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

美洲鳗(Anguilla Rostrata)在其原产地的大部分地区都受到威胁，部分原因是在下游产卵前向海洋环境迁徙期间与水电基础设施相遇造成的死亡。鳗鱼的数量急剧下降，以至于被安大略省列为濒危物种，并被列入世界自然保护联盟红色名单。减少、避免或消除与涡轮机等潜在有害基础设施的实际接触已被确定为种群保护战略的关键组成部分，特别是在这种接触可以通过不会干扰水力发电的行为指导技术(即引导鱼类离开危险区域到更安全的区域)来减少的情况下。值得注意的是，人造灯光在将夜间迁徙的鳗鱼从照明的田野转移开方面表现出了一些希望，创造了将鳗鱼集中到安全通道或高效收集和运输的机会。然而，许多光导研究都是在圈养的实验室环境下进行的，这些环境缺乏对现实世界应用的明显扩展潜力，或者依赖于野外部署加上下游捕获的鳗鱼和推断确定它们在光场周围的运动模式和路径。我们已经与安大略省发电公司(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，以评估光引导鳗鱼的有效性。在OPG和总部的资助下，将在易洛魁水利枢纽(ON)和博哈努瓦运河(QC)的圣路易斯-德-冈萨格大桥(QC)上游的圣劳伦斯河安装两个浮动灯阵(长度分别为217米和120米)。我们将正式评估和量化人工光在管理和保护遇到水电基础设施的美国鳗鱼种群方面的有效性。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，以产生必要的数据，为濒危鳗鱼的保护提供信息。

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.