Climbing success of adult Pacific lamprey on a vertical wetted wall

Abstract

The ability of adult Pacific lamprey, Entosphenus tridentatus (Gairdner), to climb has enabled development of lamprey‐specific fishways. Sheer vertical climbing elements are needed for these structures when fishway installation space is limited. A 1.6‐m high aluminium wetted wall was built to test Pacific lamprey vertical climbing in relation to flow and three water delivery mechanisms: overflow, upwelling and sidewelling. Passage success and passage times were recorded for individual Pacific lamprey (n = 122). For those that interacted with the structure (n = 104), 94% successfully ascended the wall (76% on their first attempt). Average time from first interaction with the structure to exit ranged from 19.5 to 47.0 min. Success rates and passage times were not significantly affected by flow or water delivery treatments. This indicates that vertical elements can facilitate lamprey passage in the 0.13–3.59 L min−1 cm−1 flow range tested and may greatly expand the design alternatives in certain situations.

Pacific lamprey recolonization of a Pacific Northwest river following dam removal

“…Many watersheds were eliminated for our post‐dam sampling in 2015 due to the identification of suspected impassable barriers and ephemeral streams. Although Pacific lampreys are known to climb vertically (Frick, Corbett, & Moser, ; Reinhardt, Eidietis, Friedl, & Moser, ), it is unknown what conditions preclude passage. Because Pacific lampreys do not have jumping ability, any barrier that had a perched ledge was deemed impassable.…”

Bringing partners together: A symposium on native lampreys and the Pacific Lamprey Conservation Initiative

“…This research has helped us understand the effects of identified threats on native lampreys and their habitats, such as barriers to migration (e.g., Bracken et al 2015;Schultz et al 2016;Jubb et al 2023), contaminants (e.g., Nilsen et al 2015;Linley et al 2016;Madenjian et al 2021), habitat dewatering (e.g., Rodríguez-Lozano et al 2019;Harris et al 2020), and climate change (e.g., Goertler et al 2020;Wang et al 2020Wang et al , 2021Whitesel and Uh 2023). As a result, research has addressed conservation and management actions to mitigate threats and support lamprey populations through recolonization after barrier removal (e.g., Hogg et al 2013;Jolley et al 2018;Hess et al 2021), translocation (e.g., Ward et al 2012;Hess et al 2022), lamprey-specific structures to aid passage (e.g., Moser et al 2011;Frick et al 2017;Lothian et al 2020), and habitat restoration (Roni 2003;Gonzalez et al 2017).…”

Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) transit of a ramp equipped with studded substrate: Implications for fish passage and invasive species control

“…Transition zones are key areas of failure to ascend inclined surfaces in other lamprey species (e.g. Frick et al 2017). Water depth within the stream was 0.69 m, resulting in 1.59 m of the ramp extending above the surface.…”