Author(s): Paolo Vezza; Beatrice Pinna; Mario Morales-Hernandez; Maria Gonzalez-Sanchis; Miquel de Caceres; Navid Moghadas; Daniel Caviedes-Voullieme
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Shallow flow; Habitat suitability; Fish; GPU; SERGHEI
Abstract: The management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems increasingly rely on advanced modeling techniques to assess habitat suitability for various fish species. Recent studies have introduced innovative methodologies that integrate hydraulic and ecological data to evaluate the physical habitat conditions in rivers and streams. These approaches aim to enhance our understanding of the complex interactions between hydrological dynamics and aquatic fauna, facilitating better decision-making in ecological flow assessments and habitat restoration. The SERGHEI framework (Caviedes-Voullième et al., 2023) provides a robust and scalable framework for simulating hydrodynamic processes in natural and engineered environments. Its high-performance computing capabilities and modular design make it an ideal platform for integrating ecohydraulic assessments. By leveraging SERGHEI’s 2D hydraulic modeling capabilities, this study would pave the way for the development of a new module to quantify mesohabitat suitability. This module will incorporate mesohabitat suitability criteria developed with the MesoHABSIM approach (Vezza et al., 2014), considering critical habitat parameters such as flow velocity, water depth, substrate type, cover presence.
Year: 2025