Life History of the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, Salmo Clarki Henshawi, in Pyramid Lake, Nevada
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Great Basin Naturalist Volume 43 Number 1 Article 1 1-31-1983 Life history of the Lahontan cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki henshawi, in Pyramid Lake, Nevada William F. Sigler W. F. Sigler and Associates, Inc., Logan, Utah William T. Helm Utah State University Paul A. Kucera Nez perce Tribe, Lapwai, Idaho Steven Vigg University of Nevada System, Reno Gar W. Workman Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn Part of the Anatomy Commons, Botany Commons, Physiology Commons, and the Zoology Commons Recommended Citation Sigler, William F.; Helm, William T.; Kucera, Paul A.; Vigg, Steven; and Workman, Gar W. (1983) "Life history of the Lahontan cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki henshawi, in Pyramid Lake, Nevada," Great Basin Naturalist: Vol. 43 : No. 1 , Article 1. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn/vol43/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Western North American Naturalist Publications at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Basin Naturalist by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Great Basin Naturalist Published at Provo, Utah, by Brigham Young University ISSN 0017-3614 Volume 43 January 31, 1983 No. 1 LIFE HISTORY OF THE LAHONTAN CUTTHROAT TROUT, SALMO CLARKI HENSHAWI, IN PYRAMID LAKE, NEVADA William F. Sigler', William T. Helm^ Paul A. Kucera\ Steven Vigg*, and Gar W. Workman' Abstract.— The Pyramid Lake Lahontan cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki henshawi) population was sampled on a monthly basis from November 1975 through December 1977. A subsample of 676 trout, stratified by fish size and lake habitat, provided biological data. The entire population is presently derived from hatchery production, stocked at lengths of approximately 75 to 300 mm. Peak annulus formation occurs in March and April, followed by the peri- od of maximum growth. Scale patterns illustrate a variable growing season. Maximum growth in length is in the first three years of life; after that males begin to grow faster than females. Males attained a greater age in our sample; i.e., the oldest male was seven years old compared to six years for females. The Pyramid Lake Lahontan cutthroat trout exhibit nearly isometric growth. The legal sport fishery removed <20,000 adult fish in 1977 (>380 mm); other decimating factors are poorly un- derstood. No evidence of the following diseases or pathogens was found in the Pyramid Lake population, presuming a carrier incidence of 2 percent at the 95 percent confidence level: infectious pancreatic necrosis, infectious hemato- poietic necrosis, viral hemorrhagic septicema, bacterial kidney disease, enteric redmouth, furunculosis, whirling dis- ease, blood fluke; however, 7 of 235 (=:;3 percent) adults sampled at the Marble Bluff fish way were positive for furunculosis. Small trout feed primarily on zooplankton and benthic invertebrates; cutthroat trout >300 mm are piscivorous, feeding almost exclusively on tui chub {Gila bicolor). The spawning migration of Pyramid Lake cutthroat trout to the Marble Bluff egg taking facility in spring 1976 and 1977 peaked in April and May. Females mature at three or four years (352-484 mm), and males mature at two or three years (299-445 mm). Mean diameter of mature eggs is 4.51 mm; both ovum size and fecundity are a function of fish size. Fecundity ranges from 1241 to 7963 eggs, with a mean of 3815. Lahontan cutthroat trout comprise <2 percent of the numerical relative abundance and <7 percent of the total fish biomass. Distribution patterns vary on a seasonal basis, with maximum activity during late fall and winter. Man- agement objectives are presented and recommendations are discussed. The Lahontan cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki The dechne and ultimate extinction of the henshawi) is unique in its abihty to withstand original strain of cutthroat trout in Pyramid the alkaline-saline waters of remnant Great Lake was caused primarily by degradation of Basin lakes. Coevolution of Pyramid Lake spawning habitat associated with diversion of Lahontan cutthroat trout in a continuous lake water out of the Truckee River-Pyramid environment for 50,000-100,000 years with Lake ecosystem (Trelease 1953). The Pyra- an abundant prey species (tui chub, Gila mid Lake trout fishery has been reestablished bicolor) resulted in a unique predator— the via hatchery propagation of Heenan, Walker, world's largest cutthroat trout (18.6 kg). and Summit lake strains of Lahontan cut- 'W. F. Sigler & Associates Inc., P.O. Box 1350, Logan, Utah 84322. 'Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322. 'Nez Perce Tribe, Lapwai, Idaho 83540. 'Desert Research Institute, University of Nevada System, Reno, Nevada 89507. 'Utah State UniveRity, Logan, Utah 84322. Great Basin Naturalist Vol. 43, No. 1 Nine now discrete basins once conjoined to form vast (area 22,300 km^; maximum depth 270 m) Lake Lahontan in the northwestern Great Basin (Hubbs and Miller 1948). Pyra- mid Lake is the deepest remnant of this once great lake system that experienced several cycles of water level fluctuations during the Pleistocene Epoch (Houghton 1976). Great Basin lakes have desiccated to the present state since the last pluvial period some 10-12 thousand years before present (BP). Benson (1978) concludes via sediment analyses that Pyramid Lake was greatly reduced in size 9-5 thousand years BP, but did not become dry and had subsequently been rising until the cultural impacts of the past century. Pyramid is a graben lake approximately 40 km long and 6.5 to 16 km wide, with a north- south axis (Figure 2). At the mean 1976 ele- vation of 1157 m (United States Geological Survey 1977), Pyramid Lake has a surface area of 446.4 km^, a volume of 26.4 km^, a mean depth of 59 m and a maximum depth of 103 m (Harris 1970). Pyramid is the deep- est and most voluminous saline terminal lake in the western hemisphere (Galat et al. 1981). Pyramid Lake, located entirely within the Pyramid Lake Paiute Indian Reservation, is the terminal water body of the endorheic Truckee River system originating 193 river Fig. 1. The largest post-1943 Lahontan cutthroat trout (12.7 kg), captured by Ralston Fillmore from Pyra- km upstream at oligotrophic Lake Tahoe. mid Lake, Nevada, April 1976. Photograph courtesy of The evaporation loss is about 1.2 m annually. Alan Ruger. Due to transbasin diversion of the Truckee River, the lake level declined 23 m between throat trout, and, in the past, of cutthroat- 1905 and 1979; this amounts to a 30 percent trout {Salmo gairdneri) hybrids. The rainbow reduction in lake volume. The lake water is subspecies S. c. henshawi currently has highly ionic (Na+ > K+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+; "threatened" status (Deacon et al. 1979). CI- > HCO3 > CO32- > SO42-), with a pH Pyramid Lake presently supports a trophy of 9.2. The 1976 total dissolved solids (TDS) sport fishery; the average trout retained by concentration was 5235 mg/1 at elevation fishermen is 500 mm in length and weighs 1 .2 1157 m. On a worldwide perspective, 71 per- kg. In 1976, a Paiute Indian, Ralston Fill- cent of some 350 saline lakes listed by more, captured a 12.7 kg Lahontan cutthroat McCarraher (1972) are more saline than trout that represents a record for the post- Pyramid, but, compared to USA saline lakes. 1943 fishery (Fig. 1). Recent catches are evi- Pyramid is in the moderate range (Galat et dence that the environment of Pyramid Lake al. 1981). is capable of supporting at least a limited During 1976 and 1977 mean surface tem- valuable and unique fishery. However, hu- perature ranged from 6.1 to 23.1 C. As winds man demands on limited Truckee River wa- subside and surface water temperature in- ter and recent droughts have jeopardized the creases, a thermocline is formed in June and trout in Pyramid Lake. The ethics and prior- lasts through December at 16 to 22 m. The ities of our society, as a whole, may ulti- lake is monomictic (Hutchinson 1957); turn- mately decide the fate of the Pyramid Lake over begins in early winter and mixing ex- Lahontan cutthroat trout. tends to spring. January 1983 SiGLER ET AL.: LaHONTAN CuTTHROAT TrOUT Fox Valley Needles Helk Kitchen Cormorant Rock Anderson Bay True North PopcortT" Fig. 2. Bathymetric map of Pyramid Lake, Nevada; depth contours are in meters. Physical changes, including out-of-basin Pyramid and Winnemucca lakes, Nevada, and inbasin water diversions, channelization, and spawned in the entire Truckee River and and destruction of riparian habitat, have ad- its tributaries, a total length of 525 km. They versely affected the ecology of the Truckee also moved into Lake Tahoe, Nevada-Califor- River-Pyramid Lake ecosystem. Historically nia, and spawned in its tributary streams. the Lahontan cutthroat trout moved out of Derby Dam, completed in 1905, 62 km Great Basin Naturalist Vol. 43, No. 1 above Pyramid Lake, effected a transbasin Range and Distrirution diversion of much of the lower Truckee Riv- An ancestoral cutthroat trout probably in- er flow. This obstacle reduced river spawning vaded ancient Lake Lahontan from the Co- to the area below the dam. The dam not only lumbia River Basin and developed into what had the direct effect of reducing flows in the is now known as the Lahontan cutthroat lower river, but indirectly caused the buildup trout (Behnke and Zarn 1976). When the of the delta at the mouth. The numbers of great lake desiccated, two populations of La- trout diminished steadily imtil 1930, which hontans evolved, one best adapted to lakes was the last successful spawning year for the and the other to streams. The major lake original population of Pyramid Lake Lahon- populations of Lahontan cutthroat trout were tan cutthroat trout (Sumner 1939).