River flow regulation, fish behaviour and status
In 2016 serious concerns on the achievement of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 targets, due to the continuing loss of biodiversity and degradation of aquatic habitats, led to the urgent adoption of a new Resolution for implementing ecosystem restoration measures. Moreover, on December 2018 the EU raised to 32% the binding renewable energy target for 2030, bringing further input to hydropower development. Meeting these targets sets challenging issues for mitigating the impacts of man-made structures in rivers that fragment habitats and prevent movement and migration of aquatic organisms. The proposed ETN will train 15 ESRs in the interdisciplinary field of Ecohydraulics to find innovative solutions for freshwater fish protection and river continuity restoration in anthropogenically altered rivers. The 15 ESRs will carry out an innovative and integrated research programme within a multidisciplinary and intersectoral Network, including 8 leading European Universities, consultancy companies, public agencies and hydropower industry, encompassing experts in fish biology, river ecology, environmental fluid mechanics and hydraulic engineering. The 15 ESRs will have access to a number of laboratory and field facilities, modelling techniques, experimental practices and instrumental technologies, to expand current understanding of key fundamental fish bio-mechanical, behavioural and physiological processes, and to promote development of novel tools and management solutions in the area of freshwater fish protection. ESRs will be enrolled in specific PhD training programmes according to the rules of 6 host countries and will undertake a Network-wide training programme inclusive of research activities in at least 2 EU countries, short courses at 5 Network Schools, and a series of dissemination and public outreach actions, with the fundamental goal of forming a group of young scientists and practitioners who will play a key role in the water sector at the European scale.