Incursions of sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, and striped bass, Morone saxatilis, in Labrador waters: Episodic events or evidence of a northward range expansion?

Abstract

We describe observations of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) and striped bass (Morone saxatilis) incursions into Labrador, Canada. While P. marinus have been periodically observed in similar latitudes, their numbers have conspicuously increased in estuarine environments in 2020. In contrast, M. saxatilis were not observed from Labrador until 2017 but appear to be declining after the initial surge in abundance that peaked in 2018. It remains unclear whether spawning populations of either species exist. Given the potential to negatively affect species of commercial and cultural importance through predation, follow‐up surveys are warranted.

eDNA metabarcoding reveals riverine fish community structure and climate associations in northeastern Canada

“…Using metabarcoding, we generated fish community composition data for coastal river sites throughout this region and compared species' distributions with environmental data and historical data. This work provides the most extensive examination of riverine fish species present in Newfoundland and Labrador to date, including indication of non‐native species occurrences in new areas and potential northern range shifts, results which extend previous work in the region (Perry & Keefe, 2021; Van Leeuwen et al., 2021). Moreover, our simulations of mock samples provide an evaluation of the accuracy of results obtained from three commonly used mitochondrial markers and two bioinformatic pipelines.…”

“…Nonetheless, much of the region's aquatic habitats have not been well surveyed (Black et al., 1986), and the freshwater community composition remains largely unexamined (though see Michaud et al., 2010, Keefe et al., 2019, Perry & Keefe, 2021). Against this backdrop of data deficiency, there have been reports of non‐native fish species in the region (Keefe et al., 2019; Van Leeuwen et al., 2021), and concerns regarding projected species declines due to climate change (Layton et al., 2021), making the need for current distributional and community composition data pressing. Ultimately, substantial uncertainty remains regarding the nature of freshwater fish community composition in the region, in addition to how communities may have changed in response to a warming climate.…”

“…The region of northeastern Canada including Newfoundland and Labrador straddles the latitudinal range limits of many Arctic and temperate species (Anderson, 1985; Backus, 1957; Wroblewski et al., 2007), making it highly susceptible to climate associated distributional shifts (Layton et al., 2021; Reist et al., 2006; Van Leeuwen et al., 2021). Nonetheless, much of the region's aquatic habitats have not been well surveyed (Black et al., 1986), and the freshwater community composition remains largely unexamined (though see Michaud et al., 2010, Keefe et al., 2019, Perry & Keefe, 2021).…”

Verification of a Stripeless Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis, in Miramichi River, New Brunswick, Canada

“…Pronounced horizontal black stripes make Morone saxatilis (Walbaum) (Striped Bass) one of the most easily recognizable fishes in North America. This recreational angling favorite occupies fresh water, brackish, and marine environments and occurs within a native range along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Louisiana and along the Atlantic Coast from the the Saint Lawrence River, QC, Canada, to St. Johns River, FL (Striped Bass Technical Task Force 2006), and since 2017, with a probable northward range expansion to Labrador (Andrews et al 2019; Van Leeuwen et al 2021). Its broad distribution and many individuals caught by recreational angling and commercial fisheries have provided much data to describe morphological variation, including the striped pattern (Pond and Boyd 1984, Waldman and Vecchio 1996, Whipple et al 1984) and dorsal coloration (Gemperline et al 2002, Paramore and Rulifson 2001).…”