Advancing our knowledge of two iconic freshwater mega-fishes in and around Algonquin Park to inform management and conservation

虽然水电常常被视为“绿色”替代能源，但水电设施往往会对淡水生态系统产生负面影响。在其影响中，水电设施可改变河流系统的自然水流状况，进而扰乱鱼类的生命周期。预测水电项目对鱼类的潜在影响首先需要对目标物种的种群和行为有一个基本的了解。这些知识对于有效管理物种以及减轻潜在水电项目的风险至关重要。安大略东部的佩塔瓦瓦河是少数几条自由流动的河流之一（即，没有水坝）和渥太华河的一条主要支流，而渥太华河本身就是一个拥有众多水力发电设施的水体。这一伙伴关系的目标是生成关于两种标志性淡水巨型鱼类--麝香鱼和湖鲟--的种群和行为的可操作数据，以便在面临未来发展压力时能够保护它们。 此外，这项研究将提供参考数据，以了解现有设施如何影响鱼类种群。 该项目将解决与我们理解有关的具体知识差距：1）佩塔瓦瓦河内的muskellunge遗传连通性; 2）佩塔瓦瓦内的muskellunge和湖鲟分布和季节性运动; 3）特拉弗斯湖作为下游地区源种群的潜力。我们的伙伴关系是与加拿大野生动物联合会，这是一个以科学为基础的非政府组织，并与合作者从安大略自然资源和林业部。我们的学术团队与不同的合作伙伴有着长期的知识合作记录。这项研究的结果将具有广泛的适用性，因为在自由流动的佩塔瓦瓦这两种鱼类的种群结构和运动模式的数据可以用来通知管理更广泛的渥太华河流域和超越水电设施。这是相关的，因为目前还不清楚这些设施目前如何影响这些人口，新的避免，缓解和抵消战略可能会根据这项工作的结果。

While hydropower is often viewed as a "green" alternative energy source, hydropower facilities can often have a negative impact on freshwater ecosystems. Among their impacts, hydropower facilities can alter the natural flow regime of river systems and, by extension, disrupt the life cycles of fishes. Predicting the potential impacts of a hydropower project on fishes first requires a baseline understanding of the populations and behaviour of target species. Such knowledge is critical to effectively managing species as well as mitigating risks of potential hydropower projects. The Petawawa River in eastern Ontario is one of the few free-flowing rivers (i.e., no dams present) in the region and a major tributary of the Ottawa River, itself a waterbody with numerous hydropower facilities. The goal of this partnership is to generate actionable data on the populations and behaviours of two iconic freshwater mega-fishes - muskellunge and lake sturgeon - so that they can be protected in the face of future development pressures. Moreover, this study will represent reference data to understand how existing facilities may be impacting fish populations. This project will address specific knowledge gaps related to our understanding of 1) muskellunge genetic connectivity within the Petawawa River; 2) muskellunge and lake sturgeon distribution and seasonal movements within the Petawawa; and 3) the potential of Lake Travers as a source population for downstream areas. Our partnership is with the Canadian Wildlife Federation which is a science-based NGO and with a collaborator from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Our academic team has a long track record of knowledge co-production with diverse partners. The results of this research will have broad applicability because data on the population structuring and movement patterns of these two fish species in the free-flowing Petawawa can be used to inform management of hydropower facilities within the broader Ottawa River watershed and beyond. This is relevant, because it is unclear how these facilities are currently affecting these populations, and new avoidance, mitigation, and offsetting strategies may be developed based on the results of this work.