Grass Pickerel Esox Americanus Vermiculatus
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COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Grass Pickerel Esox americanus vermiculatus in Canada SPECIAL CONCERN 2005 COSEWIC COSEPAC COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF COMITÉ SUR LA SITUATION ENDANGERED WILDLIFE DES ESPÈCES EN PÉRIL IN CANADA AU CANADA COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows: Please note: Persons wishing to cite data in the report should refer to the report (and cite the author(s)); persons wishing to cite the COSEWIC status will refer to the assessment (and cite COSEWIC). A production note will be provided if additional information on the status report history is required. COSEWIC 2005. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the grass pickerel Esox americanus vermiculatus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 27 pp. (www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm). Crossman, E.J. and E. Holm. 2005. COSEWIC status report on the grass pickerel Esox americanus vermiculatus in Canada, in COSEWIC assessment and status report on the grass pickerel Esox americanus vermiculatus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. 1-27 pp. Production note: The preparation of this report was funded by the World Wildlife Fund Canada and the Royal Ontario Museum and was overseen and edited by Bob Campbell, the COSEWIC Freshwater Fish Species Specialist Subcommittee Co-chair. For additional copies contact: COSEWIC Secretariat c/o Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Tel.: (819) 997-4991 / (819) 953-3215 Fax: (819) 994-3684 E-mail: COSEWIC/[email protected] http://www.cosewic.gc.ca Ếgalement disponible en français sous le titre Ếvaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur le brochet vermiculé (Esox americanus vermiculatus) au Canada. Cover illustration: Grass pickerel — Drawing by A. Odum – male, 219 mm, Jones Creek, Leeds County, Ontario, from Scott and Crossman (1973). Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2005 Catalogue No. CW69-14/436-2005E-PDF ISBN 0-662-40602-8 HTML: CW69-14/436-2005E-HTML 0-662-40603-6 Recycled paper COSEWIC Assessment Summary Assessment Summary – May 2005 Common name Grass pickerel Scientific name Esox americanus vermiculatus Status Special Concern Reason for designation A subspecies known from 10 locations between Lake St. Louis, Quebec and Lake Huron, Ontario. Its usual habitat is shallow water with abundance of aquatic vegetation. An overall decline of approximately 22% in the area of occupancy has been observed. This decline appears to be related to degradation and loss of habitat due to channelization and dredging operations in wetland habitats where this species occurs. Occurrence Ontario, Quebec Status history Designated Special Concern in May 2005. Assessment based on a new status report. COSEWIC Executive Summary Grass Pickerel Esox americanus vermiculatus Species Information Grass pickerel Esox americanus vermiculatus is a subspecies of Esox americanus redfin pickerel, family Esocidae. A small form, it is usually less than 30 cm in length, otherwise with features typical of the family: subcylindrical body, dorsal and anal fins far back on the body, snout protracted and well-armed with teeth. Distribution In Canada, it is limited to extreme southwestern Quebec and southern Ontario. In the United States, it is found in various states west of the Appalachian Mountains from western New York southwest to eastern Texas. Habitat The grass pickerel is characteristic of warm, slow moving streams, isolated pools of such streams, and shallow bays of lakes. It is always associated with extensive submergent and emergent aquatic vegetation characteristic of the fishes in the family. Biology Principal spawning time in Canada is spring, shortly after ice has disappeared. Development and growth are fairly rapid. Life expectancy in Canada may be as long as 7 years, but shorter in southern populations. Food of newly hatched individuals is various macroscopic invertebrates, changing gradually to fishes, crayfishes, and the immature stages of aquatic insects, especially dragonflies. Population Sizes and Trends Population numbers fluctuate depending on water conditions. At times, an estimated 100 individuals have been reported in the isolated pools of typical streams. This species appears to leave those parts of streams in which they have been recorded if the condition deteriorates as a result of development, road and bridge building, or increased acidification. iv Limiting Factors and Threats All conditions resulting in low water levels, loss of aquatic vegetation, decreased water transparency, and lowering of stream temperatures are threats to the grass pickerel. Special Significance of the Species This fish is often the top predator in the communities of which it is characteristic. Early stages of the highly prized muskellunge may be vulnerable to grass pickerel predation. Existing Protection or Other Status Designations There are no direct protective measures directed at this species, but an extensive number of statutes and acts of the governments of the areas in which it lives provide indirect protection. The conservation status of Esox americanus (of both the subspecies, redfin and grass pickerel) is generally secure throughout its range. v COSEWIC HISTORY The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) was created in 1977 as a result of a recommendation at the Federal-Provincial Wildlife Conference held in 1976. It arose from the need for a single, official, scientifically sound, national listing of wildlife species at risk. In 1978, COSEWIC designated its first species and produced its first list of Canadian species at risk. Species designated at meetings of the full committee are added to the list. On June 5, 2003, the Species at Risk Act (SARA) was proclaimed. SARA establishes COSEWIC as an advisory body ensuring that species will continue to be assessed under a rigorous and independent scientific process. COSEWIC MANDATE The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assesses the national status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, or other designatable units that are considered to be at risk in Canada. Designations are made on native species for the following taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, arthropods, molluscs, vascular plants, mosses, and lichens. COSEWIC MEMBERSHIP COSEWIC comprises members from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal agencies (Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Federal Biodiversity Information Partnership, chaired by the Canadian Museum of Nature), three non-government members and the co-chairs of the species specialist and the Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge subcommittees. The Committee meets to consider status reports on candidate species. DEFINITIONS (NOVEMBER 2004) Wildlife Species A species, subspecies, variety, or geographically or genetically distinct population of animal, plant or other organism, other than a bacterium or virus, that is wild by nature and it is either native to Canada or has extended its range into Canada without human intervention and has been present in Canada for at least 50 years. Extinct (X) A wildlife species that no longer exists. Extirpated (XT) A wildlife species no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but occurring elsewhere. Endangered (E) A wildlife species facing imminent extirpation or extinction. Threatened (T) A wildlife species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed. Special Concern (SC)* A wildlife species that may become a threatened or an endangered species because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats. Not at Risk (NAR)** A wildlife species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk of extinction given the current circumstances. Data Deficient (DD)*** A wildlife species for which there is inadequate information to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction. * Formerly described as “Vulnerable” from 1990 to 1999, or “Rare” prior to 1990. ** Formerly described as “Not In Any Category”, or “No Designation Required.” *** Formerly described as “Indeterminate” from 1994 to 1999 or “ISIBD” (insufficient scientific information on which to base a designation) prior to 1994. Environment Environnement Canada Canada Canada Canadian Wildlife Service canadien Service de la faune The Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, provides full administrative and financial support to the COSEWIC Secretariat. vi COSEWIC Status Report on the Grass Pickerel Esox americanus vermiculatus in Canada 2005 E.J. Crossman1 E. Holm1 1Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology Royal Ontario Museum 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6 TABLE OF CONTENTS SPECIES INFORMATION............................................................................................... 3 Name and classification............................................................................................... 3 Description................................................................................................................... 3 Designatable units ....................................................................................................... 5 DISTRIBUTION............................................................................................................... 5 Global range ...............................................................................................................