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C S A S S C C S Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Secrétariat canadien de consultation scientifique Research Document 2012/065 Document de recherche 2012/065 Pacific Region Région du Pacifique Information in support of the Information à l'appui de la détermination identification of critical habitat for de l'habitat essentiel du naseux speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus) moucheté (Rhinichthys osculus) Thomas G. Brown1, Brian Harvey2 and Michael J. Bradford3 1Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo 2Fugu Fisheries Ltd., Victoria, B.C. 3Fisheries and Oceans Canada, SFU, Burnaby This series documents the scientific basis for the La présente série documente les fondements evaluation of aquatic resources and ecosystems in scientifiques des évaluations des ressources et Canada. As such, it addresses the issues of the des écosystèmes aquatiques du Canada. Elle day in the time frames required and the traite des problèmes courants selon les documents it contains are not intended as échéanciers dictés. Les documents qu’elle definitive statements on the subjects addressed contient ne doivent pas être considérés comme but rather as progress reports on ongoing des énoncés définitifs sur les sujets traités, mais investigations. plutôt comme des rapports d’étape sur les études en cours. Research documents are produced in the official Les documents de recherche sont publiés dans language in which they are provided to the la langue officielle utilisée dans le manuscrit Secretariat. envoyé au Secrétariat. This document is available on the Internet at: Ce document est disponible sur l’Internet à: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs ISSN 1499-3848 (Printed / Imprimé) ISSN 1919-5044 (Online / En ligne) © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2012 © Sa Majesté la Reine du Chef du Canada, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract........................................................................................................................................ iii Resume........................................................................................................................................ iv INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1 BIOLOGY......................................................................................................................................3 General Life History...................................................................................................................3 Feeding .....................................................................................................................................4 Residence .....................................................................................................................................4 RANGE, DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE..............................................................................5 Global Range ............................................................................................................................5 Distribution and Abundance within Canada: Kettle River Watershed .......................................5 LIFE HISTORY RELATED TO HABITAT USE .............................................................................6 Spawning habitat.......................................................................................................................6 First feeding and young of the year habitat ...............................................................................7 Juvenile feeding habitat.............................................................................................................7 Mature feeding habitat...............................................................................................................7 HABITAT ATTRIBUTES ...............................................................................................................8 Water depth...............................................................................................................................8 Water temperature ....................................................................................................................9 Discharge ..................................................................................................................................9 Substrate and cover ................................................................................................................10 THREATS TO CRITICAL HABITAT............................................................................................10 Water withdrawal.....................................................................................................................11 Irrigation...............................................................................................................................13 Resource Extraction ................................................................................................................14 Hydro Development and Dams ...............................................................................................14 Smelter Lake Reservoir .......................................................................................................14 Cascade Falls ......................................................................................................................15 Alien Species...........................................................................................................................15 Forestry ...................................................................................................................................17 Timber harvest.....................................................................................................................17 Mountain pine beetle and salvage logging ..........................................................................18 Wood processing .................................................................................................................19 Riparian removal .....................................................................................................................19 RECOVERY TARGETS (POPULATION BENCHMARKS).........................................................20 METHODS AND APPROACH USED TO IDENTIFY CRITICAL HABITAT ................................21 FURTHER RESEARCH NEEDS ................................................................................................24 LITERATURE CITED..................................................................................................................25 ii Correct citation for this publication: Brown, T., Harvey, B. and Bradford, M.J. 2012. Information in support of the identification of critical habitat for speckled dace (Rhinichtys osculus). DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2012/065. iv + 29p. ABSTRACT Speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus) is a small, riverine minnow belonging to the family Cyprinidae. Although common in Western North America where hundreds of populations of dace exist from Washington to northern Mexico, it is found in only one drainage in Canada, the Kettle River, and two of its tributaries; West Kettle and Granby Rivers. The Kettle River populations of speckled dace exist at the extreme northern extent of their North American range and it is considered a “peripheral species” that is isolated from the central population by a geographic barrier, Cascade Falls. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assessed the species as endangered because of its limited range and area of occupancy, existence at only three locations, perceived sensitivity to threats and habitat loss, and lack of any potential for rescue. It was listed as endangered under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) in 2009. Field studies conducted after the COSEWIC assessment and following the SARA listing have greatly increased our estimate of speckled dace abundance, extended their range, and increased our knowledge of habitat utilization. Speckled dace appear widely and somewhat evenly distributed throughout their range in Canada and suitable habitat is abundant. The entire width of the river is utilized although different life stages may occupy different components of the river channel. It does not appear that speckled dace in the Kettle River are threatened by a single “catastrophic event” that could drastically reduce or eliminate all three populations at the same time. Reduced summer-autumn discharge is well recognized as a threat (COSEWIC 2006). Reduced discharge is due in part to the nature of the watershed, climatic change, and water withdrawals. This threat is somewhat mitigated by the species’ ability to survive and adapt to low flows and warm summer waters, as noted in the more southerly portion of its global range. The proposed critical habitat depicts the length of river that will supply the amount of habitat necessary to maintain the population abundance required for the persistence of the species in each of the locations where it is presently found. If we accept that a population of 7,000 fish is the minimum population required for long-term persistence of the species and if we assume three fish/metre is a reasonable estimate of abundance; we arrive at 2.4 km of proposed critical habitat. This will be applied to each of the three upper locations to maintain three populations. The three sections of river we have proposed as critical habitat start at the uppermost site