Pacific Lamprey Research and Restoration Project in

the Umatilla River

Study Area

Life cycle of Pacific lampreyLife Cycle of Pacific Lamprey

GOALTo restore natural production of Pacific lamprey

to self-sustaining and harvestable levels

Identify and prioritize constraints to restoration

Develop & implement actions to remove constraints

Historical analysis Improve migrating adultsResearch habitat &

life history requirementsImprove dam passage

Improve spawning &rearing habitat

Transplant adult lampreysProvide flows to attract

migrating adults

Test importance of petromyzonal sulfate (PZ)

or other pheromones as attractants

Laboratory studiesMonitoring concentrations

in the field

Identify source of brood stock that will maximize success

while minimizing risks

Study effects of outplantings

Nest surveys Egg survivalLarval densities and

size distribution

Outmigration of larval and metamorphosed

lampreys

Upmigration ofadult lampreys

Concentrations of PZ

• Hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River• Chemical treatments in the Umatilla River• Habitat alterations in the Umatilla River

resulting from:– irrigation practices

– loss of beaver

– livestock overgrazing of native grasses

– logging the upper watershed

– conversion of native plants to introduced crops

Potential causes of declining lamprey populations

Outplanting adult lampreys

Primary goals:• Re-establish larval abundance• Collect baseline data regarding:

1) holding adult lampreys

2) release timing

3) release locations

Outplanting adult lampreys

1) Collected at the John Day Dam fish ladder in December-January

2) Maintained in the raceways at the Three Mile Falls Dam Facility in the Umatilla River

3) Outplanted into uppermost part of the mainstem Umatilla River and Meacham Creek in May

Release site locations and numbersRiver km 139.9

River km 118.4River km 98.8

Meacham Creek

2000: 300

2000: 150

2000: 150 .

2001: 82

2001: 81

2001: 81

2002: 1502002: 141

2002: 100

2002: 100

Totals

2000: 600

2001: 244 2002: 491

Total: 1,576 individuals

2004: 70

2003: 230

2003: 90

2003: 110

2004: 63

2003: 484 2004: 133

Are outplantings successful?

1) Redd surveys

2) Egg survival

3) Larval densities and size distribution

4) Outmigration of larval and metamorphosed lampreys

5) Upmigration of adult lampreys

Nest and egg viability surveys

Purpose:

• Determine the spatial distribution and number of nests

• Determine the reproductive success of adult lamprey outplants

Nest and egg viability surveys

• In 2000-2002 surveyors walked along the river to locate nests (May-July)

• In 2001 egg viability study conducted from 13 nests

Nest surveys

Nests located in the uppermost part of the Umatilla River and in the Meacham Creek

Lampreys spawned during the first two weeks of June

2000: 51 viable nests 30 nests w/o eggs

2001: 49 viable nests

2002: 67 viable nests

118 test nests

Nest Survey Results

Egg viability

• Egg viability varied between 58 and100%

• On average

86% of eggs were viable

• Pacific lamprey egg viability similar to sea lamprey

0

20

40

60

80

100

16 16 16 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 137 140

Location of nests (River km)

per

cen

tag

e o

f via

ble

eg

gs

Meacham Creek Umatilla River

Larval abundance

Larvae sampled by electro shocking 31 sites in the Umatilla River and 3 sites in the Meacham Creek

Larval density at each site estimated and larval lengths measured

Larval densities before outplanting

0

10

20

30

40

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31

Index site

Ind

ivid

ua

ls /

m2

1998 1999 2000

• In 1998-2000, larvae were found in the lower reach of the river below river kilometer 37

• Mean density of all sites was 1) in 1998 0.02 ind.m-2

2) in 1999 0.55 ind.m-2

3) in 2000 0.08 ind.m-2

Larval densities after outplanting

0

10

20

30

40

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33Index site

Ind

ivid

ua

ls /

m2

Umatilla River Meacham Creek

• The mean density of all index sites was 5.6 ind/m2

• The mean density below river km 100

(sites 1-19) was 0.1 ind /m2

• The mean density above river km 100

(sites 20-34) was 12.6 ind /m2

2001

Larval densities after outplanting

0

20

40

60

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33Index site

Ind

ivid

ua

ls /

m2

Umatilla River Meacham Creek

• The mean density of all index sites was 8.0 ind/m2

• The mean density below river km 100

(sites 1-19) was 0.2 ind / m2

• The mean density above river km 100

(sites 20-34) was 18.0 ind / m2

2002

Length distributions

0

0.04

0.08

0.12

0.16

0.2

<20 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145 155 >164

Length (mm)

Pro

po

rtio

n

20012002

• In 2001 length distribution was unimodal and the median length was 63 mm

• In 2002 length distribution was bimodal and the median length was 76 mm

Larval abundance after adult outplanting

• Larval densities increased above river kilometer 100

• Larval growth rate is high

• Natural production in the middle and lowermost part of the river is low

Outmigration of lamprey

Between 1997-2002 outmigrating larvae and metamorphosed lampreys caught by:

• Rotary screw trap (RST) from November-March in lower Umatilla River

• Bypass channel trap (BCT) April-October in lower Umatilla River

Trapping efficiency of RST was studied by mark-recapture method in 2000 and 2001

Number of lamprey caught

0

400

800

1200

1600

2000

1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002

Catching season

Nu

mb

er o

f la

mp

reys

Metamorphosed lampreysLarval lampreys

Length distribution of outmigrants

0

5

10

15

20

25

<120 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 160 165 170 175 180 185

Length (mm)

Pro

po

rtio

n o

f la

mp

reys

(%

)

Metamorphosed lampreys

Larval lampreys

Outmigration of lampreys

• Natural production of lamprey in the Umatilla River produces tens of thousands of metamorphosed individuals annually

• A large proportion of lamprey may metamorphose in the Columbia River

• The mean size of outmigrating lampreys were higher than earlier studies

Upmigration of adultsNumber of upmigrating adults counted by:

1) portable assessment traps in 1999, 2000 and 2002 at the Three Mile Dam (284

trap nights)

2) fyke nets in 2002 in the lowermost end of the Umatilla River ( 28 trap nights)

Number of upmigrants entering Three Mile Dam fish ladder estimated by video recordings

Upmigration of adults

• In 1999-2002 one adult lamprey caught by assessment traps

• No lampreys caught by fyke net in 2002

Upmigration of adults

Number of upmigrating adults in the summer and in the fall is negligible

Why?1) Number of adult lampreys in the

Columbia River is low

2) No flow in the Umatilla River during the best migration season

3) Attracting pheromones in the Umatilla River are not reaching the Columbia River

Upmigration of adults

0

30

60

90

120

5/1

0

5/1

7

5/2

4

5/3

1

6/7

6/1

4

6/2

1

6/2

8

7/5

7/1

2

7/1

9

7/2

6

8/2

8/9

8/1

6

8/2

3

8/3

0

9/6

9/1

3

9/2

0

9/2

7

Date

Nu

mb

er

of

co

un

ted

ad

ult

s

0

4

8

12

16

Flo

w (

m3 s

-1)

Number of adults at the John Day dam

Flow in the Umatilla River

• During the peak of adult migration, flow in the Umatilla River is very low due to irrigation

Summary

0

5

10

15

20

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Year

La

rva

l de

ns

ity

(in

d.m

-2)

River km 0-50

River km 50-100

River km above 100

Outplanted adults spawned successfully and produced ammocoetes which haven’t yet dispersed below river km 100

Number of outmigrating lampreys is still low and number of upmigrating adults is negligible

Current Research

• MSU,USGS,CTUIR-Pacific and Western brook lamprey larvae contain petromyzonal sulfate in gallbladder and liver. Both species release this compound into water. Do not produce Allocholic acid nor petromyzonal (known bile acids in sea lamprey).

• USGS-Pacific lamprey adults can detect Petromyzonal sulfate in water. Detection of compound throughout freshwater migration. Pacific lamprey do not produce 3 Keto Petromyzonal sulfate-(known sex pheromone in sea lamprey).

Current Research

• CTUIR, MSU, CEFAS,- Novel stress steroids in Pacific Lamprey. Lamprey adrenal tissues incubated with 3H pregnenolone and progesterone metabolized into unknown possible stress steroids. Currently using Fab/mass spec to identify structures. In addition, using radioimmunoassay to screen lamprey plasma. Once compound structures identified we will develop specific RIA for new stress steroids.

• CTUIR,MSU,- Pacific lamprey population genetics. Micro satellite markers screened. 30 existing loci screened for polymorphism(from sea lamprey markers). 2 loci found to be polymorphic. From only one loci, there are population differences. However, this is preliminary! We are trying to explore this further.

Future studies

• Dispersion of ammocoetes and larval production in the middle and lower part of the river

• Growth of larvae (location, competition)• Number of outmigrants (method

developing) • Upmigration of adults during the summer,

fall, and spring time • Flow regime

More future studies

• Spawning habitat requirements• Effect of dams on adult migration using radio

telemetry• Attraction of adult lampreys to pheromones in

Umatilla river water• Larval production and metamorphosis in the

Columbia River reservoirs• Develop assays to detect stress in lampreys