(2013)
Project title: Learning from success –development of a biological model to explain successful upstream fishway passage by sturgeon
Hydropower dams create barriers to fish passage for many migratory species throughout the world. Fish passage is commonly reinstated at these sites through installation of engineered structures collectively termed fishways. However fishways are often unsuccessful at passing numerous species, including sturgeons. This is a pertinent issue considering all members of this unique family undertake some form of migration to spawn in freshwater and many are threatened.
My research will focus primarily on sturgeon passage at a successful fishway: the Vianney-Legendre fishway on the Richelieu River in Quebec, Canada. Specifically I plan to examine the factors that contribute to attraction and passage efficiency of sturgeon at fishways, evaluate the behavioural characteristics of successful and unsuccesful migrants ascending a fishway, calculate the energetic cost of fishway passage for sturgeon and link biological information with a hydraulic model of the fishway to identify the shear forces that sturgeon are exposed to in areas of difficult passage. This is a collaborative project between Carleton University, the University of Alberta, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune et du Québec.
For further project information see: http://www.hydronet.umontreal.ca/
Background
2010 – Current: Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Biology, Carleton University, Canada.
2008 – 2010: Fisheries Ecologist – Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Australia
2003-2008: Aquatic Ecologist – Research and Planning Unit, Parks Conservation and Lands, ACT Government, Canberra, Australia
1999-2002: Bachelor of Applied Science (Hons), University of Canberra, Australia
Lab Publications (24)
-
Cooke, S.J., J.L. Brooks, G.D. Raby, E.B. Thorstad, J.W. Browscombe, C.S. Vandergoot, R.J. Lennox, G. Bulte, G. Bino and J.D. Thiem. In Press. Electronic Tagging and Tracking of Animals in Inland Waters, In: Contribution to the Emerging Methods and Topics section of the 2nd edition of the Encyclopedia of Inland Waters. Elsevier, UK.
-
Jeanson, A.L., A.J. Lynch, J.D. Thiem, W.M. Potts, T. Haapasalo, A.J. Danylchuk, T.D. Beard, R. Arlinghaus, L.M. Hunt, N. Young and S.J. Cooke. 2021. A bright spot analysis of inland recreational fisheries in the face of climate change: learning about adaptation from small successes. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 31:181-200.
-
Silva, A.T., M.C. Lucas, T. Castro-Santos, C. Katopodis, L.J. Baumgartner, J.D. Thiem, K. Aarestrup, P.S. Pompeu, G.C. O’Brien, D. Braun, N.J. Burnett, D.Z. Zhu, H-P. Fjeldstad, T. Forseth, N. Rajaratnam, J.G. Williams and S.J. Cooke. 2018. The future of fish passage science, engineering, and practice. Fish and Fisheries. 19(2):340-362.
-
Gutowsky, L.F.G., L.J. Stoot, N.A. Cairns, J.D. Thiem, J.W. Brownscombe, A.J. Danylchuk, G. Blouin-Demers and S.J. Cooke. 2017. Biologgers reveal post-release behavioural impairments of freshwater turtles following interactions with fishing nets. Animal Conservation. 20:350-359.
-
Thiem, J.D., J.W. Dawson, D. Hatin, A.J. Danylchuk, P. Dumont, A.C. Gleiss, R.P. Wilson and S.J. Cooke. 2016. Swimming activity and energetic costs of adult lake sturgeon during fishway passage. Journal of Experimental Biology. 219:2534-2544.
Other Publications
Broadhurst, B.T., B.C. Ebner, M. Lintermans, J.D. Thiem, and R.C. Clear. In Press. Jailbreak: A fishway releases the endangered Macquarie perch from confinement below an anthropogenic barrier. Marine and Freshwater Research 00:000-000.
Thiem, J.D., B.T. Broadhurst, M. Lintermans, B.C. Ebner, R.C. Clear, and D. Wright. 2013. Seasonal differences in the diel movements of Macquarie perch (Macquaria australasica) in an upland reservoir. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 22:145‒156.
Broadhurst, B.T., M. Lintermans, J.D. Thiem, B.C. Ebner, D. Wright, and R.C. Clear. 2012. Spatial ecology and habitat use of two-spined blackfish Gadopsis bispinosus in an upland reservoir. Aquatic Ecology 46:297–309.
Broadhurst, B.T., J.G. Dyer, B.C. Ebner, J.D. Thiem, and P.A. Pridmore. 2011. Response of two-spined blackfish Gadopsis bispinosus to short-term flow fluctuations in an upland Australian stream. Hydrobiologia 673:63–77.
Thiem, J.D., B.C. Ebner, and R.C. Clear. 2010. Validating variation in radio-signal strength as an index of aquatic fauna activity. Australian Journal of Zoology 58:50–55.
Ebner, B.C., and J.D. Thiem. 2009. Monitoring by telemetry reveals differences in movement and survival following hatchery or wild-rearing of an endangered fish. Marine and Freshwater Research 60:45–57.
Ebner, B.C., J.D. Thiem, D.M. Gilligan, M. Lintermans, I.J. Wooden, and S. Linke. 2008. Estimating species richness and catch per unit effort from boat electro-fishing in a lowland river in temperate Australia. Austral Ecology 33:891–901.
Thiem, J.D., B.C. Ebner, and B.T. Broadhurst. 2008. Diel activity of the endangered trout cod (Maccullochella macquariensis) in the Murrumbidgee River. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 129:167–173.
Ebner, B.C., J.D. Thiem, and M. Lintermans. 2007. Fate of 2 year-old, hatchery-reared trout cod Maccullochella macquariensis(Percichthyidae) stocked into two upland rivers. Journal of Fish Biology 71:182–199.
