Field experiment to test the effectiveness of LED lights for the behavioural guidance of imperiled American Eel during their downstream spawning migration

美国鳗鱼（Anguilla rostrata）在其大部分原生范围内都处于危险之中，部分原因是下游产卵前向海洋环境迁移期间遇到水电基础设施造成的死亡。鳗鱼的数量急剧下降，被安大略省列为“濒危”物种，并被列入世界自然保护联盟的红色名录。减少、避免或消除与涡轮机等可能有害的基础设施的实际接触已被确定为人口保护战略的关键组成部分，特别是当这种接触可以通过行为指导技术（即，将鱼类从危险区域引向更安全的区域），不会干扰水力发电。值得注意的是，人造灯光已经证明了一些承诺，在偏转夜间迁移鳗鱼远离照明领域，创造了一个机会，集中鳗鱼向安全通道或有效的收集和运输。然而，许多光引导研究已经在圈养的实验室环境下进行，这些实验室环境缺乏对现实世界应用的明显缩放潜力，或者依赖于现场部署，再加上下游鳗鱼的重新捕获以及它们在光场周围的运动模式和路径的推断确定。 我们与安大略发电公司（OPG）和魁北克水电公司（HQ）以及政府合作者合作，进行了一项管理规模的研究，以评估灯光引导鳗鱼的有效性。 在OPG和HQ的资助下，两个浮动灯阵列（217米和120米长）将安装在圣劳伦斯河上，紧邻易洛魁水利控制大坝（ON）和Beauharnois运河（QC）的Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague大桥的上游。 我们将正式评估和量化人工光的有效性，以实现管理和保护遇到水电基础设施的美国鳗鱼种群的指导成果。 近十年来，该团队一直在进行试点和可行性研究，为这一独特的一次性机会做准备，以生成保护濒危鳗鱼所需的数据。

American eels (Anguilla rostrata) are imperilled throughout much of their native range due in part to mortalities resulting from encounters with hydroelectric infrastructure during downstream pre-spawning migrations towards marine environments. Population declines have been drastic enough that eels are listed as "Endangered" by the Province of Ontario and on the IUCN Red List. Reducing, avoiding, or eliminating physical encounters with potentially harmful infrastructure such as turbines have been identified as key components of population protection strategies, particularly when such encounters can be reduced via behavioural guidance technologies (i.e., guiding fish away from risky areas towards safer areas) that will not interfere with hydroelectric generation. Notably, artificial lights have demonstrated some promise at deflecting night-migrating eels away from illuminated fields, creating an opportunity to concentrate eels towards safe passageways or for efficient collection and transport. However, many light guidance studies have been conducted under captive, laboratory settings that lack obvious scaling potential to real-world applications or relied on field deployments coupled with downstream recaptures of eels and inferential determination of their movement patterns and pathways around light fields. We have partnered with Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Hydro Quebec (HQ) as well as government collaborators to conduct a management-scale study to evaluate the effectiveness of light for guiding eels. With funding from OPG and HQ, two floating light arrays (217m and 120m length) will be installed in the St. Lawrence River immediately upstream of both the Iroquois Water Control Dam (ON) and the Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague Bridge in the Beauharnois Canal (QC). We will formally evaluate and quantify the effectiveness of artificial light at achieving guidance outcomes for the management and conservation of American eel populations encountering hydroelectric infrastructure. The team has been working on pilot and feasibility studies for nearly a decade in preparation for this unique, one-time opportunity to generate data needed to inform the protection of imperiled eels.