Turbidity reduces hatching success in Threatened Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus)

Gray, Suzanne; Chapman, Lauren J.; Mandrak, Nicholas E.

doi:10.1007/s10641-012-9999-z

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The loss of habitat presents a real threat to the global biodiversity of freshwater species (Dudgeon et al 2006). Loss of critical spawning habitats may drive the loss of threatened Spotted Gar populations (Glass et al 2011;Gray et al 2012;Staton et al 2012;David et al 2015). Our observations provide novel descriptions of the spawning habitat used by Spotted Gar, emphasizing the importance of inundated vegetation (in this case, woody debris) as a spawning substrate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Natural Habitat Conditions in a Captive Environment Lead to Spawning of Spotted Gar

Frenette

Snow

2016

Trans Am Fish Soc

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Gars are often spawned by means of hormone injection for aquaculture purposes, but unassisted captive spawning is less common. In May of 2014, Spotted Gars Lepisosteus oculatus spawned while being held in a large research pond at the University of Oklahoma's Aquatic Research Facility. Holding conditions were similar to natural conditions required for these fish to reproduce, and viable offspring were produced. The Spotted Gar is a species of conservation concern at the periphery of its range and can benefit from studies describing aspects of its biology. This description of captive gar spawning may have important implications for both aquaculture and restoration efforts. Received October 28, 2015; accepted March 8, 2016 Published online June 22, 2016

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Natural Habitat Conditions in a Captive Environment Lead to Spawning of Spotted Gar

Frenette

Snow

2016

Trans Am Fish Soc

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“…In addition, the current study focused only on adult fish, and other life history stages may be even more susceptible to turbidity. For example, the eggs of spotted gar ( Lepisosteus oculatus ; ‘Threatened’ in Canada) have 24% reduced hatching success when held in water with ~5.0 NTU turbidity vs. clear water (< 1.0 NTU) (Gray et al ., ). Very little is known about the early life‐history stages of the shiners used in this study (Boucher et al ., ; Edwards et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Experimental evidence for species‐specific response to turbidity in imperilled fishes

Gray

Bieber

McDonnell

et al. 2014

Aquatic Conservation

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The use of non‐lethal experiments to elucidate behavioural and physiological thresholds to environmental stressors can provide valuable data for identifying threats to, and critical habitat of, imperilled species. Increased turbidity contributes to population declines and loss of fish diversity globally, but the complex direct and indirect effects of this stressor on imperilled species are not well understood. Response to turbidity was examined in a group of closely related North American fishes (Notropis spp.), including four imperilled shiners: pugnose shiner (N. anogenus), bridle shiner (N. bifrenatus), blacknose shiner (N. heterolepis), blackchin shiner (N. heterodon), and the more common mimic shiner (N. volucellus). Two experiments quantified (i) the behavioural response of each species to progressively increasing turbidity, and (ii) critical swimming speed of fishes acclimated in turbid‐ and clear‐water treatments to provide insights into effects of low turbidity on aerobic performance. Very low levels of turbidity (<10 NTU) altered schooling behaviour of pugnose and bridle shiners, both imperilled. Critical swimming speed was lower in pugnose shiner acclimated to low turbidity than fish acclimated to clear waters, while the opposite pattern was observed in bridle shiner. Low turbidity did not affect behaviour or critical swimming speed in the other three shiner species, suggesting that they are more tolerant of low levels of turbidity. The demonstration of alterations in ecologically significant measures of behaviour and performance in the pugnose and bridle shiners, provides evidence required to identify and implement conservation and recovery actions related to turbidity of human origin. In addition, it is suggested that species‐specific responses should be evaluated, where possible, when defining critical habitat. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…There are also recent records from the Bay of Quinte and Hamilton Harbour in Lake Ontario, and historic records from Lake St Clair (COSEWIC, ). Major threats to the species in Canada include pollution and habitat loss, as adult spotted gar prefer shallow, clear, vegetated habitat within lakes and rivers (Glass et al ., ; Gray et al ., ). As the spotted gar is listed under Canada's federal Species at Risk Act (SARA), a recovery strategy must be developed and implemented for the species, including identification and protection of critical habitat (Department of Fisheries and Oceans, DFO, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection and habitat occupancy of threatened spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus)

Boothroyd

Mandrak

Fox

et al. 2016

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Determining the occurrence and site occupancy of rare and endangered species can be challenging, particularly without causing harm or stress to the species of concern.2. Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection was used to assess habitat occupancy by spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus), which is federally listed as Threatened in Canada, with known occurrences limited to a small number of locations in southern Ontario.3. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays were developed to detect spotted gar eDNA, which was detected in all but one previously recorded location. The eDNA method was shown to be more effective than traditional netting for detecting spotted gar habitat use.4. The use of qPCR allowed for quantification of substantial variation in detection strength (copy number) among replicate eDNA samples, with implications for establishing sampling designs for detection and surveillance.5. The use of eDNA for detection and monitoring of aquatic species of conservation concern shows great potential as a non-invasive method for assessing species occurrences and habitat occupancy, as well as for informing targeted sampling by conventional capture methods.

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Turbidity reduces hatching success in Threatened Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus)

Cited by 21 publications

References 27 publications

Natural Habitat Conditions in a Captive Environment Lead to Spawning of Spotted Gar

Natural Habitat Conditions in a Captive Environment Lead to Spawning of Spotted Gar

Experimental evidence for species‐specific response to turbidity in imperilled fishes

Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection and habitat occupancy of threatened spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus)

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