Pacific lamprey climbing behavior

Abstract

New lamprey-friendly fishways feature inclined ramps that facilitate passage of Pacific lampreys ( Lampetra tridentata (Richardson, 1836)) over Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, USA. We observed the lampreys moving against water at two flow volumes and on two ramps of 45° and 18° angles relative to horizontal. We documented climbing movements using high-speed video (125 frames/s). Lampreys advanced on the ramps by repeated cycles of attaching to the ramps by their sucker mouths (resting phase), bending their bodies into a W shape (stage II), and then, rapidly straightening the body to propel themselves up the ramp, with simultaneous brief (20–140 ms) release of suction (stage III). We inferred that lampreys were using burst swimming to propel themselves up the ramp, because we observed inflection points in the body curvature traveling toward the posterior of the body and the center of mass moving up, during stage III. This climbing behavior is not described for any other fish species. Vertical motion, relative to the ground, during each cycle of movement was greatest in the 45° ramp – low water flow volume treatment (mean of 0.07 L/cycle), but the movement upstream along the ramp plane was greatest on the 18° ramp, regardless of flow volume. These findings can be used to develop ramp designs that maximize lamprey climbing performance.

Behaviour of adult Pacific lamprey in near-field flow and fishway design experiments

“…ambient flow) and when flow on the ramp was higher. The results were consistent with climbing studies where Pacific lamprey routinely ascended shallow and steep ramps (Reinhardt et al. 2008) and vertical walls (Kemp et al.…”

“…These studies demonstrated a trade‐off between ascent angle and the rate of vertical elevation gain as well as a negative relationship between flow volume on the structure and lamprey ascension time. Reinhardt et al. (2008) concluded that a short, steep ramp was more efficient than a long, shallow ramp for passing lamprey over vertical barriers.…”

“…The second objective was to evaluate structures that could attract and then divert lamprey from difficult‐passage areas in the traditional fishway into separate lamprey passage structures (LPSs). These ramp‐like designs take advantage of the willingness of Pacific lamprey to climb ramps and vertical walls (Reinhardt et al. 2008; Kemp et al.…”

Attachment to challenging substrates – fouling, roughness and limits of adhesion in the northern clingfish (Gobiesox maeandricus)

“…Both marine and freshwater environments have examples of suction adhesion, with snailfish and lumpsuckers being prominent marine examples that have a dedicated suctorial disc (Arita, 1962;Budney and Hall, 2010). The process of adhesion can be quite dynamic, with some gobies able to climb waterfalls using a pelvic-fin-derived suction disc, and lampreys climbing waterfalls with an oral sucker (Reinhardt et al, 2008;Schoenfuss and Blob, 2003). The variety of substrates to which fishes can adhere is impressive, and the methods used for adhesion are diverse.…”

Do surgically implanted radio transmitters alter the climbing ability of adult Pacific lamprey, Lampetra tridentata?

“…In negotiating some obstacles, adult Pacific lamprey exhibit vertical climbing behaviour (Reinhardt et al 2008;Kemp et al 2009). A key assumption here was that surgical implantation of a radio transmitter would not alter lamprey performance.…”