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Do Sturgeon Limit Burrowing Shrimp Populations in Pacific Northwest Estuaries?

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Do Sturgeon Limit Burrowing Shrimp Populations in Pacific Northwest Estuaries? Environ Biol Fish (2008) 83:283–296 DOI 10.1007/s10641-008-9333-y Do sturgeon limit burrowing shrimp populations in Pacific Northwest Estuaries? Brett R. Dumbauld & David L. Holden & Olaf P. Langness Received: 22 January 2007 /Accepted: 28 January 2008 /Published online: 4 March 2008 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2008 Abstract Green sturgeon, Acipenser medirostris, and we present evidence from exclusion studies and field white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, are fre- observation that the predator making the pits can have quent inhabitants of coastal estuaries from northern a significant cumulative negative effect on burrowing California, USA to British Columbia, Canada. An shrimp density. These burrowing shrimp present a analysis of stomach contents from 95 green stur- threat to the aquaculture industry in Washington State geon and six white sturgeon commercially landed in due to their ability to de-stabilize the substrate on Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor, and the Columbia River which shellfish are grown. Despite an active burrowing estuary during 2000–2005 revealed that 17–97% had shrimp control program in these estuaries, it seems empty stomachs, but those fish with items in their unlikely that current burrowing shrimp abundance and guts fed predominantly on benthic prey items and availability as food is a limiting factor for threatened fish. Burrowing thalassinid shrimp (mostly Neo- green sturgeon stocks. However, these large predators trypaea californiensis) were important food items for may have performed an important top down control both white and especially for green sturgeon taken in function on shrimp populations in the past when they Willapa Bay, Washington during summer 2003, where were more abundant. they represented 51% of the biomass ingested (84.9% IRI). Small pits observed in intertidal areas dominated Keywords Endangered . Predation . Oyster . by these shrimp, are likely made by these sturgeon and Neotrypeaea . Willapa Bay. Acipenser B. R. Dumbauld (*) Introduction US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2030 S.E. Marine Science Drive, Two diadromous species of sturgeon, green sturgeon, Newport, OR 97365, USA Acipenser medirostris, and white sturgeon, Acipenser e-mail: [email protected] transmontanus, are common inhabitants of Pacific Northwest coastal estuaries from northern California, D. L. Holden Department of Biology, University of Washington, USA to British Columbia, Canada. Green sturgeon Seattle, WA 91985, USA are anadromous, spending 1–3 years in their natal river and estuaries as juveniles before entering the O. P. Langness ocean. The sub-adult phase of their life is marine- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2108 Grand Boulevard, oriented and during winter and spring months they Vancouver, WA 98661, USA live off the coast in the shallow (<100 m) portion of 284 Environ Biol Fish (2008) 83:283–296 the sub-littoral zone (Erickson and Hightower 2007). sturgeon greatly outnumber green sturgeon in the In the summer and late fall, they are aggregated in Columbia River estuary, while green sturgeon usually coastal estuaries, particularly in the Columbia River dominate in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor (depend- estuary, Willapa Bay, and Grays Harbor, Washington ing on the white sturgeon stray rate). (Moser and Lindley 2007). They do not return to their Anecdotal information from fishers and processors natal stream until first spawning around age 15 to 20 suggested that both green and white sturgeon feed (Moyle 2002). Adults appear to join sub-adults when when they are in coastal estuaries. While Atlantic at sea and thus there is no distinct separation by life coast anadromous sturgeon are known to forage in stage during estuarine residence. White sturgeon are estuaries (Hatin et al. 2002; Taverny et al. 2002; amphidromous. While a minority might venture to Harris et al. 2005), most diet studies on the Pacific sea, and to other fresh water locations, this sporadic coast had been conducted in estuaries and large rivers migration behavior is not linked to breeding. Thus, where the fish spawn, so documentation of feeding white sturgeon of various sizes may be found in the behavior during estuarine residence outside these coastal estuaries and rivers, at any time of the year. areas was limited. Juvenile and sub-adult white Stray rates vary from year-to-year but are low sturgeon feed on benthic invertebrates and fish in (ranging from 2% to 18% of tagged fish >90 cm total the Columbia River estuary (Muir et al. 1988), yet length; James 2001), and likely correlate to prey stomach contents from 46 commercially caught abundance or environmental conditions in the natal Columbia River green sturgeon consisted of only river and estuary. algae and pebbles (Farr and Kern 2005). This result Green sturgeon are known to consistently spawn in supported the notion that green sturgeon do not feed the Sacramento River (California), the Klamath River while in coastal estuaries (Adams et al. 2002). (California and Oregon), and Rogue River (Oregon). Two species of burrowing thalassinid shrimp, ghost These spawning populations cluster into two distinct shrimp, Neotrypaea californiensis,andmudshrimp, population segments (DPS): the Southern (Sacra- Upogebia pugettensis, are common and widely dis- mento River); and Northern (principally the Klamath tributed tideflat residents in estuaries along the open and Rogue rivers) DPS. Mixed stock analysis allo- Pacific coast (Swinbanks and Murray 1981;Bird1982; cates approximately 80% of green sturgeon present in Dumbauld et al. 1996). Both species of shrimp are the Columbia River and Willapa Bay estuaries to the indigenous, but considered to be pests by the oyster Southern DPS. The Grays Harbor aggregation is more aquaculture industry due to their burrowing behavior evenly allocated between both DPS (Israel and May that causes cultured bivalves to be smothered by 2007). The Southern DPS was listed as threatened sediment and die (Feldman et al. 2000;Dumbauldet under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA), by the al. 2004). These shrimp are also considered to be US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in excellent sturgeon bait by recreational fishers and have 2006 (Adams et al. 2007). The Northern DPS was been reported to occur in the stomachs of these fish, listed as a species of concern by NMFS, with a 5-year particularly those taken incidentally in summer com- evaluation period stipulated. mercial salmon fisheries. Anecdotal evidence also White sturgeon found in Pacific Northwest estuar- suggested that small pits commonly observed on broad ies belong to the population below Bonneville Dam tideflats dominated by shrimp in most coastal estuaries (river kilometer 233) on the Columbia River (DeVore (Fig. 1), are made by these fish as they forage. et al. 1999). White sturgeon stocks were heavily Declines in shrimp predator populations, including exploited in the late 1800s and have been greatly sturgeon, have been suggested as one reason for impacted by other anthropogenic activities such as unexplained increases in shrimp populations in the hydropower dams which fragmented the population. 1950s in both Oregon and Washington estuaries. The lower Columbia River population however is These expansions resulted in an ongoing burrowing arguably one of the healthiest of any sturgeon species shrimp control program which uses the pesticide worldwide. Significant sport and commercial fisheries carbaryl (brand name Sevin®) applied directly to the have been sustained for decades within the lower tideflats to kill the shrimp and protect the shellfish Columbia River, and neighboring estuaries (Reiman industry in Washington State (Feldman et al. 2000). and Beamesderfer 1990; DeVore et al. 1995). White Enhancement of sturgeon and other predator popula- Environ Biol Fish (2008) 83:283–296 285 Fig. 1 View of an individ- ual feeding pit (right) and multiple feeding pits (left) on an exposed tideflat in Willapa Bay, Washington where a dense burrowing shrimp population was present tions has also been suggested as one potential Bay and Grays Harbor are also influenced by the alternative mechanism to be used in an integrated Columbia River plume (Hickey and Banas 2003). pest management plan for these shrimp, especially since an out-of-court settlement resulted in the Diet industry agreeing to stop using carbaryl by 2012 (Dumbauld et al. 2006). We implemented the present We opportunistically sampled sturgeon from test study to: (1) document whether green and white fisheries and commercial sturgeon landings (either sturgeon feed during their estuarine residence periods dockside or at nearby fish processing facilities). The and if so whether their diet includes burrowing first set of samples was taken in November 2000 shrimp, and (2) use the feeding pits observed on during a sturgeon-directed commercial gillnet fishery shrimp dominated tideflats to document whether large in Willapa Bay. Since the fish processors reported to predators like sturgeon feeding could affect shrimp us that many sturgeon taken earlier that summer in the populations. salmon fishery had full stomachs with burrowing shrimp present, our 2002–2005 sampling efforts focused on sturgeon landed as bycatch during the Methods summer commercial salmon gillnet fisheries in Wil- lapa Bay, the Columbia River estuary, and Grays Study area Harbor. Although gastric lavage has been used to sample gut contents from sturgeon (Haley 1998; The three estuaries along the Pacific Northwest Coast Brosse et al. 2002),
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