Evaluation of the performance for an artificial deep pool (ADP) as an alternative fish shelter

• An underground artificial deep pool (ADP) with both sediment barrier and airlift pump systems is developed.
• A slight difference, if any, in water quality between inside and outside of ADP was observed.
• At low water levels, ADP can provide a temporally and spatially stable shelter and a drought refuge for fish.
• Proposed ADP can be utilized as an alternative fish shelter suitable for lentic systems.
• Further study is in progress in a natural river to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed ADP.

A newly developed underground artificial deep pool (ADP) with a sediment barrier system and an airlift pump system is proposed as an alternative fish shelter at a pond during the dry season. The feasibility of the proposed ADP as an alternative fish shelter and habitat was evaluated based on both quantitative and statistical methods after monitoring the performance of the ADP over 10 months. The observation indicated that there is only a slight difference, if any, in water quality between the inside and the outside of the ADP. However, significant differences in the relative density of fish between the ADP and both the experimental and control ponds were observed. Whereas water column species, including Acheilognathus koreensis and Carassius carassius, were dominant in the ADP, insectivorous species, such as Zacco temminckii, were dominant in both the experimental and control ponds. Nonetheless, at low water levels, ADP can provide temporally and spatially stable shelters for fish, regardless of a factor of preference to ADP. These findings imply that the proposed ADP can be utilized as an alternative fish shelter suitable for lentic systems, and the ADP is also expected to help restoring fish species that are depleted in hostile habitats during the extended dry season.