect that fish in our study failed to migrate because they exceeded a threshold in size, age, or physiological status. Tagged fish in our study primarily remained in the Cowlitz River, thus it is possible that these fish presented challenges to juvenile salmon migrating through the system either directly by predation or indirectly by competition for food or habitat. Given these findings, returning formerly landlocked Coho Salmon juveniles to the free-flowing river apparently provided no benefit to the anadromous population. These findings have management implications in locations where landlocked salmon have the potential to interact with anadromous species of concern.

Washington↗
USGS2005

Physiological response of wild rainbow trout to angling: Impact of angling duration, fish size, body condition, and temperature

This study evaluated the immediate physiological response of wild rainbow trout to catch-and-release angling in the Alagnak River, southwest Alaska. Information was recorded on individual rainbow trout (n = 415) captured by angling including landing time and the time required to remove hooks (angling duration), the time to anesthetize fish in clove oil and withdraw blood, fish length and weight, and water temperature at capture locations. Plasma cortisol, glucose, ions (sodium, potassium, chloride), and lactate were analyzed to determine the effects of angling duration, fish size, body condition, and temperature. Levels of plasma ions did not change significantly during the observed physiological response and levels of plasma glucose were sometimes influenced by length (2000, 2001), body condition (2001), or temperature (2001). Levels of plasma cortisol and lactate in extended capture fish (angling duration greater than 2 min) were significantly higher than levels in rapid capture fish (angling duration less than 2 min). Rapid capture fish were significantly smaller than extended capture fish, reflecting that fish size influenced landing and handling times. Fish size was related to cortisol and lactate in 2002, which corresponded to the year when larger fish were captured and there were longer landing times. Body condition (i.e., weight/length regression residuals index), was significantly related to lactate in 2000 and 2001. Water temperatures were higher in 2001 (mean temperature ± S.E., 13 ± 2 o C) than in 2002 (10 ± 2 o C), and fish captured in 2001 had significantly higher cortisol and lactate concentrations than fish captured in 2002. The pattern of increase in plasma cortisol and lactate was due to the amount of time fish were angled, and the upper limit of the response was due to water temperature. The results of this study indicate the importance of minimizing the duration of angling in order to reduce the sublethal physiological disturbances in wild fish subjected to catch-and-release angling, particularly during warmer water temperatures. It is also important to note that factors such as fish size may influence both the duration of angling and subsequent physiological response.

Fisheries Research↗
USGS2015

Life-stage-specific physiology defines invasion extent of a riverine fish

Many ecologists have called for mechanism-based investigations to identify the underlying controls on species distributions. Understanding these controls can be especially useful to construct robust predictions of how a species range may change in response to climate change or the extent to which a non-native species may spread in novel environments. Here, we link spatially intensive observations with mechanistic models to illustrate how physiology determines the upstream extent of the aquatic ectotherm smallmouth bass ( Micropterus dolomieu ) in two headwater rivers. Our results demonstrate that as temperatures become increasingly cold across a downstream to upstream gradient, food consumption in age 0 bass becomes increasingly constrained, and as a result, these fish become growth limited. Sufficient first summer growth of age 0 bass is essential for overwinter survival because young bass must persist from energy reserves accumulated during the summer, and those reserves are determined by body size. Our field data reveal the upstream extent of adult bass reproduction corresponds to a point in the downstream/upstream gradient where cold temperatures impair growth opportunities in young bass. This pattern was repeated in both study streams and explained why bass positioned nests twice as far upstream in the warm compared to the cold stream in the same basin. Placement of spawning nests by adult bass is likely subject to strong evolutionary selection in temperate systems: if bass spawn too far upstream, their young are unlikely to grow large enough to survive the winter. Consumption and growth in older bass (age 3–4) was far less sensitive to temperature. Based on these data, we suggest that temperature-sensitive age 0 bass constrain the upstream distribution limits of bass within temperate streams. In this study, we investigated how temperature-dependent physiology changed through the life history of a species and, in doing so, identified a climate-sensitive life-history stage that likely sets the distributional limits of all other life-history stages. We anticipate the framework developed here could be employed to identify how similar stage-specific environmental sensitivity determines distribution in many other ectothermic species.

Oregon↗
USGS2011

The hormonal control of osmoregulation in teleost fish

Hormones are critical to the physiological alterations necessary for ion homeostasis when fish move between freshwater and seawater. Cortisol promotes seawater acclimation through differentiation of salt-secreting mitochondrion-rich cells and ion transport proteins in the gill. The growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor I axis is also important in seawater acclimation and acts in synergy with cortisol. Prolactin (PRL) is important in freshwater acclimation through regulation of ion and water permeability in the gill, gut, and kidney. Cortisol also promotes ion uptake and may interact with PRL during freshwater acclimation. For many species of fish, growth hormone promotes acclimation to seawater, PRL promotes acclimation to freshwater, and cortisol interacts with both hormones, thus having a dual osmoregulatory function.

Life Sciences↗
USGS2023

FishPass sortable attribute database: Phenological, morphological, physiological, and behavioural characteristics related to passage and movement of Laurentian Great Lakes fishes

In-stream barriers pose threats to fishes, including habitat loss, constraints on migration, and reduced connectivity between populations. Despite many negative consequences, barriers can serve to protect native species by limiting the spread of invasive species. For example, in the Laurentian Great Lakes, physical barriers have long been used to control invasive sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus ) populations by limiting access to potential upstream spawning and rearing habitat. Selective fish passage systems could solve this management trade-off, termed the “connectivity conundrum”, but must efficiently pass multiple native or desirable species while blocking invasive species. Designing such fish passage systems requires an understanding of the attribute dimensions of the fish community, specifically, the phenology, morphology, physiology, and behaviour of each species. Here, we describe the first comprehensive collection of sortable attributes associated with fish passage. The integrated database consists of 21 biological attributes that influence the movement and passage of 220 species in the Great Lakes, including native species, established non-native species, and unestablished but potentially invasive fishes. Data coverage varies with species, taxonomic orders, and attribute dimensions. Behavioural attributes were typically underrepresented in the literature, and the ecology of potential invaders was not well understood. The synthesis described herein is a critical step towards a holistic approach to fish passage design and may help to inform management actions related to population connectivity. The database is openly accessible online and is expected to be updated periodically.

Laurentian Great Lakes↗