Two-dimensional fish habitat modelling for assessing instream flow requirements

摘要

The impact of abstracting or retaining water on the environmental quality of a river is difficult to quantify. Any change to the natural flow regime for hydroelectric power generation, water supply or irrigation may result in a change in the habitat available to fish species. An innovative way of collecting data necessary to create and calibrate a two-dimensional hydro-dynamic model is presented in this paper. A GIS is used to combine the information gained from the hydrodynamic model with specific information on fish habitat preference. Results, in the form of habitat-duration curves for fish species, are presented for a study of the Guadalupe River.