Eco-Hydrology

Salmon struggling to fight its way upstream in the face of a dam

Empirical rules that describe vertebrate response to abiotic factors, using fish as models of behaviour, are developed at the University of Southampton. Agent based models that predict animal responses are developed at the University of Washington.

The collaboration integrates these disciplines, and those found at other participating institutions, to initiate novel advances in research.

One of the potential applications of the project is to develop and understanding of behavioural response of fish which can be used to develop fish passage criteria and used to design environmentally friendly hydropower systems. Knowledge transfer from the United States and Europe to China is envisaged.

“As more and more energy is produced from hydroelectric to lessen carbon emissions, this kind of research is vital to minimise the impact on our fish populations,” says Dr Kemp.

"Fish on the Move" - information sheet about this group (PDF 284kb)