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A major consequence of poorly designed culverts is the destabilization of food webs. Sufficient predators and prey must exist to maintain a balanced food web. For example, freshwater mussels (Unionidae) are a common snack among fish. A mussel’s life cycle involves using certain fish as a host for their larvae until these microscopic juveniles mature into their adult forms and drop off. During this period, the host fish will travel, effectively transporting a future food source with it.
In the presence of habitat fragmentation, the isolation of these symbiotic relationships can be devastating. Some mussel species rely on a small circle of fish species as their hosts, and conversely, some fish species rely on specific mussel species as their food. If a fish species is separated from its mussel partner, food shortages owing to a declining adult mussel population can occur.
A shift in the 1980s recognized the importance of redesigning road-stream crossings for several reasons, including restoring aquatic organism passage and maintaining flood resiliency. Replacing culverts with larger structures that better facilitate the movement of both water and aquatic organisms benefit all species. Roads constructed over streams allow people to travel across natural landscapes while culverts that are fish-friendly convey water at a rate similar to the surrounding landscape, reducing scour in stream beds.
Fish, as well as semi-terrestrial organisms like crabs and salamanders, can take advantage of more natural stream environments and complete their migrations. Anglers appreciate healthy, plentiful fish populations nearly as much as the fish themselves. Recreation and economic growth also improve when streams regain the aquatic biological communities once lost through habitat fragmentation. According to USFWS, for every dollar spent on restoration through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and Coastal Program Restoration Project, states gain $1.90 of economic activity. Stream restoration improves fish and wildlife habitat, which directly supports and enhances recreation opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts thus resulting in increased tourism-related spending and job growth.
Princeton Hydro recently completed a project to facilitate aquatic organism passage for river herring in Red Brook in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Read all about it here!
Princeton Hydro was hired by Save the Sound (formerly Connecticut Fund for the Environment) to design a fish passage project along the Noroton River through a long, perched three-barrel concrete culvert under Interstate-95. Click here to read more.
For an introduction to aquatic organism passage, be sure to check out the first post in this multipart-series.
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Sources:
“Aquatic Organism Passage through Bridges and Culverts.” Flow. Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s Watershed Management Division, 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.
Hoffman, R.L., Dunham, J.B., and Hansen, B.P., eds., 2012, Aquatic organism passage at road-stream crossings— Synthesis and guidelines for effectiveness monitoring: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012-1090, 64 p.
Jackson, S., 2003. “Design and Construction of Aquatic Organism Passage at Road-Stream Crossings: Ecological Considerations in the Design of River and Stream Crossings.” 20-29 International Conference of Ecology and Transportation, Lake Placid, New York.
Kilgore, Roger T., Bergendahl, Bart S., and Hotchkiss, Rollin H. Publication No. FHWAHIF-11-008 HEC-26. Culvert Design for Aquatic Organism Passage Hydraulic Engineering Circular Number 26. October 2010.
Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Freshwater Mussels of Michigan. Michigan State University, 2005.
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