Pacific Lamprey Research and Restoration Project in the Umatilla River

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Pacific Lamprey Research and Restoration Project
in the Umatilla River
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Study Area
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Life cycle of Pacific lamprey
Life Cycle of Pacific Lamprey
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Potential causes of declining lamprey populations

• Hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River
• Chemical treatments in the Umatilla River
• Habitat alterations in the Umatilla River
  resulting from
• irrigation practices
• loss of beaver
• livestock overgrazing of native grasses
• logging the upper watershed
• conversion of native plants to introduced crops

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Outplanting adult lampreys

• Primary goals
• Re-establish larval abundance
• Collect baseline data regarding
• holding adult lampreys
• release timing
• release locations

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Outplanting adult lampreys

• Collected at the John Day Dam fish ladder in
  December-January
• Maintained in the raceways at the Three Mile
  Falls Dam Facility in the Umatilla River
• Outplanted into uppermost part of the mainstem
  Umatilla River and Meacham Creek in May

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Release site locations and numbers
River km 139.9
2000 300
River km 98.8
River km 118.4
2001 81
2002 150
2002 141
2000 150 .
2003 110
2001 82
2004 63
2002 100
2003 90
Meacham Creek
2000 150
Totals
2001 81
2000 600
2002 100
2001 244
2003 230
2002 491
2004 70
2003 484
2004 133
Total 1,576 individuals
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Are outplantings successful?

• Redd surveys
• Egg survival
• Larval densities and size distribution
• Outmigration of larval and metamorphosed lampreys
• Upmigration of adult lampreys

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Nest and egg viability surveys

• Purpose
• Determine the spatial distribution and number of
  nests
• Determine the reproductive success of adult
  lamprey outplants

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Nest and egg viability surveys

• In 2000-2002 surveyors walked along the river to
  locate nests (May-July)
• In 2001 egg viability study conducted from 13
  nests

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Nest surveys
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Nest Survey Results

• Nests located in the uppermost part of the
  Umatilla River and in the Meacham Creek
• Lampreys spawned during the first two weeks of
  June

• 2000 51 viable nests
  30 nests w/o eggs
• 2001 49 viable nests
• 2002 67 viable nests
• 118 test nests

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Egg viability

• Egg viability varied between 58 and100
• On average
• 86 of eggs were viable
• Pacific lamprey egg viability similar to sea
  lamprey

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Larval abundance
Larvae sampled by electro shocking 31 sites in
the Umatilla River and 3 sites in the Meacham
Creek

• Larval density at each site estimated and larval
  lengths measured

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Larval densities before outplanting

• In 1998-2000, larvae were found in the lower
  reach of the river below river kilometer 37
• Mean density of all sites was
• 1) in 1998 0.02 ind.m-2
• 2) in 1999 0.55 ind.m-2
• 3) in 2000 0.08 ind.m-2

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Larval densities after outplanting
2001

• The mean density of all index sites was 5.6
  ind/m2
• The mean density below river km 100
• (sites 1-19) was 0.1 ind /m2
• The mean density above river km 100
• (sites 20-34) was 12.6 ind /m2

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Larval densities after outplanting
2002

• The mean density of all index sites was 8.0
  ind/m2
• The mean density below river km 100
• (sites 1-19) was 0.2 ind / m2
• The mean density above river km 100
• (sites 20-34) was 18.0 ind / m2

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Length distributions

• In 2001 length distribution was unimodal and the
  median length was 63 mm
• In 2002 length distribution was bimodal and the
  median length was 76 mm

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Larval abundance after adult outplanting

• Larval densities increased above river kilometer
  100
• Larval growth rate is high
• Natural production in the middle and lowermost
  part of the river is low

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Outmigration of lamprey

• Between 1997-2002 outmigrating larvae and
  metamorphosed lampreys caught by
• Rotary screw trap (RST) from November-March in
  lower Umatilla River
• Bypass channel trap (BCT) April-October in lower
  Umatilla River
• Trapping efficiency of RST was studied by
  mark-recapture method in 2000 and 2001

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Number of lamprey caught
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Length distribution of outmigrants
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Outmigration of lampreys

• Natural production of lamprey in the Umatilla
  River produces tens of thousands of metamorphosed
  individuals annually
• A large proportion of lamprey may metamorphose in
  the Columbia River
• The mean size of outmigrating lampreys were
  higher than earlier studies

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Upmigration of adults

• Number of upmigrating adults counted by
• portable assessment traps in 1999, 2000 and
  2002 at the Three Mile Dam (284 trap nights)
• fyke nets in 2002 in the lowermost end of the
  Umatilla River ( 28 trap nights)
• Number of upmigrants entering Three Mile Dam fish
  ladder estimated by video recordings

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Upmigration of adults

• In 1999-2002 one adult lamprey caught by
  assessment traps
• No lampreys caught by fyke net in 2002

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Upmigration of adults

• Number of upmigrating adults in the summer and in
  the fall is negligible
• Why?
• Number of adult lampreys in the Columbia River is
  low
• No flow in the Umatilla River during the best
  migration season
• Attracting pheromones in the Umatilla River are
  not reaching the Columbia River

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Upmigration of adults

• During the peak of adult migration, flow in the
  Umatilla River is very low due to irrigation

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Summary

• Outplanted adults spawned successfully and
  produced ammocoetes which havent yet dispersed
  below river km 100
• Number of outmigrating lampreys is still low and
  number of upmigrating adults is negligible

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Current Research

• MSU,USGS,CTUIR-Pacific and Western brook lamprey
  larvae contain petromyzonal sulfate in
  gallbladder and liver. Both species release this
  compound into water. Do not produce Allocholic
  acid nor petromyzonal (known bile acids in sea
  lamprey).
• USGS-Pacific lamprey adults can detect
  Petromyzonal sulfate in water. Detection of
  compound throughout freshwater migration. Pacific
  lamprey do not produce 3 Keto Petromyzonal
  sulfate-(known sex pheromone in sea lamprey).

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Current Research

• CTUIR, MSU, CEFAS,- Novel stress steroids in
  Pacific Lamprey. Lamprey adrenal tissues
  incubated with 3H pregnenolone and progesterone
  metabolized into unknown possible stress
  steroids. Currently using Fab/mass spec to
  identify structures. In addition, using
  radioimmunoassay to screen lamprey plasma. Once
  compound structures identified we will develop
  specific RIA for new stress steroids.
• CTUIR,MSU,- Pacific lamprey population genetics.
  Micro satellite markers screened. 30 existing
  loci screened for polymorphism(from sea lamprey
  markers). 2 loci found to be polymorphic. From
  only one loci, there are population differences.
  However, this is preliminary! We are trying to
  explore this further.

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Future studies

• Dispersion of ammocoetes and larval production in
  the middle and lower part of the river
• Growth of larvae (location, competition)
• Number of outmigrants (method developing)
• Upmigration of adults during the summer, fall,
  and spring time
• Flow regime

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More future studies

• Spawning habitat requirements
• Effect of dams on adult migration using radio
  telemetry
• Attraction of adult lampreys to pheromones in
  Umatilla river water
• Larval production and metamorphosis in the
  Columbia River reservoirs
• Develop assays to detect stress in lampreys

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