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DATA SET IDENTIFIER: Conservation and management of migratory fauna and dams in tropical streams of Puerto Rico

PROJECT TITLE: Ecological studies of dams and migratory fauna, Puerto Rico

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The ecological roles of diadromous fauna (freshwater shrimps, fishes, and snails) in Puerto Rico were studied in the context of examining consequences of their loss from streams above large (height >15 m) dams. Four sub-projects were conducted:
(a) Indirect upstream effects of dams: consequences of migratory consumer extirpation in Puerto Rico. This sub-project examined the effects of decimation of migratory fauna populations on stream ecosystem structure above large dams. We compared streams above large dams to streams without large dams, in terms of relative abundances of migratory fauna and ecosystem components affected by migratory fauna in previous in situ experiments. Previous research indicated that: (1) all native fishes and shrimps in Puerto Rico are extirpated from habitats upstream of large dams without regular spillway discharge because they are diadromous, whereas streams above large dams with regular spillway discharge have greatly reduced abundances of diadromous fauna, and streams without large dams have relatively natural fish and shrimp assemblages (Holmquist et al. 1998); and (2) small-scale experimental exclusion of native shrimps and fishes decreases leaf decay rates and increases epilithic organic and inorganic matter, chlorophyll a, carbon, nitrogen, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N), and chironomid biomass (Pringle et al. 1999, Crowl et al. 2001, March et al. 2001, March et al. 2002). We examined whether sites above large dams had higher levels of epilithic coarse organic matter, algae, fine organic and inorganic matter, carbon, nitrogen, C:N, and non-decapod invertebrates, consistent with previous findings of small-scale experimental shrimp and fish exclusions.
(b) Do small-scale exclosure/enclosure experiments have relevance for large-scale extirpation of migratory fauna? This sub-project took advantage of large dams to examine effects of experimental scale. Alteration of migratory stream populations due to large dams represents a large-scale (i.e. whole-catchment), long-term (i.e. decades) "extirpation experiment." We compared this large-scale perturbation to four small-scale experiments (two exclusion experiments in sites with no large dams and two shrimp addition experiments in dammed sites) that we conducted in a subset of the sites sampled in sub-project (a). We examined whether small-scale experiments predicted effects at the large-scale in terms of direction and magnitude.
(c) Conservation and management of migratory fauna and dams in tropical streams of Puerto Rico. This sub-project was a review, in which we: (1) examined Puerto Rico's potential to serve as a window into the future of freshwater migratory fauna in tropical regions, given the island's extent and magnitude of dam development and the available scientific information on ecology and management of the island's migratory fauna, and (2) reviewed ecology, management and conservation of migratory fauna in relation to dams in Puerto Rico. Our review included a synthesis of recent and unpublished observations on upstream effects of large dams on migratory fauna and an analysis of patterns in free crest spillway discharge across Puerto Rican reservoirs.
(d) Ecological effects of non-migratory native and non-native fauna above large dams in tropical streams, Puerto Rico. This sub-project consisted of a set of electric exclusion experiments conducted above two of the dammed sites in sub-project a. Previous research demonstrated higher abundances of exotic fishes above large dams (Holmquist et al. 1998). Thus, these experiments examined whether exotic fishes affect stream ecosystem patterns and confound any interpretations in sub-project a regarding roles of migratory macroconsumers.

LTER CORE AREAS: Annotate all that apply (See online list)

LEF LTER 1 RESEARCH TOPIC: (Annotate all that apply) (See online list)

We define a data file as a component of a data set. A data set can have only one data file or more. Basically, different data files have different data structures or format .
DATA SET FILES (SUBSETS):

Data File No.	Data File Identifier	On-Line Filename	Starting Date	Periodicity of sample	End Period
1	Supplemental information on an analysis of spillway crest discharge and detailed unpublished observations of native migratory fauna occurring upstream from large dams across Puerto Rico	aquaticconservation.txt	June 30, 2003	once	30 June 2003
2	Shrimp and fish abundances above the Cerrillos dam	ShrimpFishCerrillos.txt	June 22, 1993	once	December 10,1999
3	Shrimp and fish abundances above the Portugues dam	ShrimpFishPortugues.txt	September 15, 1994	once	December 10,1999

RESEARCH LOCATION:The large dams of Puerto Rico, and selected stream sites above these large dams.

INVESTIGATORS:

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS	E-MAIL ADDRESS:
Effie A. Greathouse	effieg@gmail.com

OTHER RESEARCHERS	E-MAIL ADDRESS:
Catherine M. Pringle	cpringle@uga.edu
William H. McDowell	wmcdowell@lternet.edu
Jeff G. Holmquist

CONTACT PERSONS	Phone Number (Include area code)	E-MAIL ADDRESS:
Effie A. Greathouse	916-332-5771 (Whitney Masonry)	effieg@gmail.com

SOURCE OF FUNDING (SPONSOR): National Science Foundation (NSF) Luquillo LTER (BSR 8811902, DEB9411973, DEB0080538, DEB0218039), the NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant program (DEB 0308543), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (grants 10-21-RR551-141, 10-21-RR250-109); and the NSF Graduate Fellowship program (fellowship to EAG)

DATA SET ABSTRACT:1. Compared to most other tropical regions, Puerto Rico appears to have dammed its running waters decades earlier and to a greater degree. The island has more large dams per unit area than many countries in both tropical and temperate regions (e.g., 3x that of the U.S.), and the peak rate of large dam construction occurred two and three decades prior to reported peak rates in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
2. Puerto Rico is a potential window into the future of freshwater migratory fauna in tropical regions, given the island's extent and magnitude of dam development and the available scientific information on ecology and management of the island's migratory fauna.
3. We review ecology, management and conservation of migratory fauna in relation to dams in Puerto Rico. Our review includes a synthesis of recent and unpublished observations on upstream effects of large dams on migratory fauna and an analysis of patterns in free crest spillway discharge across Puerto Rican reservoirs. Analyses suggest that large dams with rare spillway discharge cause near, not complete, extirpation of upstream populations of migratory fauna. They also suggest several management and conservation issues in need of further research and consideration. These include research on the costs, benefits and effectiveness of simple fish/shrimp passage designs involving simulating spillway discharge and the appropriateness of establishing predatory fishes in reservoirs of historically fishless drainages.

DATA SET METHODS: Spillway discharge analysis: For each large dam downstream from our high-gradient, high-elevation sampling sites from Greathouse et al. (in press) (dams were: Dos Bocas, Caonillas, Matrullas, Carite, Toa Vaca, Luchetti, Garzas), we obtained the entire USGS daily-lake-elevation record prior to the last date of our field research on 30 June 2003 (records ranged from 4-15 years long). For other dams, we analyzed water years 1999 and 2000 (for dams: Guayabal, Patillas, Guajataca, Cidra, Loco, Loiza, Guayo, La Plata, Cerrillos) or records from recently-installed lake elevation gages (installations in November 2004: Comerio; installations in February 2005: Coamo, Adjuntas, Vivi, Prieto, Yahuecas). For each record, we then determined the percentage of days with spillway discharge (100 times the number of days with lake elevations exceeding the spillway crest elevation divided by the total number of days for which a lake elevation was reported). Previously unpublished observations of native shrimps and fishes occurring upstream from large dams were made by various methods ranging from simple visual observation to non-quantitative sampling to quantitative sampling by electroshocking. Descriptions of the methods, when available, are included in the data set file (aquaticconservation.txt).

REFERENCES:
Crowl, T. A., W. H. McDowell, A. P. Covich, and S. L. Johnson. 2001. Freshwater shrimp effects on detrital processing and nutrients in a tropical headwater stream. Ecology 82: 775-783.
Holmquist, J. G., J. M. Schmidt-Gengenbach, and B. B. Yoshioka. 1998. High dams and marine-freshwater linkages: effects on native and introduced fauna in the Caribbean. Conservation Biology 12: 621-630.
Greathouse, E. A. 2005. Large dams and migratory biota affect tropical stream ecosystems at different scales in Puerto Rico. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Georgia, Athens.
Greathouse, E. A., C. M. Pringle, W. H. McDowell, and J. G. Holmquist. In press. Indirect upstream effects of dams: consequences of migratory consumer extirpation in Puerto Rico. Ecological Applications.
March, J. G., J. P. Benstead, C. M. Pringle, and M. W. Ruebel. 2001. Linking shrimp assemblages with rates of detrital processing along an elevational gradient in a tropical stream. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 58: 470-478.
March, J. G., C. M. Pringle, M. J. Townsend, and A. I. Wilson. 2002. Effects of freshwater shrimp assemblages on benthic communities along an altitudinal gradient of a tropical island stream. Freshwater Biology 47: 377-390.
Pringle, C. M., N. Hemphill, W. H. McDowell, A. Bednarek, and J. G. March. 1999. Linking species and ecosystems: different biotic assemblages cause interstream differences in organic matter. Ecology 80: 1860-1872.
Villamil, J., and R. G. Clements. 1976. Some aspects of the ecology of the fresh water shrimps in the upper Espíritu Santo River at El Verde, Puerto Rico. PRNC-206. 206, Puerto Rico Nuclear Center, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras.

CROSS-REFERENCES (other data sets related to this one): LTERDBAS #138: Conservation and management of migratory fauna and dams in tropical streams of Puerto Rico; LTERDBAS #139: Indirect upstream effects of dams: consequences of migratory consumer extirpation in Puerto Rico;

STORAGE SITES(of data files): Copy of the data is with LUQ IM; Original data is maintained by Effie Greathouse

INVESTIGATOR'S ASSIGNED KEYWORDS: Dams, Diadromy, Experimental Scale, Freshwater Shrimps, Migratory Fauna, Tropical Island Streams

LEF LTER OFFICIAL KEYWORDS (See table): OTHER PLOTS, HEADWATER STREAM, RIVER, WATER ABSTRACTION, DISTURBANCE, ALGAE, AQUATIC, DECAPODS, FISH, INSECTS, DISSERTATION, PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL

PUBLICATIONS:
Greathouse, E. A., C. M. Pringle, and J. G. Holmquist. In press. Conservation and management of migratory fauna and dams in tropical streams of Puerto Rico. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.

SITES DESCRIPTIONS: The large dams of Puerto Rico, and selected stream sites above these large dams. Names of dams and detailed site descriptions, when available, are listed/described in the date set file (aquaticconservation.txt).

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

File Name or # above (all in which the variable appears)	1	1	1	1
AbbreviationAbbreviation(as it appears on the data file)	Dam	Elevation	Gage #	Observations
NAME OF VARIABLE	Dam name	Spillway crest elevation	USGS gage number	Descriptions of observations of migratory fauna
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	The name of the large dam. No data is missing in this field.	The elevation (in Meters above sea level) of the crest of the dam's free crest spillway (if the dam has a free crest spillway instead of a morning glory spillway). When missing or blank, the following codes will appear in the descriptions field of this file: ----- = the dam does not have a free crest spillway elevation to report because the dam instead has a morning glory tunnel spillway; ? = free crest spillway crest elevation is unknown because the dam is still under construction	The last 6 digits of the United States Geological Survey lake elevation gage used in the spillway discharge analysis. The first two digits for all gages are 50. When missing or blank the following code will appear in the Descriptions field: ----- = the dam does not have a free crest spillway and therefore no gage was used in the free crest spillway discharge analysis; no gage = the dam has a free crest spillway but there is no USGS gage of the lake level	Detailed descriptions of previously unpublished observations of native migratory shrimps and fishes occurring upstream from large dams across Puerto Rico. No data is missing in this field.
UNIT
PRECISION		0.01
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES	Carite, Comerio,Guayabal Coamo, Patillas, Guajataca, El Guineo, Matrullas, Dos Bocas, Garzas, Las Curias, Cidra, Caonillas, Adjuntas, Pellejas, Vivi, Loco, Luchetti, Loˇza, Prieto, Guayo, Yahuecas, Toa Vaca, La Plata, Cerrillos, Portugues	{31.0,..,543.6}	039990, 044100, 111300, 106850, 093045, 010800, 027100, 047550, 026140, 020550, 023110, 128900, 125480, 059000, 142500, 141500, 141100, 111210, 045000, 113950
DATA TYPE	alphabetic	decimal	alphanumeric	alphabetic
MISSING DATA CODES

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

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COMPUTATIONAL METHODS:

DATE OF LAST ENTRY: December 10,1999

Rev. date of this form: 28 July 200/ 15 July  2001/June 9, 2003/March 16, 2004/12 April 2005/ 8 November 2005/ 16 January 2006