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An evaluation of fish behavior upstream of the water temperature control tower at Cougar Dam, Oregon, using acoustic cameras, 2013

Open-File Report 2015-1124
Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
By: , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151124

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Abstract

This report describes the initial year of a 2-year study to determine the feasibility of using acoustic cameras to monitor fish movements to help inform decisions about fish passage at Cougar Dam near Springfield, Oregon. Specifically, we used acoustic cameras to measure fish presence, travel speed, and direction adjacent to the water temperature control tower in the forebay of Cougar Dam during the spring (May, June, and July) and fall (September, October, and November) of 2013. Cougar Dam is a high-head flood-control dam, and the water temperature control tower enables depth-specific water withdrawals to facilitate adjustment of water temperatures released downstream of the dam. The acoustic cameras were positioned at the upstream entrance of the tower to monitor free-ranging subyearling and yearling-size juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Because of the large size discrepancy, we could distinguish juvenile Chinook salmon from their predators, which enabled us to measure predators and prey in areas adjacent to the entrance of the tower. We used linear models to quantify and assess operational and environmental factors—such as time of day, discharge, and water temperature—that may influence juvenile Chinook salmon movements within the beam of the acoustic cameras. Although extensive milling behavior of fish near the structure may have masked directed movement of fish and added unpredictability to fish movement models, the acoustic-camera technology enabled us to ascertain the general behavior of discrete size classes of fish. Fish travel speed, direction of travel, and counts of fish moving toward the water temperature control tower primarily were influenced by the amount of water being discharged through the dam.

Suggested Citation

Adams, N.S., Smith, C.D., Plumb, J.M., Hansen, G.S., and Beeman, J.W., 2015, An evaluation of fish behavior upstream of the water temperature control tower at Cougar Dam, Oregon, using acoustic cameras, 2013: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015-1124, 62 p., https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151124.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgments
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • References Cited
  • Appendix A. Sample Dates Selected for Analysis of DIDSON and ARIS Acoustic Camera Data Collected at the Cougar Reservoir Water Temperature Control (WTC) Tower, Oregon, 2013
  • Appendix B. Rose Plots and Circular Histograms of Mean Travel Directions of Fish Collected by Acoustic Cameras by Depth and Photoperiod at Cougar Reservoir and Dam, Oregon
  • Appendix C. Density Plots of Fish Target Locations from DIDSON and ARIS Acoustic Camera Data Collected during the Fish Behavior Evaluations at Cougar Reservoir and Dam, Oregon, 2013
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title An evaluation of fish behavior upstream of the water temperature control tower at Cougar Dam, Oregon, using acoustic cameras, 2013
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2015-1124
DOI 10.3133/ofr20151124
Year Published 2015
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Western Fisheries Research Center
Description x, 62 p.
Country United States
State Oregon
Other Geospatial Cougar Dam
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Additional publication details