Trends in River Discharge and Water Temperature Cue Spawning Movements of Blue Sucker, Cycleptus elongatus, in an Impounded Great Plains River

Tornabene, Brian J.; Smith, Troy Wellington; Tews, Anne; Beattie, Robert P.; Gardner, William M.; Eby, Lisa A.

doi:10.1643/ci-19-256

Cited by 16 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Consistent with past ecological studies and the natural flow regime concept (Fornaroli et al., 2020; Poff et al., 1997; Tornabene et al., 2020), our results indicate that high spring discharge and a reduction in the number of low‐discharge days (relative to the long‐term average) probably increase the abundance and biomass of the six species studied here, including the non‐native common carp. However, estimated associations with annual discharge metrics were confounded with underlying population trends, which highlights the importance of characterising long‐term population trends alongside short‐term responses to individual discharge events.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Consistent with past ecological studies and the natural flow regime concept (Fornaroli et al, 2020;Poff et al, 1997;Tornabene et al, 2020), our results indicate that high spring discharge and a reduction in the number of low-discharge days (relative to the longterm average) probably increase the abundance and biomass of the six species studied here, including the non-native common carp.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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Underlying trends confound estimates of fish population responses to river discharge

et al. 2021

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Conservation management of freshwater ecosystems often focuses on mitigating or reversing the negative effects of altered patterns of river discharge. Assessments of management interventions frequently focus on direct, short‐term responses to discharge without consideration of underlying population trends that span multiple years. We sought to determine the effects on fish populations of annual variation in river discharge and water temperature after accounting for underlying population trends. We used data on five native and one non‐native fish species, collected over 7–20 years in seven rivers in the Murray‐Darling Basin, south‐eastern Australia. Population trends explained 3.4%–24.6% of the total variation in abundance and biomass of our six study species, while discharge and water temperature explained a further 1.2%–11.4% of this variation. However, population trends confounded the effects of discharge and water temperature, which suggests that the effects of annual discharge conditions may be contingent on past conditions and factors intrinsic to populations (e.g. age structure). Failing to account for population trends led to a combination of plausible and implausible associations with discharge and water temperature. Plausible associations included positive associations with the magnitude of spring discharge and negative associations with the number of days where discharge was below the long‐term 10th percentile. Determining whether estimated associations are real or artefactual requires a greater focus on the processes that underpin multiyear population trends. Our results highlight the potential for underlying trends in populations to confound the short‐term effects of discharge. Potential confounding of short‐ and long‐term changes in populations underscores the need to assess responses to river discharge in the context of overarching environmental conditions, including factors other than discharge.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Underlying trends confound estimates of fish population responses to river discharge

et al. 2021

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“…Fishes dependent on this lithophilic strategy in regulated systems can be limited by available spawning habitat (Rosenau and Angelo 2000;Lucas and Baras 2001). Many large-bodied riverine suckers (Catostomidae) have been documented making spawning migrations to riffle and run habitat (Tyus and Karp 1990;Childress and McIntyre 2015;Tornabene et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blue sucker habitat use in a regulated Texas river: implications for conservation and restoration

et al. 2021

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Species conservation requires a clear understanding of habitat availability and subsequent use of those habitats. In cases where species declines have occurred and gone undetected by conservation managers, habitat alteration, fragmentation, and loss are often the largest contributors. River fragmentation often results in altered flow regimes, subsequently impacting the availability of riverine habitats. Blue sucker (Cycleptus elongatus) is associated with riffle and run habitat, which is especially impacted when river flows are altered. The goal of this research was to identify the extent of blue sucker habitat and mobility of the species in the Colorado River, Texas. To understand habitat selection and use, blue suckers (N = 49) were surgically implanted with telemetry tags. During 2015-2017, thirty-eight attempts were completed to relocate individuals. Optimized hotspot analysis identified three river reaches critical for blue suckers that accounted for 20% of the study area. Blue suckers used these locations year-round including during spawning. Habitats used by blue sucker were composed of gravel, cobble, boulder, and bedrock typically in riffle and run habitat. Mobility, as measured by home range size, increased as riffle density decreased. Larger home ranges were presumably necessary to find habitat to complete aspects of their life history. Results of this study suggest suitable habitats are limited throughout the fragmented riverscape. Conservation action in the form of habitat construction or increased stream connectivity through barrier mitigation could have positive impacts on the future of blue suckers in the lower Colorado River, Texas.

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“…Fish relocated from downstream of rkm 19 in the Osage to overwinter primarily between rkm 34 to 37 in 33% of fall Osage migrations (i.e., fall switch from O2 to O3 refugia), and thus began the spring closer to potential spring destinations. Similar "two-step" spawning migrations have been observed in multiple migratory fishes including Lake Sturgeon (Bemis & Kynard, 1997), Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) (Ingram & Peterson, 2016), and Blue Suckers (Cycleptus elongatus) (Tornabene et al, 2020) possibly allowing them to conserve energy for reproduction. Fall migrants that passed L&D#1 but then retreated downstream to overwinter may have been foraging in areas of higher prey densities (Werner & Hayes, 2004) or could be sampling upstream habitats for future use.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Spatiotemporal variation in Lake Sturgeon movement and habitat selection in Missouri river tributaries : implications for the management and recovery of populations at range margins

Moore¹

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Lake Sturgeon were nearly extirpated from Missouri by the 1970s leading the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) to list the species as endangered within the state. Recovery efforts commenced with the publication of the first edition of Missouri's Lake Sturgeon Recovery Plan in 1984. Since, growing populations of mature individuals have been documented; however, information gaps regarding habitat selection and movement in the Missouri River Basin portion of its range hinder MDC's efforts to establish a self-sustaining population. In this project we focused on the following research objectives: (1) elucidate the factors that influence movement patterns of Missouri River Lake Sturgeon, (2) investigate survival and dispersal of stocked age-0 Lake Sturgeon from four stocking locations, (3) define seasonal habitat selection in multiple life stages of Lake Sturgeon and illustrate spatial availability of suitable habitats across the study area. I monitored movements 96 subadult and adult Lake Sturgeon over 3.5 years and 187 age-0 juvenile Lake Sturgeon during the fall/winter of two years. Missouri River tributaries were important habitats for adult and subadult Lake Sturgeon throughout the year. Lake Sturgeon use of the Osage River was greater in all months compared to the Gasconade River. Use of the Osage River was highest in the summer and lowest in the winter, and in the Gasconade River it was lowest in the summer and highest in the spring. In each month tributary occupancy was [greater than] 70 [percent]. Spring upstream migrations occurred in each tributary and were correlated with above average discharges and temperatures from 13 to 19 [degrees]C. Fall migrations only occurred in the Osage River but were also correlated with intermediate temperatures and above-average discharges. A few individuals were detected as far upstream as Bagnell Dam at river km (rkm) 129 in the Osage River or rkm 241 in the Gasconade River. In the summer and winter, tributary habitat use for [approximately] 95 [percent] of Lake Sturgeon was restricted to three reaches of deep pool habitat in the Osage and Gasconade rivers which may serve as thermal refugia. Spawning was not documented in either river, although some aggregations of Lake Sturgeon were observed around rocky shoals during the spring in the Osage River from rkm 50 to 80. Upstream migration distance was variable among individuals and years in the Gasconade River precluding the identification of potential spawning sites. Habitat selection was relatively similar in both tributaries and driven by selection for deep habitats [greater than] 7 m in all seasons. Suitability models suggest that preferred summer and winter deep water refugia may be limited to [less than] 5 [percent] of the mapped portions of each tributary but that preferred depth and coarse substrate for reproduction is relatively common at [greater than] 32 [percent] of tributaries. Dispersal directions and distance for age-0 Lake Sturgeon differed among the four stocking sites. Individuals stocked at upstream sites mainly dispersed downstream to overwinter in similar locations as individuals stocked at downstream sites from rkm 10 to 50. Overwinter survival rates were estimated from 40-55 [percent] and were not significantly different among stocking sites. Age-0 Lake Sturgeon selected shallower depths than adults or subadults in both rivers and slightly swifter current velocities in the Gasconade River. Habitat suitability models for the juveniles were able to predict age-0 habitat use and suggest that the greatest availability of nursery habitat occurs in the lower 11 km of the Osage River or in the reach from rkm 9 to 18 in the Gasconade River. These results can be used to inform management decisions designed to meet restoration objectives for Lake Sturgeon in Missouri and across its southern range margins such as: Managing hydrology of regulated rivers, protecting fish when they are vulnerable to harvest or injury in seasonal refugia, promoting resilience under shifting thermal and hydrologic regimes due to climate change, revealing sampling locations for population monitoring or spawning validation, allocating future stocking to suitable habitats, and directing habitat restoration and protection efforts.

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Trends in River Discharge and Water Temperature Cue Spawning Movements of Blue Sucker, Cycleptus elongatus, in an Impounded Great Plains River

Cited by 16 publications

References 43 publications

Underlying trends confound estimates of fish population responses to river discharge

Underlying trends confound estimates of fish population responses to river discharge

Blue sucker habitat use in a regulated Texas river: implications for conservation and restoration

Spatiotemporal variation in Lake Sturgeon movement and habitat selection in Missouri river tributaries : implications for the management and recovery of populations at range margins

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