EA Fisheries Framework

Inter-annual variation in movements and passage of seaward migrating European eels at a shrouded Archimedean screw pumping station (2024)
Journal Article
Evans, O. J., Carter, L. J., Hutchinson, T., Don, A., Wright, R. M., Baktoft, H., Pauwels, I. S., & Bolland, J. D. (2024). Inter-annual variation in movements and passage of seaward migrating European eels at a shrouded Archimedean screw pumping station. Ecological engineering, 209, Article 107389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107389

The construction of less damaging (here called fish-friendly) pumping stations has taken place in recent years, but it is unknown if they provide efficient and timely passage to migratory fish, such as European eel (Anguilla anguilla (L.)). The pump... Read More about Inter-annual variation in movements and passage of seaward migrating European eels at a shrouded Archimedean screw pumping station.

Rethinking fish-friendliness of pumps by shifting focus to both safe and timely fish passage for effective conservation (2024)
Journal Article
Evans, O. J., Norman, J., Carter, L. J., Hutchinson, T., Don, A., Wright, R. M., Tuhtan, J. A., Toming, G., & Bolland, J. D. (2024). Rethinking fish-friendliness of pumps by shifting focus to both safe and timely fish passage for effective conservation. Scientific reports, 14(1), Article 17888. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67870-5

Globally, catadromous freshwater eels of the genus Anguilla are of conservation concern, including critically endangered European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Pumping stations that move river water to a higher elevation severely impact eels during their... Read More about Rethinking fish-friendliness of pumps by shifting focus to both safe and timely fish passage for effective conservation.

Ex situ experimentation to determine if introduced artificial habitat can provide alternative refuge to hazardous anthropogenic structures (2024)
Journal Article
Norman, J., Clark, D., Henshaw, A., Wright, R. M., Cattaneo, M. E. G. V., & Bolland, J. D. (2024). Ex situ experimentation to determine if introduced artificial habitat can provide alternative refuge to hazardous anthropogenic structures. Restoration Ecology, Article e14157. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14157

Highly degraded lowland river ecosystems are of global concern to restoration practitioners. Hazardous anthropogenic structures, such as those used for water level management (i.e. pumping stations), present a mortality risk to fish and associated ch... Read More about Ex situ experimentation to determine if introduced artificial habitat can provide alternative refuge to hazardous anthropogenic structures.

Can't pass or won't pass: the importance of motivation when quantifying improved connectivity for riverine brown trout Salmo trutta (2023)
Journal Article
Dodd, J. R., Cowx, I. G., Joyce, D. A., & Bolland, J. D. (in press). Can't pass or won't pass: the importance of motivation when quantifying improved connectivity for riverine brown trout Salmo trutta. Journal of fish biology, https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15628

Reversing the negative impacts that anthropogenic habitat fragmentation has on animal movement is a key goal in the management of landscapes and conservation of species globally. Accurate assessment of measures to remediate habitat fragmentation, suc... Read More about Can't pass or won't pass: the importance of motivation when quantifying improved connectivity for riverine brown trout Salmo trutta.

Impact of anthropogenic infrastructure on aquatic and avian predator–prey interactions in a modified lowland river (2023)
Journal Article
Norman, J., Reeds, J., Wright, R. M., & Bolland, J. D. (in press). Impact of anthropogenic infrastructure on aquatic and avian predator–prey interactions in a modified lowland river. Freshwater biology, https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.14201

The relationship between aquatic and avian predators and prey is a fundamental process that influences the ecological dynamics of freshwater communities; a landscape of fear underpins spatial and temporal habitat use of prey, i.e., non-consumptive pr... Read More about Impact of anthropogenic infrastructure on aquatic and avian predator–prey interactions in a modified lowland river.

Timing is everything; operational changes at a pumping station with a gravity sluice to provide safe downstream passage for silver European eels and deliver considerable financial savings (2023)
Journal Article
Carter, L. J., Wright, R. M., Thomas, R. E., Reeds, J., Murphy, L. A., Collier, S. J., …Bolland, J. D. (2023). Timing is everything; operational changes at a pumping station with a gravity sluice to provide safe downstream passage for silver European eels and deliver considerable financial savings. Journal of environmental management, 347, Article 119143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119143

Catadromous European eel (Anguilla anguilla) are a critically endangered fish species due in part to in-river anthropogenic barriers (e.g., pumping stations, weirs, hydropower facilities). European legislation stipulates that safe downstream passage... Read More about Timing is everything; operational changes at a pumping station with a gravity sluice to provide safe downstream passage for silver European eels and deliver considerable financial savings.

The impact of extreme flood-relief pump operations on resident fish in an artificial drain and the potential for artificial habitat introduction (2023)
Journal Article
Norman, J., Reeds, J., Wright, R. M., & Bolland, J. D. (in press). The impact of extreme flood-relief pump operations on resident fish in an artificial drain and the potential for artificial habitat introduction. Fisheries Management and Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12636

Fish are ubiquitous in pumped artificial drains but channel maintenance exposes fish to high flows and predators, and fish communities may experience population-level threats if they are unable to access refuge during extreme flood-relief pump operat... Read More about The impact of extreme flood-relief pump operations on resident fish in an artificial drain and the potential for artificial habitat introduction.

Understanding the temporal dynamics of a lowland river fish community at a hazardous intake and floodgate to inform safe operation (2023)
Journal Article
Norman, J., Wright, R. M., Don, A., & Bolland, J. D. (2023). Understanding the temporal dynamics of a lowland river fish community at a hazardous intake and floodgate to inform safe operation. Journal of environmental management, 336, Article 117716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117716

Entrainment and mortality of freshwater fish at hazardous pumping station intakes used for Flood Risk Management (FRM) are of global concern. Although upstream and downstream passage of diadromous fish has received considerable attention, the ecologi... Read More about Understanding the temporal dynamics of a lowland river fish community at a hazardous intake and floodgate to inform safe operation.

Integrating environmental DNA monitoring to inform eel (Anguilla anguilla) status in freshwaters at their easternmost range—A case study in Cyprus (2023)
Journal Article
Griffiths, N. P., Wright, R. M., Hänfling, B., Bolland, J. D., Drakou, K., Sellers, G. S., …Vasquez, M. I. (2023). Integrating environmental DNA monitoring to inform eel (Anguilla anguilla) status in freshwaters at their easternmost range—A case study in Cyprus. Ecology and Evolution, 13(2), Article e9800. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9800

Despite significant population declines and targeted European Union regulations aimed at Anguilla anguilla conservation, little attention has been given to their status at their easternmost range. This study applies wide-scale integrated monitoring t... Read More about Integrating environmental DNA monitoring to inform eel (Anguilla anguilla) status in freshwaters at their easternmost range—A case study in Cyprus.

Dynamic competition and resource partitioning during the early life of two widespread, abundant and ecologically similar fishes (2020)
Journal Article
Nunn, A. D., Vickers, L., Mazik, K., Bolland, J., Peirson, G., Axford, S., Henshaw, A., & Cowx, I. G. (2020). Dynamic competition and resource partitioning during the early life of two widespread, abundant and ecologically similar fishes. Hydrobiologia, 847, 2211-2224. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-020-04247-5

Competition and resource partitioning can have profound implications for individuals, populations and communities, and thus food webs, ecosystems and the management of biota and environments. In many species, the impacts of competition and resource p... Read More about Dynamic competition and resource partitioning during the early life of two widespread, abundant and ecologically similar fishes.