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

在大流域，水管理机构负责向下游生态系统输送流量。在许多情况下，大规模的大坝建设带来了更稳定的水流，减少了高流量事件的发生率和严重性。然而，越来越多的研究表明，洪水可能在生态上具有重要意义，这引发了以下问题：是否应该对洪水进行管理，以更接近地模拟自然洪水的状况。这项研究的目的是超越我们目前对大坝在工业、市政和农业蓄水方面的好处的了解，评估大坝如何能够以一种实现积极的环境结果的方式运行，特别是通过控制洪水。该项目将研究水生生物生产力和食物网在周期性的试验性淹没后，从大坝溢洪道，耦合 在一个易发洪水的天然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。在密苏里州尼帕温的E.B.坎贝尔水电设施进行的湿地淹没实验，将作为一个模型系统，研究萨斯喀彻温河三角洲下游发生的溢出洪水的生物反应，该地区拥有丰富的生物生产力、多样性和人类历史。它将使用天然化学示踪剂-稳定的同位素比率-将动物与摄食、生长和繁殖的关键区域联系起来，并使用新技术来量化动物的生长潜力、食物质量和它们所经历的压力。总之，这些测量将加强我们对洪水脉冲在维持北部河流鱼类和野生动物种群方面的作用，以及在水资源日益稀缺和不确定性增加的情况下，供水的时机和规模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.