Workshop to enable the establishment of a National Research Network to assess the impacts of altered flow regimes in riverine ecosystems

在加拿大的许多地区，水电开发已经存在或正在规划中。必须审查新的和现有的水电作业，以减少其对水生生态系统的生态影响。然而，水生生态系统对经常由水电作业引起的水流状况变化的反应还没有得到很好的了解。然而，加拿大渔业和海洋管理局(DFO)的一个关键监管目标是一贯使用科学合理的鱼类和鱼类栖息地养护和保护做法。成功实现DFO的目标需要详细和协调地了解各种物理和生物过程，并在科学和生境管理、学术界、其他监管机构和工业界之间建立富有成效和协作的接口。需要整合良好的团队，通过在协调框架内与工业界和其他利益攸关方建立伙伴关系，满足对复杂问题科学信息日益增长的需求。这项提议将直接推动建立一个国家研究网络，使人们能够更好地了解水生生态系统对人类改变的水流系统的敏感性。这一请求的目的是获得种子资金，以组织和主办一次研讨会，将来自学术界、工业界和政府的代表聚集在一起。最终，这将使基于合理的科学考虑问题的环境、社会、监管和商业方面的流量管制的缓解方案得以发展。(即，确保科学产品和通信以促进开发综合管理工具的方式为监管决策提供信息，这些综合管理工具承认生态系统完整性和能源生产效率的现实情况)。此外，这一讲习班和网络将产生的协调研究将有助于将加拿大定位为河流管理和可持续水电方面的世界领导者，从而使加拿大成为这一主题的主要知识和创新来源。

Hydroelectric developments exist or are planned in many parts of Canada. New and existing hydroelectric operations must be reviewed with the goal of reducing their ecological consequences on aquatic ecosystems. However, the response of aquatic ecosystems to altered flow regimes that often results from hydroelectric operations is not well understood. Yet a key regulatory objective of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is the consistent use of scientifically sound fish and fish habitat conservation and protection practices. Successful achievement of DFO's objective requires detailed and coordinated understanding of diverse physical and biological processes and a productive and collaborative interface between science and habitat management, academia, other regulators, and industry. There is a need for well-integrated teams to deliver the increasing demand for scientific information on complex issues through partnership with industry and other stakeholders in a coordinated framework. This proposal will move directly towards creating a national research network that would permit a better understanding of the sensitivity of aquatic ecosystems to human-altered flow regimes. The purpose of this request is to obtain seed funding to organize and host a workshop to bring together representatives from academia, industry, and government.  Ultimately, this will enable the development of mitigative options for flow regulation based on sound science that consider the environmental, social, regulatory, and commercial aspects of the problem. (i.e., ensure that science products and communications inform regulatory decision-making in a manner that facilitates the development of integrated management tools that recognize the realities of both ecosystem integrity and energy generation efficiency).  Furthermore, coordinated research that would arise from this workshop and network will help to position Canada as a world leader in river stewardship and sustainable hydropower, thereby making Canada a key source of knowledge and innovation on this topic.