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
Journal publications
Cooke, S.J., V.M. Nguyen, K.J. Murchie, J.D. Thiem, M.R. Donaldson, S.G. Hinch, R.S. Brown and A. Fisk. (In Press). To tag or not to tag: animal welfare, conservation and stakeholder considerations in fish tracking studies that use electronic tags. Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy 00:000-000.
Cooke, S.J., J.D. Midwood, J.D. Thiem, A.P. Klimley, M.C. Lucas, E.B. Thorstad, J. Eiler, C. Holbrook, B.C. Ebner (In Press) Tracking animals in freshwater with electronic tags: past, present and future. Animal Biotelemetry 00:000-000.
Lapointe, N. W. R., J. D. Thiem, S. E. Doka, and S. J. Cooke. (In Press) Opportunities for improving aquatic restoration science and monitoring through the use of animal electronic tagging technology. BioScience 00:000-000.
Thiem, J.D., C. Hatry, J.W. Brownscombe, F. Cull, A.D. Shultz, A.J. Danylchuk, and S.J. Cooke (In press) Evaluation of radio telemetry to study the spatial ecology of checkered puffers (Sphoeroides testudineus) in shallow tropical marine systems. Bulletin of Marine Science 00:000-000.
Brownscombe, J.W., J.D. Thiem, C. Hatry, F. Cull, C.R. Haak, A.J. Danylchuk, and S.J. Cooke (In press) Recovery bags reduce post-release impairments in locomotory activity and behaviour of bonefish (Albula spp.) following exposure to angling-related stressors. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 00:000-000
Hatry, C., T.R. Binder, J.D. Thiem, C.T. Hasler, K.E. Smokorowski, K. Clark, C. Katopodis, and S.J. Cooke (In press) The status of fishways in Canada: trends identified using the national CanFishPass database. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 00:000-000.
Steffensen, S.M., J.D. Thiem, K.M. Stamplecoskie, T.R. Binder, C. Hatry, N. Langlois-Anderson, and S.J. Cooke (2013) Biological effectiveness of an inexpensive nature-like fishway for passage of warmwater fish in a small Ontario stream. Ecology of Freshwater Fish22:374-383 [pdf, 750 KB]
Thiem, J.D., T.R. Binder, P. Dumont, D. Hatin, C. Hatry, C. Katopodis, K.M. Stamplecoskie, and S.J. Cooke. (2013) Multi-species fish passage behaviour in a vertical slot fishway on the Richelieu River, Quebec, Canada. River Research and Applications 29:582-592 [pdf, 623 KB]
Thiem, J.D., D. Hatin, P. Dumont, G. Van Der Kraak, and S.J. Cooke (2013) Biology of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) spawning below a dam on the Richelieu River, Quebec: behaviour, egg deposition and endocrinology. Canadian Journal of Zoology 91:175-186 [pdf, 829 KB]
Burnett, N.J., K.M. Stamplecoskie, J.D. Thiem, S.J. Cooke (2013) Comparison of detection efficiency among three sizes of half duplex passive integrated transponders using manual tracking and fixed antenna arrays. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 33:7-13 [pdf, 250 KB]
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
Thiem, J.D., Binder, T.R., Dawson, J.W., Dumont, P., Hatin, D., Katopodis, C., Zhu, D.Z. and Cooke SJ (2011) Behaviour and passage success of upriver-migrating lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in a vertical slot fishway on the Richelieu River, Quebec. Endangered Species Research 15: 1–11 [pdf, 446 KB]
Broadhurst, B.T., Dyer, J.G., Ebner, B.C. Thiem, J.D., and Pridmore PA (2011) Response of two-spined blackfish Gadopsis bispinosus to short-term flow fluctuations in an upland Australian stream. Hydrobiologia 673: 63–77 [pdf, 516 KB]
Thiem, J.D., Taylor, M.K., McConnachie, S.H., Binder, T.R. and Cooke, S.J. (2011) Trends in the reporting of tagging procedures for fish telemetry studies that have used surgical implantation of transmitters: a call for more complete reporting. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 21: 117–126 [pdf, 226 KB]
Thiem, J.D., Ebner, B.C. And Clear, R.C. (2010). Validating variation in radio-signal strength as an index of aquatic fauna activity. Australian Journal of Zoology 58: 50–55. [pdf, 219 KB]
Ebner, B.C. and Thiem, J.D. (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. [pdf, 896 KB]
Ebner, B.C., Thiem, J.D., Gilligan, D.M., Lintermans, M., Wooden, I.J. and Linke, S. (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. [pdf, 340 KB]
Thiem, J.D., Ebner, B.C. and Broadhurst, B.T. (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. [pdf, 524 KB]
Ebner, B.C., Thiem, J.D. and Lintermans, M. (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. [pdf, 421 KB]
Other publications
Lintermans, M., Broadhurst, B. Thiem, J. D., Ebner, B. C., Wright, D., Clear, R., and Norris, R. H. (2010). Constructed homes for threatened fishes in the Cotter River catchment: Phase 2 report. Report to ACTEW Corporation. Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra. 202p.
Lintermans, M., Thiem, J. D., Broadhurst, B. Ebner, B. C., Clear, R., Starrs, D., Frawley, K. and Norris, R. H. (2008). Constructed homes for threatened fishes in the Cotter River catchment: Phase 1 report. Report to ACTEW Corporation. Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra. 81p.
Ebner, B., Thiem, J., Broadhurst, B., Clear, R. and Frawley, K. (2008). Delivering environmental flows to large biota. Final report to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Canberra: Parks, Conservation and Lands. 48p.
Ebner, B., Thiem, J., Lintermans, M. and Gilligan, D. (eds.) (2006). An ecological approach to re-establishing Australian Freshwater cod populations: an application to trout cod in the Murrumbidgee catchment. Final report to the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (Project No. 2003/034). Canberra: Parks, Conservation and Lands. 168p.
Thiem, J. (2002). The role of large woody debris as fish habitat in the Darling River. Unpublished Honours Thesis, University of Canberra. 110p.
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