Health and Condition of Endangered Juvenile Lost River and Shortnose Suckers Relative to Water Quality and Fish Assemblages In
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Health and Condition of Endangered Juvenile Lost River and Shortnose Suckers Relative to Water Quality and Fish Assemblages in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir, California Open-File Report 2015–1217 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Health and Condition of Endangered Juvenile Lost River and Shortnose Suckers Relative to Water Quality and Fish Assemblages in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir, California By Summer M. Burdick, Diane G. Elliott, Carl O. Ostberg, Carla M. Conway, Amari Dolan-Caret, Marshal S. Hoy, Kevin P. Feltz, and Kathy R. Echols Open-File Report 2015-1217 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2015 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit http://www.usgs.gov/ or call 1–888–ASK–USGS (1–888–275–8747). For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/. To order USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov/. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Burdick, S.M., Elliott, D.G., Ostberg, C.O., Conway, C.M., Dolan-Caret, A., Hoy, M.S., Feltz, K.P., and Echols, K.R., 2015, Health and condition of endangered juvenile Lost River and shortnose suckers relative to water quality and fish assemblages in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir, California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015-1217, 56 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151217. ISSN 2331-1258 (online) Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................................................................................................................ 2 Description of Study Area ........................................................................................................................................... 8 Methods .................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Continuous Water-Quality Monitoring ................................................................................................................... 11 Ammonia and Microcystin Sampling and Analysis ................................................................................................ 11 Fish Capture and Processing ................................................................................................................................ 13 Species Identification ............................................................................................................................................ 14 Triglyceride Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 16 Growth and Condition Assessment ....................................................................................................................... 17 Histopathology ...................................................................................................................................................... 17 Analysis of Unbound Microcystin in Fish Tissue ................................................................................................... 18 Results ...................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Continuous Water-Quality Monitoring Data ........................................................................................................... 19 Ammonia ............................................................................................................................................................... 19 Microcystin Concentrations in Water ..................................................................................................................... 22 Fish Assemblages ................................................................................................................................................. 24 Sucker Catch Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 24 Species Identification ............................................................................................................................................ 26 Sucker Ages .......................................................................................................................................................... 28 Triglyceride Content .............................................................................................................................................. 28 Sucker Length and Apparent Growth .................................................................................................................... 31 Results of 2014 Field Examinations ...................................................................................................................... 35 Histopathology ...................................................................................................................................................... 36 Unbound Microcystin ............................................................................................................................................. 39 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................................ 43 Survival and Apparent Growth of Lost River and Shortnose Suckers ................................................................... 43 Fish Health and Condition ..................................................................................................................................... 44 Fish Assemblages ................................................................................................................................................. 48 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................................................. 49 References Cited ...................................................................................................................................................... 50 Figures Figure 1. Map of Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon ....................................................................................................... 9 Figure 2. Map of Clear Lake Reservoir (Clear Lake), California ............................................................................. 10 Figure 3. Dissolved-oxygen concentrations in Clear Lake Reservoir (U.S. Geological Survey site number 415007121102001), California, and at the lower mid-north site (U.S. Geological Survey site number 422622122004000) in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, during sucker sampling periods, 2013–14 ........................... 20 iii Figure 4. Values of pH in Clear Lake Reservoir (U.S. Geological Survey site number 415007121102001), California, and at the lower mid-north site (U.S. Geological Survey site number 422622122004000) in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, during sucker sampling periods, 2013–14 ............................................................... 21 Figure 5. Water temperature (in degrees Celsius) in Clear Lake Reservoir (U.S. Geological Survey site number 415007121102001), California, and at the lower mid-north site (U.S. Geological Survey site number 422622122004000) in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, during sucker sampling periods, 2013–2014 .......... 21 Figure 6. Un-ionized ammonia concentrations at Fish Banks and lower mid-north (U.S. Geological Survey site number 422622122004000) sites in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and in Clear Lake Reservoir, California (U.S. Geological Survey site number 415007121102001), during sucker sampling seasons, 2013–14 .................. 22 Figure 7. Concentrations of microcystin at Fish Banks and lower mid-north (U.S. Geological Survey site number 422622122004000) sites in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, during sucker sampling seasons, 2014. ......... 23 Figure 8. Catch rates and timing of age-0 sucker captures along Fish Banks in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2013–14 ..................................................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 9. Catch rates and timing of sucker captures (ages combined) in Clear Lake Reservoir, California, 2013–14 .................................................................................................................................................. 26 Figure 10. Probability of genetic assignment as Lost River sucker by individual fish collected in