2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
5/23/2019 | 3:15 PM - 3:30 PM | COLORADO RIVER ECOSYSTEM RESPONSES TO THE 2018 BUG FLOW EXPERIMENT FROM GLEN CANYON DAM | 250 CF
COLORADO RIVER ECOSYSTEM RESPONSES TO THE 2018 BUG FLOW EXPERIMENT FROM GLEN CANYON DAM
Research by our group has demonstrated that EPT (Ephemeroptera-Plectopera-Trichoptera) taxa are absent from the Colorado River in Grand Canyon in part due to acute mortality of aquatic insect eggs caused by sub-daily flow fluctuations from dam releases to generate hydropower. In summer 2018, Glen Canyon Dam releases were experimentally modified to benefit aquatic insect populations in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon (USA). These “Bug Flows” involved standard flow fluctuations (from ~280–480 m3/s) for hydropower generation during weekdays, coupled with steady, low flows on weekends to reduce aquatic insect egg desiccation and mortality. This flow strategy, unprecedented in scope as an aquatic invertebrate environmental flow experiment, was the outcome of direct collaboration between energy distributors, dam operators, and ecologists, and its final design was essentially revenue neutral for hydropower. In this presentation, we will report on the large-scale ecosystem responses of Bug Flows, including their spatial and temporal effects on aquatic insect drift and emergence throughout 400 km of the Colorado River. We will also highlight some unexpected changes to insect emergence timing and sport fish behavior resulting from Bug Flows that yielded unanticipated benefits to recreational fishing.
- Management
- Hydrology
- Outreach
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Presenters/Authors
Jeffrey Muehlbauer
(), USGS Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, jmuehlbauer@usgs.gov;
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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Ted Kennedy
(), USGS Southwest Biological Science Center, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, tkennedy@usgs.gov;
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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Nonfinancial -