Richard L. Townsend

University of Washington | UW · School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences

From 2008 to 2018, acoustic telemetry studies were conducted to evaluate dam passage survival of spring migrant Chinook salmon and steelhead smolts at seven of the eight federally operated dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers. Data from over 87 000 dam passage events were evaluated using regression modeling to identify the effect of spill op...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206033.].

Minimizing the mortality and migration time of juvenile salmon (smolts) passing dams is a longstanding objective in the pursuit of salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin. We compiled and analyzed 40 juvenile salmonid acoustic‐tag studies that were performed at seven of the eight hydroelectric projects in the Federal Columbia River Power System...

From 2014 to 2016, GE Renewable Energy and California Ridge Wind Energy tested an ultrasonic bat deterrent system during the autumn bat migration period at an operating wind farm in Illinois, USA. The deterrent system consisted of air‐jet ultrasonic emitters mounted on nacelles and towers in a different configuration each year. Each year we conduct...

Many investigations of anthropogenic and natural impacts in ecological systems attempt to detect differences in ecological variables or community composition. Frequently, ordination procedures such as principal components analysis (PCA) or canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) are used to simplify such complex data sets into a set of primary fact...

S1_File Dragonfly assemblage data.csv. First two principal component values from dragonfly study. (CSV)

S7_File dagostino pearson test fn.txt. R code function to perform a test for normality. (TXT)

S1_Appendix A.docx. Equation to test linear contrasts (L) in ANODIS. (DOCX)

S2_Appendix B.docx. Minimum samples sizes needed to ensure a given power 0.70, 0.80, and 0.90. (DOCX)

S5_File SSc function.txt. R code function to estimate the Sum-of Squares with linear contrasts. (TXT)

S6_File noncentrality r code.txt. R code function to estimate the noncentrality paramter in power calculations. (TXT)

S2_File Mammalian assemblage data.csv. First two principal component values from mammalian study. (CSV)

S3_File Stream chemistry data.csv. First two principal component values from stream study. (CSV)

S4_File anodis.txt. R script example to perform an analysis of distance. (TXT)

Approximately 16% of the world's electricity and over 80% of the world's renewable electricity is generated from hydropower resources, and there is potential for developing significantly more new hydropower capacity. In practice, however, optimizing the use of potential hydropower resources is limited by various factors, including environmental eff...

To acquire 3-D tracking data on juvenile salmonids, Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) cabled hydrophone arrays were deployed in the forebays of two dams on the Snake River and at a mid-reach reservoir between the dams. The depth distributions of fish were estimated by statistical analyses performed on large 3-D tracking data sets fr...

Acoustic telemetry is one of the primary technologies for studying the behavior and survival of fishes throughout the world. The size and performance of the transmitter are key limiting factors. The newly developed injectable transmitter is the first acoustic transmitter that can be implanted via injection instead of surgery. A two-part field study...

Telemetry studies are often used to investigate sturgeon habitat use and movement patterns; however, existing acoustic transmitters are generally too large to implant into age-0 sturgeon without harming the fish. Recent development of a miniaturized acoustic transmitter (cylindrical, 0.7 g in air, 24.2 mm long, 5.0 mm diameter) with up to 365 d bat...

An elaborate set of criteria have been developed by fish managers and regulators to assure the accuracy, precision, representativeness, and robustness of survival compliance studies coordinated within the Federal Columbia River Power System in the northwestern USA. Dam passage survival, defined as survival from the dam face to the tailrace mixing z...

A cylindrical micro acoustic transmitter (AT; weight in air = 0.2 g) has been developed for injection into the peritoneal cavity of fish. Laboratory studies can provide tagging guidelines to minimize the effects of implantation techniques and transmitter burden (transmitter weight expressed as a proportion of fish weight) before use of the AT in fi...

Little is known about the three-dimensional depth distributions in rivers of individually marked fish that are in close proximity to hydropower facilities. Knowledge of the depth distributions of fish approaching dams can be used to understand how vulnerable fish are to injuries such as barotrauma as they pass through dams. To predict the possibili...

An integrated compliance study was performed at McNary and John Day dams to estimate dam passage survival for spring stocks of yearling Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). In the summer, an integrated four-dam study was performed at McNary, John Day, The Dalles, and Bonneville dams to estimate dam passage...

High survival through hydropower projects is an essential element in the recovery of Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. populations in the Columbia River. High dam passage survival is also a regulatory requirement under the 2008 Biological Opinion (BiOp; established under the Endangered Species Act) on Federal Columbia River Power System operation. T...

The purpose of this passage and survival study was to estimate fish performance metrics associated with passage through Little Goose Dam for emigrating yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon and steelhead smolts in 2012. The metrics estimated during this study included dam passage survival, forebay-to-tailrace survival, forebay residence time, tai...

Each year, millions of fish have telemetry tags (acoustic, radio, inductive) surgically implanted to assess their passage and survival through hydropower facilities. One route of passage of particular concern is through hydro turbines, in which fish may be exposed to a range of potential injuries, including barotraumas from rapid decompression. The...

A proportion of juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and other salmonids travel through one or more turbines during their seaward migration in the Columbia and Snake rivers. There is limited information on how these fish respond to the hydraulic pressures found during turbine passage events. We exposed juvenile Chinook salmon to varied...

The acoustic telemetry study reported here was conducted by researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the University of Washington (UW) for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (USACE). The purpose of the study was to estimate dam passage survival and other performance measures for yearling and subyearling Chino...

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and subcontractors conducted an acoustic-telemetry study of juvenile salmonid fish passage and survival at Bonneville Dam in 2010. The study was conducted to assess the readiness of the monitoring system for official compliance studies under the 2008 Biological Opinion and Fish Accords and to assess perf...

Program ATLAS was developed to analyze the survival of migrating smolts in the Columbia River Basin from studies using acoustic- or radio-tagging data. Active tagging technologies allow increased flexibility in designing survival studies, but also introduce the problem of tag failure. Tag failure can be the result of mechanical or battery failure,...

Uncertainty regarding the migratory behavior and survival of juvenile salmonids passing through the lower Columbia River and estuary after negotiating dams in the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) prompted the development and application of the Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS). The JSATS has been used to investigate the s...

A field study to estimate the survival of outmigrating steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts using radiotelemetry methods is illustrated. A paired release–recapture design was used to estimate pool (i.e., reservoir), dam, and project (i.e., reservoir plus dam) survival at two mid-Columbia River hydroprojects based on maximum likelihood estimation....

This paper illustrates how age-at-harvest data, when combined with hunter-effort information routinely collected by state game management agencies, can be used to estimate and monitor trends in big game abundance. Twenty-four years of age-at-harvest data for black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus) were analyzed to produce abundance estimates rangin...

ABSTRACT  The sex-age-kill (SAK) model is widely used to estimate abundance of harvested large mammals, including white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Despite a long history of use, few formal evaluations of SAK performance exist. We investigated how violations of the stable age distribution and stationary population assumption, changes to m...

Traditional single and paired release–recapture models are incapable of providing unbiased estimates of dam passage survival because their assumptions can never be met. Nevertheless, regulatory requirements mandate the estimation of this important performance measure for migratory fish species passing through hydroprojects. We present a new release...

Summarizes research conducted at Bonneville Dam in 2008 to evaluate a prototype Behavioral Guidance Structure, that was deployed by the US Army Corps of Engineers in an effort to increase survival of outmigrating smolts at Bonneville Dam.

This report describes a 2008 acoustic telemetry survival study conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the Portland District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The study estimated the survival of juvenile Chinook salmon and steelhead passing Bonneville Dam (BON) and its spillway. Of particular interest was the relative survival...

This study investigated the mortality of and injury to juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha exposed to simulated pressure changes associated with passage through a large Kaplan hydropower turbine. Mortality and injury varied depending on whether a fish was carrying a transmitter, the method of transmitter implantation, the depth of accl...

Previous methods of estimating route-specific passage and survival probabilities for anadromous salmonids past hydroelectric dams have often failed because of faulty assumptions. We present a robust, multiple-release model that combines release–recapture methods that are known to solve parts of the overall problem. Release 1 allows estimation of ro...

Legal issues related to subspecies identification frequently occur through the implementation of the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA). A listing under the ESA requires management actions to ensure the continued existence of the taxa. However, these actions often have important social, economic, and political implications. We examined the statistic...

The high detection rates of acoustic- and radio-tagged fish greatly improve the ability of an investigator to obtain information on survival and movement of fish with fewer tags. The trade-off, though, is a greater dependence on the individual tag performance, as each tagged fish in a smaller study represents a greater proportion of the outcome. Th...

Advancements in micro-processors and battery miniaturization have provided today's researchers with tools that allow monitoring of individuals and determination of survival with greater solution. One of these technologies is the Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag that consists of a small copper coil and integrated microchip encased in a glass...

Our goal was to determine whether it would be possible to conduct a transportation evaluation using naturally produced subyearling Chinook salmon from the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. The specific objectives of the project were to: 1. PIT tag and release a minimum of 10,000 naturally produced subyearling Chinook salmon collected from the Ha...

Juvenile salmon migrating down the mainstem Columbia River to the sea must negotiate through a series of dams and reservoirs. Survival rates of smolts through dams and reservoirs can vary widely and may be affected by a wide range of variables. Many efforts are underway to increase smolt survival through the hydropower system. For these efforts to...

A tag-release study is illustrated using radio-tagged chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) smolts to concurrently estimate passage rates and survival probabilities through the spillway and turbines of a hydroelectric project. The radio antennas at the forebays of the dam were arranged in double arrays allowing the estimation of route-specific detecti...

Statistical analyses based on maximum likelihood methods are presented to jointly estimate harvest rates, survival, recruitment, and population abundance from age-at-harvest data. To perform the population reconstruction from the age-at-harvest data, auxiliary field data and information on harvest reporting rates are required. The statistical metho...

This project analyzes in greater detail the coded-wire-tag (CWT) returns of Priest Rapids Hatchery fall chinook for the years 1976--1989 initially begun by Hilborn et al. (1993a). These additional analyses were prompted by suggestions made by peer reviews of the initial draft report. The initial draft and the peer review comments are included in th...

We explored the relationship between Columbia River flow, and survival from hatchery release to recovery of adults in catch and escapement for Columbia River chinook salmon. The only hatchery that was above the lower river dams and had a long time series of coded wire tag (CWT) release groups was the fall chinook stock at Priest Rapids hatchery. Th...

Since 1988, wild salmon have been PIT-tagged under programs conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Oregon Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The detection of tagged individuals at Lower Granite Dam provides a measure, of the temporal and spatial distribution of the wil...

Since 1988, wild salmon have been PIT-tagged through monitoring and research programs conducted by the Columbia River fisheries agencies and Tribes. The detection of tagged individuals at Lower Granite Dam provides a measure of the temporal and spatial distribution of the wild populations. PIT Forecaster was developed to take advantage of this hist...

This project was initiated in 1991 in response to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings in the Snake River Basin of the Columbia River Basin. Primary objectives and management implications of this project include: (1)to address the need for further synthesis of historical tagging and other biological information to improve understanding and ide...

The Portland District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracted with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to conduct three studies using acoustic telemetry to estimate detection probabilities and survival of juvenile Chinook salmon at three hydropower projects on the lower Columbia River. The primary goals were to estimate detectio...

Program RealTime provided monitoring and forecasting of the 2007 inseason outmigrations via the internet for 26 PIT-tagged stocks of wild ESU Chinook salmon and steelhead to Lower Granite and/or McNary dams, one PIT-tagged hatchery-reared ESU of sockeye salmon to Lower Granite Dam, one PIT-tagged wild stock of sockeye salmon to McNary Dam, and 20 p...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District (CENWP) funds numerous evaluations of fish passage and survival on the Columbia River. In 2007, the CENWP asked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to conduct an acoustic telemetry study to estimate the survival of juvenile Chinook salmon passing the spillway at Bonneville Dam. This report docume...

This report is a post-season analysis of the accuracy of the 1996 predictions from the program RealTime. Observed 1996 migration data collected at Lower Granite Dam were compared to the predictions made by RealTime for the spring outmigration of wild spring/summer chinook. Appendix A displays the graphical reports of the RealTime program that were...

The strength of a salmon run is often measured as the adult return rate from some previous brood year (i.e. the percent of a smolt population returning to spawn or captured in fisheries). The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE) program of barge transportation of smolts from collector dams is one mitigation measure used to improve smolt survival. Usi...