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Evaluation and Action Plan for Protection of 15 Threatened Adfluvial Populations of Bull Trout in Glacier National Park, Montana

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Evaluation and action plan for protection of 15 threatened adfluvial populations of bull trout in Glacier National Park, Montana Final Scientific Report December 2006 Prepared by: Michael H. Meeuwig Christopher S. Guy U.S. Geological Survey Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit Montana State University Department of Ecology PO Box 173460 Bozeman, MT 59717-3460 Prepared for: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wade A. Fredenberg U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Creston Fish and Wildlife Center 780 Creston Hatchery Road Kalispell, MT 59901 February 15, 2007 Table of Contents Title Page …………………………………………………………………………........ 1 Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………... 2 Executive Summary …………………………………………………………………... 3 List of Tables …………………………………………………………………………... 4 List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………. 6 List of Appendices …………………………………………………………………….. 8 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………….. 10 Study Area ……………………………………………………………………………... 13 Methods ………………………………………………………………………………... 15 Results and Discussion ………………………………………………………………. 25 Future Activities ……………………………………………………………………….. 51 References …………………………………………………………………………….. 52 Appendices ……………………………………………………………………………. 56 2 Executive Summary Fish assemblages in 17 lakes in Glacier National Park, Montana, were sampled as part of an ongoing project designed to develop an action plan for management of bull trout Salvelinus confluentus in Glacier National Park. Sampling occurred during the periods of June through October in the years 2004, 2005, and 2006. Sampling consisted of gill net surveys, lake shoreline electrofishing surveys, hook and line surveys, stream electrofishing surveys, stream habitat characterization, migratory barrier surveys, and bull trout redd surveys. Additionally, age structure was examined with a limited sample of bull trout otoliths, population genetic analyses were conducted, and samples were collected and prepared for examination of food-web structure among lakes. Gill-net surveys provided information on the relative abundance of bull trout in Glacier National Park waters and effects of lake trout presence on bull trout relative abundance. Hook and line surveys were used to increase sample sizes of target species (e.g., bull trout and lake trout). Juvenile bull trout (i.e., 37 to 148 mm total length) used shoreline habitat in some lakes. Low numbers of bull trout are present in stream reaches in close proximity to lakes in Glacier National Park. Physical habitat quantification associated with stream electrofishing surveys provided information about habitat characteristics associated with potential bull trout spawning and rearing sites. Barrier surveys provided information about the location of potential barriers to migration or invasion among study lakes. Low numbers of bull trout redds, limited habitat available for spawning bull trout, and high temporal variability in the number of bull trout redds was observed in spawning streams for Bowman Lake, Harrison Lake, Logging Lake, Lower Quartz Lake, Middle Quartz Lake, and Quartz Lake. Basic information regarding the age structure of bull trout populations was examined by aging 185 bull trout otoliths. Bull trout age varied from 2 to 16 among study lakes. A high degree of variability in population differentiation was observed among lakes based on 10 microsatellite loci. Lakes located above migratory barriers were highly differentiated from other study lakes, and lakes within the same drainage appeared to have a high degree of gene flow among and between populations. Muscle samples were collected from 475 fish and prepared for stable isotope analysis to examine food- web structure among lakes; analyses are currently being conducted. These data, as well as forthcoming data, will be synthesized to develop a comprehensive action plan for the long-term monitoring, management, and recovery of bull trout resources in Glacier National Park, Montana. 3 List of Tables Table 1 Elevation, surface area, maximum length, maximum depth, and shoreline development for the 17 study lakes in Glacier National Park. Maximum depth was not measured at Upper Lake Isabel. 15 Table 2 Substrate type and embeddedness classifications and associated codes following Bain (1999). ………………………………………. 20 Table 3 Mean gill net catch per unit effort (± standard deviation) for bull trout and lake trout in Glacier National Park lakes where lake trout are present. ………………………………………………………….. 31 Table 4 Predictor variable, sample size (N), parameter estimates (β0 = y 2 intercept; β1 = slope), coefficient of determination (r ), and probability value for significance test (P) for regression models examining the influence of lake morphometry on the relative abundance of bull trout in lakes where lake trout were absent. ... 32 Table 5 Predictor variable, sample size (N), parameter estimates (β0 = y 2 intercept; β1 = slope), coefficient of determination (r ), and probability value for significance test (P) for regression models examining the influence of lake morphometry on the relative abundance of bull trout in lakes where lake trout were present. 33 Table 6 Lake, site code, temperature, electrofishing time (Fishing time), number of bull trout sampled (N), catch per unit effort (C/f; fish per minute), and minimum (Min.) and maximum (Max.) length for bull trout sampled during shoreline electrofishing surveys in Glacier National Park. ……………………………………………………….. 35 Table 7 Lake, site (inlet or outlet), temperature, electrofishing time (Fishing time), number of bull trout sampled (N), catch per unit effort (C/f; fish per minute), and minimum (Min.) and maximum (Max.) length for bull trout sampled during stream electrofishing surveys in Glacier National Park. ………………………………………………. 37 Table 8 Stream, barrier location description, method of measurement (image analysis or on site), height, and width of potential dispersal barriers observed in Glacier National Park. ……………………… 38 Table 9 Population, date sampled, section length, temperature, and number of redds observed during redd surveys in Glacier National Park. ………………………………………………………………….. 41 4 Table 10 Lake, sample size (N), minimum and maximum length of bull trout, and minimum and maximum estimated ages based on otoliths sampled from bull trout in Glacier National Park. ………………... 44 Table 11 Lake, sample size (N), observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity, Hardy-Weinberg P-value, and allelic diversity for bull trout sampled in Glacier National Park. ……………………… 48 5 List of Figures Figure 1 Number of bull trout and lake trout sampled in 1969, 1977, and 2000 during gill net surveys in Bowman Lake, Kintla Lake, Lake McDonald, and Logging Lake, Glacier National Park (reproduced from Fredenberg 2002). ……….................................................... 12 Figure 2 Seventeen lakes sampled in Glacier National Park during the years 2004, 2005, and 2006. The border of Glacier National Park is represented by a solid line (black), the Great Divide is represented by a dashed line (black), the North Fork Flathead River, Middle Fork Flathead River, and the mainstem Flathead River are represented by a bold solid line (blue), and the 17 lakes are labeled. …………………………………………………………... 14 Figure 3 Stream reach (bold line) for which elevation data were derived to determine stream gradient and available spawning habitat (example from Harrison Creek). …………………………………… 17 Figure 4 Elevation as a function of stream kilometer (example from Harrison Creek). Available spawning habitat (filled circle) based on 0.05 km stream reaches with a gradient less than or equal to 2%. Unavailable spawning habitat (X) based on 0.05 km stream reaches with a gradient greater than 2% or areas above a 0.50 km reach with an average gradient greater than 15%. ……………… 18 Figure 5 Length-frequency histograms for bull trout sampled in a) Akokala Lake, Arrow Lake, Bowman Lake, Cerulean Lake, Harrison Lake, and Kintla Lake, b) Lake Isabel, Lake McDonald, Lincoln Lake, Logging Lake, Lower Quartz Lake (2005), and Lower Quartz Lake (2006), and c) Middle Quartz Lake, Quartz Lake (2005), Quartz Lake (2006), Rogers Lake, Trout Lake, and Upper Kintla Lake, Glacier National Park, using experimental gill nets. …………….. 25 Figure 6 Length-frequency histograms for lake trout sampled in a) Bowman Lake, Harrison Lake, Kintla Lake, Lake McDonald, Logging Lake, and Lower Quartz Lake (2005), and b) Quartz Lake (2005) and Rogers Lake, Glacier National Park, using experimental gill nets. 29 Figure 7 Mean bull trout (filled bars) and lake trout (open bars) C/f (fish per net·hour + standard deviation) for gill net surveys conducted in Glacier National Park. ………………………………………………. 31 Figure 8 Interaction between lake trout presence and lake surface area on bull trout relative abundance for lakes in Glacier National Park. 33 6 Figure 9 Dispersal barriers observed in Camas Creek downstream of Trout Lake (upper left panel), Kintla Creek downstream of Upper Kintla Lake (upper right panel), Kintla Creek downstream of Upper Kintla Lake (lower left panel), and Park Creek downstream of Lake Isabel (lower right panel). …………………………………………... 39 Figure 10 Distribution and number of bull trout redds observed in Harrison Creek sampled in an upstream direction from the inlet of Harrison Lake (0.0 km) for 2004, 2005, and 2006. ………………………… 42 Figure 11 Distribution and number of bull trout redds observed in Logging Creek sampled in an upstream direction from the inlet of Logging Lake (0.0 km) for 2004, 2005, and 2006. ………………………… 42 Figure 12 Distribution and number of bull trout
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