Literature Review Juvenile and Subadult Bull Trout and Pacific Lamprey Movement Studies
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LITERATURE REVIEW JUVENILE AND SUBADULT BULL TROUT AND PACIFIC LAMPREY MOVEMENT STUDIES Final RESOURCE DOCUMENT March 1, 2005 Prepared by: BioAnalysts, Inc. Eagle, Idaho Prepared for: Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County Wenatchee, Washington Literature Review Bull Trout and Pacific Lamprey TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................3 BULL TROUT LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................. 4 LAMPREY LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................... 11 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................... 12 BULL TROUT REFERENCES ............................................................................................. 13 LAMPREY REFERENCES................................................................................................... 17 APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................... 19 BioAnalysts, Inc. page i Chelan County PUD No. 1 Literature Review Bull Trout and Pacific Lamprey INTRODUCTION The Chelan County Public Utility District (CPUD) is interested in studies that have assessed potential dam or reservoir effects on juvenile (subadult) bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and juvenile Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata). The scope of this literature review encompasses work that has been conducted in the northwest with an emphasis on the Columbia and Snake River basins. We concentrated our review on tagging studies that allowed researchers to monitor the movements and behavior of test organisms using biotelemetry. There were three types of tags (radio, acoustic, and PIT tags) that have received considerable use in the northwest and allowed researchers to identify individuals or test groups necessary to evaluate potential dam or reservoir effects. Radio and acoustic tags allowed researchers a much greater range of detection than PIT-tags and were applied in an active search mode as well as fixed station to locate individuals over a broad range with either aerial, boat, or vehicle surveys. For those studies that used either radio or acoustic tags, we evaluated the studies purpose and methods used to assess effects of dam operations on fish. As part of the assessment, we addressed the feasibility of the methods/technologies used to track and monitor fish as well as the statistical results and validity of their conclusions. This report is organized into two main sections with an appendix that lists all the studies reviewed. The first section is devoted to studies conducted on juvenile bull trout and the second addresses studies on juvenile lamprey. BioAnalysts, Inc. page 3 Chelan County PUD No. 1 Literature Review Bull Trout and Pacific Lamprey BULL TROUT LITERATURE REVIEW There has been considerable effort spent on studying the migration and movement patterns of adult bull trout in the Pacific Northwest. This effort has been necessary to provide information on bull trout life histories, movement, and behavior throughout their range. What becomes apparent in our review is that biotelemetry (radio and acoustic) studies on juvenile and sub-adult movement patterns are scarce. A few studies used passive integrated transponder tags (PIT-tags) to mark bull trout, but results were generally used for long-term mark and recapture. We concentrated our review on 63 studies related to biotelemetry on the movements and behavior of bull trout. References to bull trout biotelemetry studies are provided in a numbered reference list (see reference section). The literature is cross-referenced in a table in Appendix 1 that displays the reference number, study objective(s), and life stage and size range of bull trout studied. The size that bull trout attain when they become mature adults is largely dependent on life history and the productivity of the aquatic environment. Because this literature review is specific to studies conducted on juvenile or sub-adult bull trout, we relied on the author’s knowledge to differentiate between sub-adult and adult bull trout. Although, the size range most often reported for sub-adults varied, most studies reported sub-adults as less than either 300 or 400 mm fork length (FL) or total length (TL). Some authors appeared to make a distinction between juvenile and sub-adult bull trout in migratory populations. In migratory populations, juvenile bull trout were often fish that had at least attained a size (>50 mm) or age (≥ age-1). Frequently, the term sub-adult was used to describe juvenile bull trout as they migrated downstream or when they occupied habitats similar to their adult fluvial or adfluvial counterparts. This is an important distinction because the objectives of some studies required researchers to use size criteria to select mature adults that would most likely migrate to tributaries to spawn while others chose smaller fish to monitor movements not related to spawning migrations. Size criteria were also used to select an appropriate tag size and weight. We found thirteen studies that used either radio or acoustic tag technologies to study the movements of juvenile or sub-adult bull trout. Eight studies were not related to hydro-operations. Two of the eight studies that describe the movements of resident bull trout. One was in the Pine Creek BioAnalysts, Inc. page 4 Chelan County PUD No. 1 Literature Review Bull Trout and Pacific Lamprey watershed of Eastern Oregon (Chandler 2001) and the other was in Meadow and Daly creeks, tributaries in the Bitterroot River drainage (Jakober 1995). Hemmingsen et al. (1997) investigated the movements of juvenile and sub-adult bull trout in the upper Grande Ronde and John Day basins. In another study, Schriever and Schiff (2002) monitored the movements of sub-adult bull trout in Dworshak Reservoir, and the North Fork and Little North Fork Clearwater rivers. In the upper Flathead River system, Mulfeld and Marotz (2004) described the seasonal movements of sub-adult bull trout. In Oregon, Schwabe et al. (2003) monitored the movements of sub-adult bull trout in the North Fork Malheur River basin. In Idaho, Partridge et al. (2000) radio tagged several bull trout that might be considered sub-adults within Anderson Ranch Reservoir of the South Fork Boise River. In that study they were investigating the seasonal migration routes and timing of bull trout movements. Goetz et al. (2004) investigated anadromous life histories in sub-adult bull trout in estuarine and marine areas of the Puget Sound, Washington. None of these studies were related to dam passage or hydropower operations. We found only five studies that related juvenile or sub-adult bull trout with hydro-operations. These studies are the focus of our evaluation. For each study, we list the full citation and provide the study objective(s) that apply to sub-adult bull trout and hydro-operations. BioAnalysts, Inc. page 5 Chelan County PUD No. 1 Literature Review Bull Trout and Pacific Lamprey 1. Geist, D. R., R. S. Brown, A. T. Scholz, and B. Nine. 2004. Movement and survival of radio-tagged bull trout near Albeni Falls Dam. Contract DACW68-02-D-0001, Project No. 44477. Report prepared for U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle WA. One objective of this study was to determine if sub-adult bull trout collected in the Middle Fork East River exhibit a first time pattern of downstream migration similar to adult fish as they migrate back to Lake Pend Oreille, or if they traveled downstream and become entrained at Albeni Falls Dam. The researchers intended to capture active bull trout migrants with a rotary-screw trap operated at the mouth of the Middle Fork East River from 21 April to 22 August. However, the screw trap failed to capture a single migrant bull trout. The researchers then radio-tagged 15 of the largest bull trout they could capture from electrofishing and nighttime snorkel dip-netting. They monitored these fish for several weeks, but none of the fish moved downstream into the Priest or Pend Oreille rivers. Consequently, they were unable to evaluate sub-adult migratory behavior or potential entrainment at Albeni Falls Dam. The key to achieving their objective was to tag active migrants early in the spring before stream temperature became less favorable to downstream migration. The authors noted that sampling earlier in the year (Feb-Apr) may be more suitable for addressing this objective. No conclusions on the effects of hydro-operations on sub-adults can be assessed from this study. BioAnalysts, Inc. page 6 Chelan County PUD No. 1 Literature Review Bull Trout and Pacific Lamprey 2. Parametrix. 2003. St. Joe River juvenile adfluvial bull trout out-migration evaluation, 2003. Report prepared for Fisheries Work Group Spokane River Project Relicensing, under contract to Avista Coporation Spokane, WA. Prepared by Parametrix, Kirkland, WA. The objectives of this study were: 1) Collect and radio-tag out-migrating juvenile adfluvial bull trout from the headwater areas of the St. Joe River, upstream of the reach of river influenced by Post Falls hydroelectric development (HED) operations; 2) Monitor the downstream movement of the radio-tagged bull trout through both the free-flowing reach of the St. Joe River and the reach affected by Post Falls HED operations; 3) Evaluate differences in observed out-migrant movement and behavior