Essay on "Damns on Wildlife"

Quoted Instructions for "Damns on Wildlife" Assignment:

Damming and its Effects on Wildlife

There are many effects on the wildlife due to the damming of our river systems especially fish. This effect can contribute to the decline of the fresh water biodiversity. Damming of rivers has also put some species in danger to becoming extinct. This is not only a problem in the United States but other countries such as Brazil and Korea, and Spain. The biggest question to be answered is how can we develop a solution to the current problem. How can we rehabilitate the dammed river systems that will help improve the environment for the wildlife and for us? Another question to be answered is what is the impact on the fish populations due to damming river systems? By developing solutions to the issue surrounding the damming of the river systems we can begin to preserve our river systems for the future. Human-induced habitat alteration is one of the main causes of the decline of freshwater fish populations (Gosset, 2011). Damming of rivers has had a tremendous effect on the ability of wildlife to mate and repopulate. Damming has affected the habitat of the anadromous salmonid in United States. The change in their habitat has affected their evolution indirectly, thus reducing their genetic variation within populations. This also presents a change in their phenotypic expressions. These results suggest that loss of habitat will alter evolutionary trajectories in salmonid populations and Evolutionarily Significant Units (McClure, 2011). One possible solution to the current problem with damming rivers is to regulate the flow and frequency of the river help sustain the populations of fish. Such techniques are employed in Spain. Duration and frequency of flow discharges could be manipulated so as to create favorable hydrological conditions for restoring sustainable populations of brown trout in rivers (Alonso-Gonzalez, 2011). Another solution to help save fish is to protect them by surface flow. This technology can meet the goal of concurrent anadromous fish protection and hydropower generation (Johnson, 2011). A most recent way to protect migrating fish such as salmon is by the use of fish ladders. The major sections are the effects of dams on fish, how have dams effected the fish population and genetic variation, fish ladders, and methods that have been established to protect and rehabilitate fish.