In this thesis, we studied the behavioral responses of fish to contrasting variations of theenvironment (flow, temperature and photoperiod) in order to understand (1) how fish react tothese changes and (2) if they have developed behavioral strategies in response to thesevariations.The behavioral data set used in this thesis comes from a continuous telemetry monitoringrealized during 89 days and recording positions of 61 fish of which 23 of barbel, 19 chub and 11catfish. The study site is an area of 2 km of the Rhone River subject to hydropeaking and locatedfront of the Bugey nuclear power plant that generates water heated on the right bank. The studysite is the subject of a 2D hydrodynamic modeling to know, at any point of the site and for allflow values, the local abiotic conditions.In order to know the quality of positions acquired during telemetric monitoring and how theperformance of the telemetry system is likely to vary during the monitoring of fish movements,the accuracy of this system has been previously studied in this thesis. To the best of possiblecombinations of intrinsic variables, the probability of detection varies from 0 to 80%, and theaverage error is 3-5 m in the channel and <10 m in banks. The geometrical configuration of thehydrophones located around the acoustic transmitter adjusts the probability of detection, whilethe setting of processing acoustic signals parameters adjusts the positioning error.The position data coupled with the hydrodynamic model were used to determine the habitatpreferences of fish, their spatial distribution and their movement, in response to changes in theenvironment (phases of photoperiod, water temperature and flow value). Habitat preferences ofthe three species are referred to depths <1.4 m, velocities <0.4 m.s-1 and coarse substrate (ratherrock and stone). The main difference is observed with the water temperature: cyprinids prefertemperatures 23 ° C. These habitat preferences varymainly with the flow since the three species prefer during high flow (> 630 m3.s-1) habitats thatare hydraulically less stringent (lower speeds and depths and a coarser substrate). Photoperiodprimarily affects the movement of fish (barbel are crepuscular, the chub are diurnal and catfishare nocturnal) while the flow and temperature affect the spatial distribution of species. Cyprinidsuse very little the heated zone (<10% of the time) while catfish spend ~ 55% of their time in thisarea. During hours of high flow, the fish mostly use the banks and rarely exploit the channel.Finally, environmental variables acting in combination on fish behavior, such as cyprinids thatbenefit low flows during their phases of activity to exploit temporary habitats became available.Bugey fish have therefore implemented behavioral strategies based primarily on extensive useof shoreline areas that allow them to conduct most of their vital functions. The different speciesshow high fidelity to a few key habitats they use frequently throughout the day, but they canleave during certain combinations of environmental variations
