Impact of the Lower Danube Hydro Technical Works on Sturgeons’ Migration

AUTHOR(S):

Marius Constantin Raischi, Lucian Oprea, Gyorgy Deak, Stefan Zamfir, Mihaela Ilie, Natalia Raischi

TITLE

Impact of the Lower Danube Hydro Technical Works on Sturgeons’ Migration

ABSTRACT

After the construction of the Iron Gates dam in 1972, the sturgeons’ population were deeply affected, and in the present, among all European states bordering the Danube, only Romania and Bulgaria still have wild specimens of anadromous sturgeons. Overfishing, poaching, along with other natural factors have already led to the extinction of 2 Danube sturgeon species (Acipenser sturio and Acipenser nudiventris) and also the hydro technical works and other anthropic activities have contributed to the degradation of the conservation status of the other 4 species that still survive. In addition, climate change together with anthropic factors can have synergic impact on the sturgeons’ migration routes, which can lead to critical migration conditions. In the present, there are big gaps in the knowledge of sturgeons behavior that use the Romanian Danube sector as spawning site, basis that asks for extending the research in this domain. Since 2011, INCDPM (National Institute of Research and Development in Environmental Protection), runs a research project to monitor the impact of the navigating improvement hydro technical works in the Lower Danube, C?l?rasi – Braila sector (km 375 – km 175) on the aquatic ecosystems. During the time from 2011 to 2015, 315 sturgeon specimens of the 4 species that are reproducing in the Lower Danube sector were captured, ultrasonic marked and released. Considering a possible impacts of the hydro technical works on sturgeons’ migration, we analyzed the behavior of sturgeon specimens from 3 different species (Huso huso, Acipenser guldenstaedtii and Acipenser stellatus) that crossed the construction sites upon different flow values and water velocities.

KEYWORDS

sturgeon, Lower Danube, migration, telemetry, monitoring, hydro technical works

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Cite this paper

Marius Constantin Raischi, Lucian Oprea, Gyorgy Deak, Stefan Zamfir, Mihaela Ilie, Natalia Raischi. (2016) Impact of the Lower Danube Hydro Technical Works on Sturgeons’ Migration. Environmental Science, 1, 213-219