** The title, authors, and abstract for this completion report are provided below.  For a copy of the completion report, please contact the author at njohnson@usgs.gov or via telephone at 989-734-4768. Questions? Contact the GLFC via e-mail or via telephone at 734-662-3209 **

Evaluation of low-voltage DC fish-guidance systems to manipulate movement patterns of downstream migrating juvenile sea lamprey

Nicholas Johnson¹ and Scott Miehls¹

¹USGS, Great Lakes Science Center, Hammond Bay Biological Station, 11188 Ray Road, Millersburg, Michigan 49759

April 2013

Abstract

Non-physical stimuli can deter or guide fish without significant impact to water flow or navigation and therefore have been investigated to improve fish passage at anthropogenic barriers and to control invasive fish. Upstream fish migration can be blocked or guided without physical structure by electrifying the water, but directional downstream fish guidance with electricity has received little attention. We tested two innovative graduated field pulsed DC electric systems, each having different electrode orientations (vertical versus horizontal), to determine their ability to guide out-migrating juvenile sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss); species valued in their native range, but invasive elsewhere. Both systems guided significantly more juvenile sea lamprey to a specific location in our experimental raceway when activated versus deactivated, but guidance efficiency decreased with increasing water velocity. At the electric field setting that effectively guided sea lamprey, rainbow trout were guided by the vertical electrode system, but most trout were blocked by the horizontal electrode system. Additional research should characterize the response of other species to graduated fields of pulsed DC and focus on developing electrode configurations that effectively guide fish at various water velocities by only varying input parameters to the electrodes.