Protecting rare lamprey

[kickingfrog]

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3379246

 

 

Protecting rare lamprey

Species native to Chippewa Creek

By GORD YOUNG The Nugget

Posted Nov. 22, 2011

 

Efforts kicked off Tuesday to protect aquatic life in Chippewa Creek, including an uncommon species of lamprey, prior to work to widen and deepen parts of the waterway.

 

Minnows as well as the northern brook lamprey, a non-parasitic species native to the creek, were being collected near Third Avenue and moved downstream in preparation for work to redirect the creek as part of a flood mitigation project led by the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority.

 

Brian Tayler, general manager at the conservation authority, said the northern brook lamprey, unlike the sea lamprey which has plagued the Great Lakes, are filter feeders that eat microscopic animals, plants and pollen. They stop feeding when they transform into adults.

 

"They're not very common," said Tayler, noting northern brook lamprey have been killed off in many areas including the Great Lakes by measures used to control sea lampreys.

 

They're small creatures — between nine and 16 centimetre — which spend their first three to seven years burrowed in areas of silt, soft mud or sand. They're considered a species of special concern both provincially and nationally. There are also other species of lamprey native to Chippewa Creek that are not a threat to the ecosystem.

 

Tayler said an area of the creek was dammed and the water lowered while personnel from FRi Ecological Services electrofished and netted minnows and any lamprey. Electrofishing involves delivering a current into the water to stun the fish.

 

Tayler said work to deepen and widen the creek will begin in that area. He said a second portion of the creek will be prepared in two weeks.

 

The work involves deepening the creek channel between John and Hammond streets and redirecting the waterway so it follows a more natural path.

 

Redirecting the creek will involve removing sharp turns, as well as the straight section that runs alongside John Street. The creek will flow through a section of the former St. Joseph School playground, which the authority acquired in a land swap with the separate school board.

 

In addition, the Kinsmen Trail, which runs along a portion of John Street, will be moved to the opposite side of the creek and will eventually pass under the John Street bridge.

 

The pricetag is $1.1 million and it is a joint project between the city and conservation authority.

 

The majority of the work is expected to be completed this year, with finishing touches to be completed in the spring.

 

The project is aimed at eliminating the threat of flooding to approximately 25 homes and several businesses in the area.

 

The first phase was completed in 2008 and involved removal of the old Canadian National rail line culvert at Hammond Street, which was too low for cyclists and pedestrians to use without ducking, and realignment of the creek and Kinsmen Trail.

 

[email protected]

[Rod Caster]

I'm suprised they are doing the work so late in the season; then again the cold weather will minimize the erosion of soil during the excavation.

$1.1 mil seems like a fair value considering all the politics, logistics, contractor costs and city-land involved. I'm sure the NBMCA pulled a few strings with the City to reduce contractor and permitting costs.

 

Thx for posting.

[Nipfisher]

Yep and it is also paying my bills Chad.

 

I was working at the site for a few hours tonight. As for the Northern Brook Lamprey.....there numbers are great in Chippewa Creek. Durring a recent job on the box culvert under Main st. we found over 400 of them in a section of the creek that is only 60 feet. The guys from F.R.I. (environmental company) could not believe how populated the creek was with them.

[Rod Caster]

Yep and it is also paying my bills Chad.

 

I was working at the site for a few hours tonight. As for the Northern Brook Lamprey.....there numbers are great in Chippewa Creek. Durring a recent job on the box culvert under Main st. we found over 400 of them in a section of the creek that is only 60 feet. The guys from F.R.I. (environmental company) could not believe how populated the creek was with them.

 

 

That's great Blair!

 

It was either last spring or fall when you first told me about the healthy population of Northern Lamprey in Chippewa Creek. Very interesting stuff.

[Rizzo]

They stop feeding when they transform into adults.

 

...and they live how long on this diet of nothing?

[Rod Caster]

...and they live how long on this diet of nothing?

 

 

I caught that but didn't make anything of it. Too funny...

[John Bacon]

...and they live how long on this diet of nothing?

 

 

Approximately one year...

 

http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.php?doc_type=fact&id=58

 

Features: The Northern Brook Lamprey (Ichthyomyzon fossor) has the characteristic features of lampreys -- a round mouth and teeth arranged in a circle -- but this species is non- parasitic and the larvae feed on diatoms and protozoans. This species is small (9-16 cm long) and is easily confused with other native lampreys. As indicated by its common name, this species lives in small rivers. Adults spawn in gravelly riffles and then die. Individuals can lay over 1,000 eggs. When the larvae (called ammocoetes) hatch they make burrows in soft mud and spend six years growing. Then they metamorphose into an immature adult stage which lasts over winter (about 8 months) and then they develop sexual maturity quickly, emerge from the mud and disperse as adults to the spawning grounds. Adults never feed and live for about a year before dying.

 

Status: Special Concern Provincially and Nationally

 

Range: The Northern Brook Lamprey lives in the eastern United States in the upper Mississippi and southern Hudson Bay drainages, ranging from Manitoba and the Great Lakes region south to Missouri, east to the St. Lawrence River. In Ontario, it lives in rivers draining into Lakes Superior, Huron and Erie, and in the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers. Range Maps

 

Threats: The Northern Brook Lamprey prefers warm water and it may never have been common here. Ontario populations have declined because of the application of non-selective chemicals in streams to control the introduced Sea Lamprey, which is a parasitic species and a threat to Great Lakes fisheries. The species persists in untreated streams, above barriers and in backwater areas, which are not affected by the treatments. Water drawdowns and siltation are also potential threats.

 

Protection: The species has the general protection given by habitat sections of the Fisheries Act.

 

 

[Rizzo]

Approximately one year...

 

...so as long as my aunt Jackie would live if she stopped eating

[fishindevil]

rizzo !!!

[lew]

...so as long as my aunt Jackie would live if she stopped eating

 

Thanks for that Roger :lol: