10.18710/AVG3AUCai, XiatongXiatongCai0000-0003-0731-2181Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University; Department of Civil Engineering, University of OttawaDeflem, Io S.Io S.Deflem0000-0002-9302-5367Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)Rennie, Colin D.Colin D.Rennie0000-0003-0683-1932Department of Civil Engineering, University of OttawaDe Meester, JokeJokeDe Meester0000-0002-8969-6520Hydraulics and Geotechnics Section, KU Leuven; Flanders Hydraulics Research, Department of Mobility and Public Works, Flemish GovernmentWillems, PatrickPatrickWillems0000-0002-7085-2570Hydraulics and Geotechnics Section, KU LeuvenHendry, Andrew P.Andrew P.Hendry0000-0002-4807-6667Department of Biology, Redpath Museum, McGill UniversityCalboli, Federico C.F.Federico C.F.Calboli0000-0003-3176-9085Natural Resources Institute FinlandHellemans, BartBartHellemans0000-0001-5963-8074Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics, KU LeuvenVolckaert, Filip A.M.Filip A.M.Volckaert0000-0003-4342-4295Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics, KU LeuvenRaeymaekers, Joost A.M.Joost A.M.Raeymaekers0000-0003-2732-7495Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord UniversityDataverseNO2025Earth and Environmental SciencesEco-hydraulicsEco-evo-hydraulicsRegulated river systemEvolutionary responsesEvolutionAdaptive potentialThree-spined sticklebackConservation genomicsBelgiumSingle-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)Genotyping-by-SequencingRiver channel morphologyRiver dischargeRiver sinuosityRiver barriersWater average conductivityAverage chemical oxygen demandAverage pHAverage dissolved oxygen concentrationAverage temperatureGyrodactylus sp.Trichodina sp.Glugea anomalaGasterosteus aculeatusBelgiumDemer RiverCai, XiatongNord UniversityNord UniversityMaes, TimTimMaesVan Criekingen, JimmyJimmyVan CriekingenSchols, RubenRubenScholsMaes, SarahSarahMaesReyns, WouterWouterReynsVan Belleghem, StevenStevenVan BelleghemGante, HugoHugoGanteNord University2025-08-122025-09-01Genetic data10.1101/2025.08.01.6681071973828176430995286text/plaintext/comma-separated-valuestext/x-vcard1.0CC0 1.0Eco-hydraulics traditionally aims at managing riverine systems in a semi-natural state while meeting human demands, assuming aquatic species are evolutionarily static. However, evidence of rapid evolution suggests that ignoring evolutionary dynamics of fish species might limit long-term effectiveness of eco-hydraulics frameworks. It remains unclear how freshwater fish adapt to human perturbation. Why are some fish populations more resilient to human perturbation than others? What are the genetic mechanisms behind it? To answer these questions, we genotyped eleven populations of three-spined stickleback in a regulated river system and collected data on river morphology, connectivity, flow regimes, physico-chemistry and parasite abundance through a combination of field surveys and modelling. Gene-environment association analysis detected strong signals of genetic divergence associated with hydraulic features. Gene ontology analysis revealed evolutionary responses that primarily involve functions in the nervous and sensory systems. These findings demonstrate that fish can evolve in response to river regulation, highlighting the need to transition from eco-hydraulics toward eco-evo-hydraulics. Our results can currently be accessed through a non-peer-reviewed bioRxiv preprint at Cai and Deflem et al. (2025), Fish Show Genetic Evolutionary Responses to River Regulation (DOI: 10.1101/2025.08.01.668107). This supporting dataset includes Genotyping-by-Sequencing data from 14 populations of three-spined stickleback collected in 2017 from the Demer Basin, Belgium, together with parasite and habitat data from the paired sampling sites. After quality filtering, 11 populations were retained and analyzed in Cai and Deflem et al. (2025).FastQC, v0.11.9Stacks, v2.54BWA, v0.7.17GATK, v4.2.0.0VCFtools, v0.1.16PLINK, v2.00a3.150.968650.64115.57454.6927Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of CanadaYoung Research Talents grant of Nord UniversityResearch Foundation FlandersOntario Graduate ScholarshipUniversity of Ottawa International Experience ScholarshipsuOGlobal Power Corporation of Canada Scholarships