Abundance of Arctic Grayling in a 30-Km Reach of the Wapiti River, Alberta
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Abundance of Arctic Grayling in a 30-km Reach of the Wapiti River, Alberta CCONSERVATIONONSERVATION RREPORTEPORT SSERIESERIES The Alberta Conservation Association is a Delegated Administrative Organization under Alberta’s Wildlife Act. CCONSERVATIONONSERVATION RREPORTEPORT SSERIESERIES 25% Post Consumer Fibre When separated, both the binding and paper in this document are recyclable Abundance of Arctic Grayling in a 30‐km Reach of the Wapiti River, Alberta John Tchir, Tyler Johns and Greg Fortier Alberta Conservation Association Bag 900‐26 Peace River, Alberta, Canada T8S 1T4 Report Series Editor PETER AKU P.O. Box 40027 Baker Centre Postal Outlet Edmonton, AB, T5J 4M9 Conservation Report Series Type Data, Technical ISBN printed: 978‐0‐7785‐5423‐3 ISBN online: 978‐0‐7785‐5424‐0 Publication No.: T/129 Disclaimer: This document is an independent report prepared by the Alberta Conservation Association. The authors are solely responsible for the interpretations of data and statements made within this report. Reproduction and Availability: This report and its contents may be reproduced in whole, or in part, provided that this title page is included with such reproduction and/or appropriate acknowledgements are provided to the authors and sponsors of this project. Suggested citation: Tchir J.P., T.W. Johns, and G.N. Fortier. 2004. Abundance of Arctic grayling in a 30‐km reach of the Wapiti River, Alberta. Data report, D‐2004‐020, produced by Alberta Conservation Association, Peace River, Alberta, Canada. 13 pp. Cover photo credit: David Fairless Digital copies of conservation reports can be obtained from: Alberta Conservation Association P.O. Box 40027, Baker Centre Postal Outlet Edmonton, AB, T5J 4M9 Toll Free: 1‐877‐969‐9091 Tel: (780) 427‐5192 Fax: (780) 422‐6441 Email: info@ab‐conservation.com Website: www.ab‐conservation.com i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) is an important sport fish species in several lakes and rivers in Alberta, including the Wapiti River. However, abundance and distribution of this species have declined throughout the province as a result of increased angling pressure and habitat destruction. In the present study, we conducted a mark‐recapture survey to generate data on distribution and abundance of Arctic grayling within a 30‐km reach of the Wapiti River that should aid in formulating management guidelines for this species in Wapiti River system. A total of 147 Arctic grayling were captured over the 30‐km stretch during our study. Mean (±SD) fish size (fork length) was 304 ± 38.1 mm and size composition was uniform throughout the study area. Using the bias corrected Lincoln‐Peterson method, estimated total abundance of Arctic grayling in the 30‐km reach of the Wapiti River was 612 (95% CI = 281 ‐ 943). Estimated abundance of harvestable fish (≥ 350 mm total length (TL)) was 291 fish (95% CI = 34 ‐ 547). With the maximum likelihood estimate method, estimated total abundance was 670 fish (95% CI = 430 ‐ 1748) while that of harvestable fish was 408 (95% CI = 281 ‐ 2366). ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was collaboratively developed between the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) and Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (ASRD). We thank Mike Doran and Dave Jackson (ACA) for their help with field sampling. We also thank Paul Hvenegaard (ACA) and Travis Ripley (ASRD) for providing their expertise in site selection and sampling design. We acknowledge Garry Scrimgeour, Manager of Science and Research, ACA, for his guidance in statistical analyses. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................... vi 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................1 1.1 General introduction.......................................................................................1 1.2 Study objectives...............................................................................................1 2.0 STUDY AREA......................................................................................................2 2.1 Description .......................................................................................................2 2.2 Ecoregion, forest cover and soils...................................................................4 2.3 Fish community...............................................................................................4 3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS ........................................................................6 3.1 Abundance estimates......................................................................................6 3.2 Size composition..............................................................................................8 4.0 RESULTS ..............................................................................................................9 4.1 Arctic grayling abundance.............................................................................9 4.2 Size composition............................................................................................10 4.3 Summary ........................................................................................................12 5.0 LITERATURE CITED .......................................................................................13 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Location of Arctic grayling mark‐recapture survey site on the Wapiti River, Alberta. ..................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2. Length‐frequency distribution of Arctic grayling from the 30‐km study site in the upper Wapiti River, Alberta. ................................................................. 12 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Fish species captured in the Wapiti River watershed, Alberta...................... 5 Table 2. Kolomogorov‐Smirnov (K‐S) two‐sample tests (z) for differences in length‐frequency distributions of Arctic grayling between sampling events in the upper Wapiti River, Alberta. ................................................................... 9 Table 3. Descriptive statistics of Arctic grayling size composition from three sections in the upper Wapiti River, Alberta. .................................................. 10 Table 4. Summary of Kolomogorov‐Smirnov two‐sample tests (z) for differences in Arctic grayling length‐frequency distributions among sections in the upper Wapiti River, Alberta. ............................................................................ 11 vi CCONSERVATIONONSERVATION RREPORTEPORT SSERIESERIES 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 General introduction Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) is an important sport fish species in several lakes and rivers in Alberta, including the Wapiti River. However, abundance and distribution of this species has declined throughout the province as a result of increased angling pressure and habitat destruction. Historically, the largest Arctic grayling spawning run in the Wapiti drainage occurred in the Beaverlodge River. However, this run has not existed for several years. Since the loss of this major run, the Redwillow River has been identified as an important spawning tributary to the Wapiti River (P. Hvenegaard, Alberta Conservation Association (ACA), pers. com). Although previous fish surveys have been conducted in the Wapiti River (Tchir et al. 2002), very limited quantitative data exist on the distribution and abundance of Arctic grayling in the river. Monitoring abundance of Arctic grayling in the Wapiti River is required by fisheries managers to ensure fishing regulations meet goals established in the provincial conservation guide “A fish conservation strategy for Alberta 2000‐2005 (Alberta Environment 1998)”. The present study was designed to determine abundance and size composition of Arctic grayling in a 30‐km reach of the Wapiti River. This study represents the first assessment of Arctic grayling abundance using mark‐recapture techniques on the upper Wapiti River. 1.2 Study objectives The primary objectives of our study were to determine: i. Abundance of Arctic grayling using a mark‐recapture survey. ii. Size structure of Arctic grayling. iii. Abundance of the harvestable (≥ 350 mm total length (TL)) component of the Arctic grayling population. 1 2.0 STUDY AREA 2.1 Description The Wapiti River enters Alberta approximately 90 km southwest of the City of Grande Prairie, where it flows 161 km northeast to its confluence with the Smoky River. The study reach started at 311700 Easting and 6069032 Northing UTM Zone 11 and ended at 328758 Easting and 6083536 Northing UTM Zone 11. The‐30‐km study reach was split into 3 equidistant sections (Figure 1). 2 Figure 1. Location of Arctic grayling mark‐recapture survey site on the Wapiti River, Alberta. The study reach started at 311700 Easting and 6069032 Northing UTM Zone 11 and ended at 328758 Easting and 6083536 Northing UTM Zone 11. 3 2.2 Ecoregion, forest cover and soils The study area is located primarily within the Lower Boreal‐Cordilleran