water Article Habitat Use by Pseudochondrostoma duriense and Squalius carolitertii Downstream of a Small-Scale Hydropower Plant Isabel Boavida 1,* , Filipa Ambrósio 2, Maria João Costa 1 , Ana Quaresma 1 , Maria Manuela Portela 1, António Pinheiro 1 and Francisco Godinho 3 1 CERIS, Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal;
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[email protected] Received: 24 July 2020; Accepted: 5 September 2020; Published: 9 September 2020 Abstract: Downstream of small-scale hydropower plants (SHPs), the intensity, frequency and persistence of hydropeaking events often cause an intolerable stress on fish of all life stages. Rapid increases in flow velocity result in fish avoiding unstable habitats and seeking refuge to reduce energy expenditure. To understand fish movements and the habitat use of native Iberian cyprinids in a high-gradient peaking river, 77 individuals were PIT tagged downstream of Bragado SHP in the North of Portugal. Tagged fish species included Pseudochondrostoma duriense and Squalius carolitertii. Fish positions were recorded manually on two different occasions: during hydropeaking events (HP) and without hydropeaking events (NHP). From the 77 tagged fish, we were able to record habitat use for 33 individuals (20 P. duriense and 13 S.