COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Chestnut Lamprey Ichthyomyzon castaneus Great Lakes - Upper St. Lawrence Populations Saskatchewan - Nelson River Populations in Canada DATA DEFICIENT 2010 COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows: COSEWIC. 2010. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Chestnut Lamprey Ichthyomyzon castaneus (Great Lakes - Upper St. Lawrence populations and Saskatchewan - Nelson River populations) in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xii + 35 pp. (www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm). Previous report(s): Lanteigne, Jacqueline. 1991. COSEWIC status report on the Chestnut Lamprey Ichthyomyzon castaneus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. 1 – 24 pp. Production note: COSEWIC acknowledges Claude Renaud for writing the provisional status report on the Chestnut Lamprey, Ichthyomyzon castaneus. The contractor’s involvement with the writing of the status report ended with the acceptance of the provisional report. Any modifications to the status report during the subsequent preparation of the 6-month interim status report were overseen by Dr. John Post, Co-chair of the COSEWIC Freshwater Fishes Specialist Subcommittee. For additional copies contact: COSEWIC Secretariat c/o Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Tel.: 819-953-3215 Fax: 819-994-3684 E-mail: COSEWIC/[email protected] http://www.cosewic.gc.ca Également disponible en français sous le titre Ếvaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur la lamproie brune (Ichthyomyzon castaneus) Populations des Grands Lacs et du haut Saint-Laurent et Populations des rivières Saskatchewan et Nelson au Canada. Cover illustration/photo: Chestnut Lamprey — Adult Chestnut Lamprey in lateral view. Photographed by Douglas A. Watkinson, Freshwater Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2011. Catalogue No. CW69-14/622-2011E-PDF ISBN 978-1-100-18611-5 Recycled paper COSEWIC Assessment Summary Assessment Summary – November 2010 Common name Chestnut Lamprey - Great Lakes - Upper St. Lawrence populations Scientific name Ichthyomyzon castaneus Status Data Deficient Reason for designation Insufficient information exists for assessment purposes. The occurrence of this species in the Great Lakes – Upper St. Lawrence basin has been confirmed with recent collections of 2 adults and correction to the identification of 4 adults from museum collections. No further information on distribution, abundance or habitat is available for this species. Occurrence Ontario, Quebec Status history The species was considered a single unit and designated Special Concern in April 1991. Split into two populations in November 2010. The “Great Lakes - Upper St. Lawrence populations” unit was considered in November 2010 and placed in the Data Deficient category. Assessment Summary – November 2010 Common name Chestnut Lamprey - Saskatchewan - Nelson River populations Scientific name Ichthyomyzon castaneus Status Data Deficient Reason for designation Insufficient information exists for assessment purposes. This species’ Saskatchewan - Nelson River populations unit is broadly distributed but has not been abundant where surveyed. It has been observed at 20 sites in total in this region. No information is available on population size or trends. Although prairie rivers are generally subject to agriculturally derived sedimentation, herbicides, pesticides and eutrophication, no information is available on specific threats to this species. Occurrence Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario Status history The species was considered a single unit and designated Special Concern in April 1991. Split into two populations in November 2010. The “Saskatchewan - Nelson River populations” unit was was considered in November 2010 and placed in the Data Deficient category. iii COSEWIC Executive Summary Chestnut Lamprey Ichthyomyzon castaneus Species information The Chestnut Lamprey is a parasitic species that attains a maximum size of 363 mm in total length as an adult and 165 mm as a larva. It has a single indented dorsal fin. Larger larvae (greater than approximately 95 mm) can be distinguished from all other Canadian lampreys by the presence of darkly pigmented lateral line organs. Adults can be distinguished from the two other Canadian lamprey species that have a single dorsal fin, Silver Lamprey and Northern Brook Lamprey, by possessing usually a total of six bicuspid inner lateral teeth, compared to usually none. There are two designatable units: a Saskatchewan-Nelson River DU and a Great Lakes-Upper St. Lawrence DU. This parasitic lamprey species is found in Canada (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Québec) and the United States (19 contiguous states from North Dakota to Texas), but its closest relative, the Southern Brook Lamprey, a nonparasitic species, is only found in the United States. Distribution The Chestnut Lamprey is only found in North America, being distributed in Canada and the United States. In Canada, it is found in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Québec, occurring in two biogeographic zones: the Saskatchewan-Nelson River zone and the Great Lakes-Upper St. Lawrence zone. Habitat The Chestnut Lamprey spends its entire life in fresh waters. It is found in lakes and rivers of various sizes. Biology The Chestnut Lamprey lives an undetermined number of years (presumed to be 5-7) as a filter-feeding larva mostly spent buried or partially buried in the bottom of streams. It begins transformation in the fall, acquiring an oral disc with teeth. It lives about 18 months as an adult, feeding on the blood and other body fluids of a variety of fishes. It reproduces in the spring and dies shortly after. iv Population sizes and trends Twenty-seven extant populations are known across its Canadian range. Most collections consist of a single specimen. The population sizes are unknown, but the largest grouping of this species observed in Canada (about 50 individuals) occurred during a spawning event. No trend can be inferred as collections have been made very intermittently and, with one exception, the Assiniboine River, Manitoba, the collection effort has not been quantified. Limiting factors and threats Two of seven populations in the Great Lakes Basin are or were subjected to chemical applications to control the invasive Sea Lamprey. Existing protection The federal Fisheries Act prohibits the destruction of fish habitat. The Chestnut Lamprey was assessed as Vulnerable (= Special Concern) by the COSEWIC in April 1991 and is listed as Special Concern on Schedule 3 of SARA. This assessment, however, applied only to the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, because the populations in Ontario and Québec were only discovered after 1991. Both the Saskatchewan-Nelson River populations and the Great Lakes Upper-St-Laurence populations were presented as two separate units and designated Data Deficient by COSEWIC in November 2010. v TECHNICAL SUMMARY – DU1 Genus species Ichthyomyzon castaneus Chestnut Lamprey Lamproie brune Great Lakes-Upper St. Lawrence populations Populations des Grands Lacs et du haut Saint- Laurent Range of occurrence in Canada: Ontario, Québec Demographic Information Generation time (usually average age of parents in the 8 yrs population) Is there an observed continuing decline in number of mature Unknown individuals? Estimated percent of continuing decline in total number of Unknown; only three specimens mature individuals within 2 generations. collected within the last two generations (16 yrs) Observed percent reduction in total number of mature individuals Unknown; only three specimens over the last 3 generations. collected over the last three generations (24 yrs) Projected or suspected percent reduction in total number of Unknown mature individuals over the next 3 generations. Suspected percent reduction in total number of mature Unknown individuals over any 3 generations period, over a time period including both the past and the future. Are the causes of the decline clearly reversible and understood No and ceased? Are there extreme fluctuations in number of mature individuals? No Extent and Occupancy Information Estimated extent of occurrence (Based on Table 1) 301,013 km² Area of Occupancy (AO) Index of area of occupancy (IAO) (Based on Table 1) 1,528 km² 2 X 2 km grid Is the total population severely fragmented? Yes Number of “locations” 6 Is there an observed, inferred, or projected continuing decline in No extent of occurrence? Is there an observed, inferred, or projected continuing decline in No index of area of occupancy? Is there an observed, inferred, or projected continuing decline in No. although perhaps the number of populations? Chippewa River (ON) population is extirpated Is there an observed, inferred, or projected continuing decline in No, although perhaps the number of locations? Chippewa River (ON) population is extirpated Is there an observed, inferred, or projected continuing decline in No area, extent and/or quality of habitat? Are there extreme fluctuations in number of populations? No Are there extreme fluctuations in number of locations? No Are there extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence? No See definition of location in COSEWIC O&P Manual. vi Are there extreme fluctuations in index of area of occupancy? No Number of Mature Individuals (in each population) Population N Mature Individuals