Theodore R Castro-Santos
Biography
Intro
Human activities have caused extensive fragmentation of riverine corridors. Dams, culverts, and other barriers prevent migratory and riverine fishes from accessing key habitats. This is particularly problematic for diadromous fishes like Atlantic salmon and American shad that must transition between fresh- and saltwater habitats in order to complete their life cycles. Swimming performance and behavioral responses to hydraulic conditions (turbulence, velocity, etc.) are major interests, as is development of quantitative methods for identifying and characterizing barriers. This work has broad relevance, not only to stewardship and management of aquatic resources, but also to understanding fundamental aspects of the ecology and evolution of fishes. Some current projects include:
- Sprint-swimming performance of migratory and riverine species
- Effects of turbulence on swimming performance, biomechanics, and behavior
- Modeling fish passage through culverts
- Bioenergetics models of anadromous fish migration
ResearchGate link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Theodore_Castro-Santos2
Science and Products
A generic web application to visualize and understand movements of tagged animals
The goal of this project was to maximize the value of expensive animal tagging data. We developed an interactive web application to help scientists understand patterns in their own tagging datasets and to help scientists, funders and agencies communicate tagging data to decision-makers and to the general public. Interactive visualizations have emerged recently as a valuable tool for...
Fish locomotion and biomechanics as limiting and optimizing factors in fish passage
Swimming ability determines how well fish are able to access habitat, and is a fundamental design consideration for passing fish at dams, road crossings, etc. The purpose of this study plan is to improve understanding of how fish are able to negotiate zones of high velocity and turbulent flow, such as are found in fishways, culverts, as well as in natural areas. Swimming performance is...
Fish Biomechanics
Biomechanics is the study of mechanical laws relating to the movement of living organisms. In regards to fish, biomechanics pertains to the body shape of different species and the various structures of fish muscles, fins, etc. The biomechanics of a fish impact its swimming performance which in turn affects its ability to surpass barriers to movement. Understanding the biomechanical drivers of...
How lipid content and temperature affect American shad (Alosa sapidissima) attempt rate and sprint swimming: Implications for overcoming migration barriers
How seasonal effects such as temperature increases and reduced lipid content affect the ability of anadromous fishes to traverse high-velocity barriers and sprint swimming is poorly understood. We evaluated American shad (Alosa sapidissima) swimming performance in a flume against high flow velocities (2.5–3.7 m·s−1) during the upstream migration...
Bayse, Shannon Michael; McCormick, Stephen D.; Castro-Santos, Theodore R.Assessing risks from harbor dredging to the northernmost population of diamondback terrapins using acoustic telemetry
The northern diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin) is a saltmarsh-dependent turtle that occupies coastal habitats throughout much of the Atlantic coast of North America. We used a novel application of acoustic telemetry to quantify both mobility and occupancy of terrapins within a dredged harbor and surrounding habitats, and used...
Castro-Santos, Theodore R.; Bolus, M.; Danylchuk, A.J.Sediment infilling benefits rainbow trout passage in a baffled channel
Fish are thought to exploit low velocity recirculation zones in the wakes of baffles to take refuge from challenging hydraulic conditions in baffled culverts. Here, we investigate how sediment deposition in the wakes of baffles affects passage and behaviors of juvenile rainbow trout in a baffled experimental flume. High...
Duguay, Jason; Foster, Brendan; Lacey, R.W. Jay; Castro-Santos, Theodore R.The S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center--a model for progress
No abstract available.
Castro-Santos, Theodore R.; Haro, Alexander J.; Letcher, Benjamin H.; McCormick, Stephen D.Influencia de factores ambientales y biométricos en la capacidad de nado del barbo ibérico (Luciobarbus bocagei Steindachner, 1864), un ciprínido potamódromo endémico de la Península Ibérica
El presente trabajo analiza la capacidad voluntaria de nado del barbo ibérico (Luciobarbus bocagei Steindachner, 1864) en un canal abierto durante su época de migración, relacionándola con factores ambientales y biométricos. La temperatura del agua, la velocidad de flujo y la longitud del pez fueron los factores de mayor importancia que...
Ruiz-Legazpi, Jorge; Sanz-Ronda, F.J.; Bravo-Cordoba, F.J.; Fuentes-Perez, J.F.; Castro-Santos, Theodore R.Effectiveness of a fish ladder for two Neotropical migratory species in the Paraná River
We evaluated fish ladder effectiveness at Porto Primavera Dam in the Upper Paraná River, for two Neotropical migratory fish species. Overall, 564 fish (448 Megaleporinus obtusidens and 116 M. piavussu) were PIT-tagged, released in upstream and downstream areas (on the left and right banks), and monitored continuously for 4 years....
Gutfreund, Carola; Makrakis, Sergio; Castro-Santos, Theodore R.; Celestino, Leandro; Dias, João Henrique Pinheiro; Makrakis, Maristela CavicchioliThe future of fish passage science, engineering, and practice
Much effort has been devoted to developing, constructing and refining fish passage facilities to enable target species to pass barriers on fluvial systems, and yet, fishway science, engineering and practice remain imperfect. In this review, 17 experts from different fish passage research fields (i.e., biology, ecology, physiology, ecohydraulics,...
Silva, Ana T.; Lucas, Martyn C.; Castro-Santos, Theodore R.; Katopodis, Christos; Baumgartner, Lee J.; Thiem, Jason D.; Aarestrup, Kim; Pompeu, Paulo S.; O'Brien, Gordon C.; Braun, Douglas C.; Burnett, Nicholas J.; Zhu, David Z.; Fjeldstad, Hans-Petter ; Forseth, Torbjorn; Rajarathnam, Nallamuthu; Williams, John G.; Cooke, Steven J.Spatial mismatch between sea lamprey behaviour and trap location explains low success at trapping for control
Crucial to the management of invasive species is understanding space use and the environmental features affecting space use. Improved understanding of space use by invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) could help researchers discern why trap success in large rivers is lower than needed for effective control. We tested whether manipulating...
Rous, Andrew M.; McLean, Adrienne R.; Barber, Jessica; Bravener, Gale; Castro-Santos, Theodore; Holbrook, Christopher M.; Imre, Istvan; Pratt, Thomas C.; McLaughlin, Robert L.Swimming behaviour and ascent paths of brook trout in a corrugated culvert
Culverts may restrict fish movements under some hydraulic conditions such as shallow flow depths or high velocities. Although swimming capacity imposes limits to passage performance, behaviour also plays an important role in the ability of fish to overcome velocity barriers. Corrugated metal culverts are characterized by unsteady flow and...
Goerig, Elsa; Bergeron, Normand E.; Castro-Santos, Theodore R.Downstream migration and multiple dam passage by Atlantic Salmon smolts
The purpose of this study was to investigate behavior and survival of radio-tagged wild and hatchery-reared landlocked Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar smolts as they migrated past three hydropower dams equipped with fish bypass solutions in the Winooski River, Vermont. Among hatchery-reared smolts, those released early were more likely to...
Nyqvist, D.; McCormick, Stephen D.; Greenberg, L.; Ardren, W.R.; Bergman, E.; Calles, O.; Castro-Santos, Theodore R.The effects of horizontally and vertically oriented baffles on flow structure andascent performance of upstream-migrating fish
Considerable effort has been expended to construct culverts and fishways that allow for fish passage. However, the designs have seldom considered behaviour, energetics, and biomechanics of fish. In this study, we performed controlled experiments, in which upstreammigrating Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were...
Enders, Eva; Castro-Santos, Theodore R.; Lacey, JayNovel, continuous monitoring of fine‐scale movement using fixed‐position radiotelemetry arrays and random forest location fingerprinting
Radio‐tag signals from fixed‐position antennas are most often used to indicate presence or absence of individuals, or to estimate individual activity levels from signal strength variation within an antenna's detection zone. The potential of such systems to provide more precise information on tag location and movement has not been explored in great...
Harbicht, Andrew B.; Castro-Santos, Theodore R.; Ardren, William R.; Gorsky, Dimitry; Fraser, Dylan