Fishway Passage of Alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus (Wilson, 1811), and Marine Nutrient Transfer to Freshwater Ecosystems in Three River Systems in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada. By George Nau Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science (Biology) Acadia University © by George Nau, 2018 This thesis by George Nau was defended successfully in an oral examination on 2018/04/19. The examining committee for the thesis was: ________________________ Dr. Michael Robertson, Chair ________________________ Dr. Eddie Halfyard, External Examiner ________________________ Dr. Trevor Avery, Internal Examiner ________________________ Dr. Michael Stokesbury, Supervisor ________________________ Dr. Ian Spooner, Supervisor _________________________ Dr. Brian Wilson, Head This thesis is accepted in its present form by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree Master of Science, Biology. iii I, GEORGE NAU, grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to reproduce, loan or distribute copies of my thesis in microform, paper or electronic formats on a non-profit basis. I, however, retain the copyright in my thesis. ______________________________ Author ______________________________ Supervisor ______________________________ Date iii Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. iv Table of Tables .................................................................................................................. v Table of Figures................................................................................................................. v Abstract ........................................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... ix Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Dams ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Fishways ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Alewife ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Ecology and Population .......................................................................................................... 6 Research Chapter 1: ......................................................................................................... 7 Body size, experience, and sex do matter: Multiyear study shows improved passage rates for alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) through small-scale Denil and pool-and- weir fishways ..................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 7 Study Site .................................................................................................................................... 9 Methods .................................................................................................................................... 10 PIT antenna arrays ................................................................................................................. 10 Tagging ................................................................................................................................. 11 Data management .................................................................................................................. 13 Analyses ................................................................................................................................ 13 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Tracking ................................................................................................................................ 14 Fishway attraction and passage ............................................................................................. 15 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 16 Chapter 2: ........................................................................................................................ 23 Marine Derived Nutrients (MDN), a paleolimnological perspective.......................... 23 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 23 Stable Isotopes ...................................................................................................................... 25 X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) ................................................................................................... 27 Paleolimnology and Tracking Historical Fish Abundances .................................................. 29 Methods .................................................................................................................................... 31 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 32 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 34 Thesis Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 40 References:....................................................................................................................... 42 Tables ............................................................................................................................... 57 Figures: ............................................................................................................................ 61 iv Appendix A: Passage Efficiency Generalized Linear Model Output ......................... 82 Appendix B: Passage Efficiency Generalized Linear Model Comparisons ............... 83 Appendix C: Elemental Percentage of Hackmatack Lake Core Sediment ............... 84 Appendix D: Elemental Percentage of Round Lake Core Sediment ......................... 85 Appendix E: Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Ratios for Hackmatack Lake Sediment Core ................................................................................................................. 86 Appendix F: Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Ratios for Round Lake Sediment Core .................................................................................................................................. 87 Appendix G: Sulfur Stable Isotope Ratios for Hackmatack Lake Sediment Core... 88 Appendix H: Sulfur Stable Isotope Ratios for Round Lake Sediment Core ............. 89 Table of Tables Table 1: Style, rise and length (m), slope (o), number of baffles/weirs, # of resting pools and construction material the LaPlanche, Missaquash and LaCoupe fishways. PIT antennas were located on baffles or weirs indicated by number 1 at the bottom and the highest number at the top. ....................................................................................................................................................... 57 Table 2: Detection efficiency (%) of antenna 1-3 within each PIT array installed at the LaPlanche (LP), Missaqaush (MS) and LaCoupe fishways during 2013-16. * new fishway installed in summer 2014 .................................................................................................................................. 58 Table 3: Number of Alewife tagged and detected that year, returnees detected, and individuals successfully ascending a fishway, with passage rates [%; (lower, upper 95% CI)] for newly tagged, returnees and all individuals for the LaPlanche (LP), Missaquash (MS) and LaCoupe (LC) fishways during 2013-16. * new fishway installed in summer 2014 .................................... 59 Table 4: Mean ± SD fork-length (LF, mm) and mass (M, g) of undetected, unsuccessful and successful Alewife tracked aat the LaPlanche, Missaquash and LaCoupe fishways during 2013-16. * new fishway installed in summer 2014 ....................................................................................... 59 Table of Figures Figure 1: Location of the Isthmus of Chignecto (insert) and the LaCoupe (1), Missaquash (2) and LaPlanche (3) rivers and fishways (triangle) relative to tagging sites (cross) and tide gates (circle). ....................................................................................................................................................... 61 Figure 2: Study site Denil fishways on the LaPlanche (A) and Missaquash (B) rivers during 2013- 16, and the 2013-14 (C) and 2015-16 (D) pool-and-weir fishways on the LaCoupe River, showing location of a PIT tuning box (D) and an antenna loop located on a baffle (E) and a weir (F). Please note water level in photo was lower than during operation in LaCoupe pool-and-weir