Identifying flood- and food-related limits to fish and wildlife production in the Saskatchewan River delta

在大型河流流域，水管理机构负责向下游生态系统输送水。在许多情况下，广泛的水坝建设导致了更稳定的流量，减少了高流量事件的发生率和严重程度。然而，越来越多的研究表明，洪水可能具有生态重要性，这导致人们质疑是否应该对洪水进行管理，以更接近地模拟自然洪水状况。这项研究的目的是超越我们目前对水坝在工业、市政和农业蓄水方面的好处的认识，评估水坝如何以一种实现积极环境成果的方式运作，特别是通过控制洪水。该项目将研究定期试验性的大坝泄洪淹没后的水产生产力和食物网， 在一个自然的、易发洪水的河流三角洲进行平行观测，以确定湿地连通性在推动鱼类和野生动物生产方面的价值。 在E.B.位于SK尼帕温的坎贝尔水电设施将作为一个模型系统，用于研究萨斯喀彻温河三角洲下游发生的漫滩流的生物反应，该三角洲是一个生物生产力、多样性和人类历史丰富的地区。它将使用天然化学示踪剂-稳定同位素比率-将动物与喂养，生长和繁殖的关键领域联系起来，并使用新技术量化动物的生长潜力，食物质量和它们所经历的压力。 总之，这些测量将提高我们对洪水脉冲在维持北方河流鱼类和野生动物种群中的作用的理解，以及在水资源日益短缺和不确定的情况下，供水的时间和幅度如何实现最大的生态效益。

In large river basins, water management agencies are responsible for delivering flows to downstream ecosystems. In many cases, extensive dam-building has led to more stable flows, with decreased incidence and severity of high flow events. However, a growing body of research suggests floods may be ecologically important, leading to questions regarding whether flows should be managed to more closely mimic natural flood regimes. This research aims to extend beyond our current knowledge of benefits of dams in terms of water storage for industrial, municipal and agricultural purposes to assess how dams can be operated in a way to achieve positive environmental outcomes, specifically via controlled floods. This project will examine aquatic productivity and food webs following periodic, experimental inundation from a dam spillway, coupled with parallel observations in a natural, flood-prone river delta to determine the value of wetland connectivity in driving fish and wildlife production. The experimental wetland inundation, conducted at the E.B. Campbell Hydroelectric facility in Nipawin, SK, will serve as a model system to examine the biological response to overbank flows that occur further downstream in the Saskatchewan River delta, a region rich in biological productivity, diversity and human history. It will use natural chemical tracers - stable isotope ratios - to link animals to critical areas for feeding, growth and reproduction, and novel techniques to quantify the growth potential of animals, the quality of their food and the stress they experience. Together, these measurements will enhance our understanding of role of the flood pulse in sustaining fish and wildlife populations in northern rivers, and how the timing and magnitude of water delivery might achieve maximum ecological benefits under scenarios of increasing water scarcity and uncertainty.