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Salmon recovery and the potential detrimental effects of dams on fish have been attracting national attention due to the environmental and economic implications. In recent years acoustic telemetry has been the primary method for studying salmon passage. However, the size of the existing transmitters limits the minimum size of fish that can be studied, introducing a bias to the study results. We developed the first acoustic fish transmitter that can be implanted by injection instead of surgery. The new injectable transmitter lasts four times longer and weighs 30% less than other transmitters. Because the new transmitter costs significantly less to use and may substantially reduce adverse effects of implantation and tag burden, it will allow for study of migration behavior and survival of species and sizes of fish that have never been studied before. The new technology will lead to critical information needed for salmon recovery and the development of fish-friendly hydroelectric systems.

Acoustic telemetry is one of the primary technologies for studying the behavior and survival of fishes throughout the world. The size and performance of the transmitter are key limiting factors. The newly developed injectable transmitter is the first acoustic transmitter that can be implanted via injection instead of surgery. A two-part field study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the injectable transmitter and its effect on the survival of implanted fish. The injectable transmitter performed well and similarly to the proceeding generation of commercially-available JSATS transmitters tested concurrently. Snake River subyearling Chinook salmon smolts implanted with the injectable transmitter had a higher survival probability from release to each of eleven downstream detection arrays, because reach-specific survival estimates were significantly higher for the injectable group in three of the eleven reaches examined. Overall, the injectable group had a 0.263 (SE = 0.017) survival probability over the entire 500 km study area compared to 0.199 (0.012) for the surgically implanted group. The reduction in size and ability to implant the new transmitter via injection has reduced the tag or tagging effect bias associated with studying small fishes. The information gathered with this new technology is helping to evaluate the impacts of dams on fishes.

Early approaches to surgical implantation of electronic tags in fish were often through trial and error, however, in recent years there has been an interest in using scientific research to identify techniques and procedures that improve the outcome of surgical procedures and determine the effects of tagging on individuals. Here we summarize the trends in 108 peer-reviewed electronic tagging effect studies focused on intracoleomic implantation to determine opportunities for future research. To date, almost all of the studies have been conducted in freshwater, typically in laboratory environments, and have focused on biotelemetry devices. The majority of studies have focused on salmonids, cyprinids, ictalurids and centrarchids, with a regional bias towards North America, Europe and Australia. Most studies have focused on determining whether there is a negative effect of tagging relative to control fish, with proportionally fewer that have contrasted different aspects of the surgical procedure (e.g., methods of sterilization, incision location, wound closure material) that could advance the discipline. Many of these studies included routine endpoints such as mortality, growth, healing and tag retention, with fewer addressing sublethal measures such as swimming ability, predator avoidance, physiological costs, or fitness. Continued research is needed to further elevate the practice of electronic tag implantation in fish in order to ensure that the data generated are relevant to untagged conspecifics (i.e., no long-term behavioural or physiological consequences) and the surgical procedure does not impair the health and welfare status of the tagged fish. To that end, we advocate for (1) rigorous controlled manipulations based on statistical designs that have adequate power, account for inter-individual variation, and include controls and shams, (2) studies that transcend the laboratory and the field with more studies in marine waters, (3) incorporation of knowledge and techniques emerging from the medical and veterinary disciplines, (4) addressing all components of the surgical event, (5) comparative studies that evaluate the same surgical techniques on multiple species and in different environments, (6) consideration of how biotic factors (e.g., sex, age, size) influence tagging outcomes, and (7) studies that cover a range of endpoints over ecologically relevant time periods.

In 2001 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (OR, USA), started developing the Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System, a nonproprietary sensing technology, to meet the needs for monitoring the survival of juvenile salmonids through eight large hydroelectric facilities within the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). Initial development focused on coded acoustic microtransmitters and autonomous receivers that could be deployed in open reaches of the river for detection of the juvenile salmonids implanted with microtransmitters as they passed the autonomous receiver arrays. In 2006, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory began the development of an acoustic receiver system for deployment at hydropower facilities (cabled receiver) for detecting fish tagged with microtransmitters as well as tracking them in two or three dimensions for determining route of passage and behavior as the fish passed at the facility. The additional information on route of passage, combined with survival estimates, is used by the dam operators and managers to make structural and operational changes at the hydropower facilities to improve survival of fish as they pass the facilities through the FCRPS.

The intracoelomic surgical implantation of electronic tags (including radio and acoustic telemetry transmitters, passive integrated transponders and archival biologgers) is frequently used for conducting studies on fish. Electronic tagging studies provide information on the spatial ecology, behavior and survival of fish in marine and freshwater systems. However, any surgical procedure, particularly one where a laparotomy is performed and the coelomic cavity is opened, has the potential to alter the survival, behavior or condition of the animal which can impair welfare and introduce bias. Given that management, regulatory and conservation decisions are based on the assumption that fish implanted with electronic tags have similar fates and behavior relative to untagged conspecifics, it is critical to ensure that best surgical practices are being used. Also, the current lack of standardized surgical procedures and reporting of specific methodological details precludes cross-study and cross-year analyses which would further progress the field of fisheries science. This compilation of papers seeks to identify the best practices for the entire intracoelomic tagging procedure including pre- and post-operative care, anesthesia, wound closure, and use of antibiotics. Although there is a particular focus on salmonid smolts given the large body of literature available on that group, other life-stages and species of fish are discussed where there is sufficient knowledge. Additional papers explore the role of the veterinarian in fish surgeries, the need for minimal standards in the training of fish surgeons, providing a call for more complete and transparent procedures, and identifying trends in procedures and research needs. Collectively, this body of knowledge should help to improve data quality (including comparability and repeatability), enhance management and conservation strategies, and maintain the welfare status of tagged fish.

The Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) is an active sensing technology developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, for detecting and tracking small fish. It is used primarily for evaluating behavior and survival of juvenile salmonids migrating through the Federal Columbia River Power System to the Pacific Ocean. It provides critical data for salmon protection and development of more “fish-friendly” hydroelectric facilities. The objective of this study was to design and build a Measurement and Calibration System (MCS) for evaluating the JSATS components, because the JSATS requires comprehensive acceptance and performance testing in a controlled environment before it is deployed in the field. The MCS consists of a reference transducer, a water test tank lined with anechoic material, a motion control unit, a reference receiver, a signal conditioner and amplifier unit, a data acquisition board, MATLAB control and analysis interface, and a computer. The fully integrated MCS has been evaluated successfully at various simulated distances and using different encoded signals at frequencies within the bandwidth of the JSATS transmitter. The MCS provides accurate acoustic mapping capability in a controlled environment and automates the process that allows real-time measurements and evaluation of the piezoelectric transducers, sensors, or the acoustic fields. The MCS has been in use since 2009 for acceptance and performance testing of, and further improvements to, the JSATS.

Many telemetry-based studies require that fish be sampled from the wild and then held both prior to and after the implantation of an electronic tag. However, the effects of such holding (or the lack thereof) have yet to be studied intensively. Pre-surgical holding often occurs to facilitate logistical needs of research projects and as an attempt to minimize negative physiological effects due to capture and handling stress. Further, post-surgical holding time and conditions greatly influence the physiological state of fish prior to being returned to the wild. This paper reviews pertinent studies pertaining to the effects of surgical holding on the behavior, physiology, and survival of fishes, with particular emphasis on juvenile salmonids. The effects of individual aspects of surgical holding such as handling, water quality, light conditions, holding density, metabolic scope, and duration of holding are reviewed. Recommendations regarding certain aspects of surgical holding are offered with a goal of reducing bias related to the surgical process.

In Part 1 of this paper, we presented the engineering design and instrumentation of the Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) cabled system, a nonproprietary sensing technology developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (Oregon, USA) to meet the needs for monitoring the survival of juvenile salmonids through the hydroelectric facilities within the Federal Columbia River Power System. Here in Part 2, we describe how the JSATS cabled system was employed as a reference sensor network for detecting and tracking juvenile salmon. Time-of-arrival data for valid detections on four hydrophones were used to solve for the three-dimensional (3D) position of fish surgically implanted with JSATS acoustic transmitters. Validation tests demonstrated high accuracy of 3D tracking up to 100 m upstream from the John Day Dam spillway. The along-darn component, used for assigning the route of fish passage, had the highest accuracy; the median errors ranged from 0.02 to 0.22 m, and root mean square errors ranged from 0.07 to 0.56 m at distances up to 100 m. For the 2008 case study at John Day Dam, the range for 3D tracking was more than 100 m upstream of the dam face where hydrophones were deployed, and detection and tracking probabilities of fish tagged with JSATS acoustic transmitters were higher than 98%. JSATS cabled systems have been successfully deployed on several major dams to acquire information for salmon protection and for development of more \"fish-friendly\" hydroelectric facilities.

In Part 1 of this paper, we presented the engineering design and instrumentation of the Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) cabled system, a nonproprietary sensing technology developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (Oregon, USA) to meet the needs for monitoring the survival of juvenile salmonids through the hydroelectric facilities within the Federal Columbia River Power System. Here in Part 2, we describe how the JSATS cabled system was employed as a reference sensor network for detecting and tracking juvenile salmon. Time-of-arrival data for valid detections on four hydrophones were used to solve for the three-dimensional (3D) position of fish surgically implanted with JSATS acoustic transmitters. Validation tests demonstrated high accuracy of 3D tracking up to 100 m upstream from the John Day Dam spillway. The along-dam component, used for assigning the route of fish passage, had the highest accuracy; the median errors ranged from 0.02 to 0.22 m, and root mean square errors ranged from 0.07 to 0.56 m at distances up to 100 m. For the 2008 case study at John Day Dam, the range for 3D tracking was more than 100 m upstream of the dam face where hydrophones were deployed, and detection and tracking probabilities of fish tagged with JSATS acoustic transmitters were higher than 98%. JSATS cabled systems have been successfully deployed on several major dams to acquire information for salmon protection and for development of more “fish-friendly” hydroelectric facilities.

The NA48/2 experiment at CERN reports the first observation of the $K^± → π^0π^0μ^±$ν decay based on a sample of 2437 candidates with 15% background contamination collected in 2003–2004. The decay branching ratio in the kinematic region of the squared dilepton mass above 0.03 GeV2/c4 is measured to be (0.65 ± 0.03) × 10–6. The extrapolation to the full kinematic space, using a specific model, is found to be (3.45 ± 0.16) × 10–6, in agreement with chiral perturbation theory predictions.