University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Behavior of blue sucker and shovelnose sturgeon after trap-and-transfer above Prairie du Sac Dam (PDSPASSUWSP)

Dam construction has significantly compromised connectivity of fish populations in rivers around the world and has led to the extirpation of many riverine species in impounded river segments. Specifically, the construction of Prairie du Sac Dam (PDSD), the lowest dam on the Wisconsin River, altered connectivity for many fish populations. While some of these species still exist above PDSD, blue suckers and shovelnose sturgeon have been extirpated from the segment of river between PDSD and Kilbourn Dam located at Wisconsin Dells and we note that blue sucker are listed as a state threatened species in Wisconsin. Future fish passage could restore this connectivity, but it is unknown how fish will behave after passage becomes available. Understanding the behavior of fish after passage or transfer upstream of dams is important to determining whether the goals of a passage or transfer program are met. For example, determining how long fish remain above the dams is critical to determining whether a resident population of fish can be established or whether fish remain above the dams to utilize spawning habitat that was not previously available to them. A dam passage or transfer program may not achieve program goals if fish return downstream relatively soon after passage or transfer. Additionally, passage or transfer could result in increased mortality if fish must return downstream by going over a dam or through turbines. Trap-and-transfer provides a means to assess how blue suckers and shovelnose sturgeon might behave if provided access to the segment of the Wisconsin River above Prairie du Sac dam. This could help in determining how eventual passage might benefit these populations, identify habitat use of these fish after passage occurs, and inform operational guidelines for the fishway or other forms of fish passage that might be implemented in the future. Our research will address these important questions for blue suckers and shovelnose sturgeon transferred upstream of PDSD.

Points of Contact

• Daniel Dembkowski

  USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research Unit University of Wisconsin Stevens Point

  Principal Investigator

• Daniel Isermann

  USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research Unit University of Wisconsin Stevens Point

  Principal Investigator

• Joshua Raabe

  University of Wisconsin Stevens Point

  Principal Investigator