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MetaData for Warner Valley Fish Investigations- Warner Suckers Progress Reports 2008
Warner Valley Fish Investigations- Warner Suckers Progress Reports 2008
Identification Information
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Citation
- Originator: Scheerer, P., S. Jacobs, K. Bratcher, G. Swearingen and S. Kramer
- Publish Date: 2009
- Online Link:
None
- BPA Project #:
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Contact Information
- Agency: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Name: Cedric Cooney
- Job Position: Natural Resources Data and Systems Manager
- Telephone: 503-947-6094
- E-Mail Address: cedric.x.cooney@odfw.oregon.gov
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Description
- Abstract: The Warner sucker (Catostomus warnerensis) is endemic to the Warner Valley, an
endorheic subbasin of the Great Basin in southeastern Oregon and northwestern Nevada. This
species was historically abundant and its historical range includes three permanent lakes (Hart,
Crump, and Pelican), several ephemeral lakes, a network of sloughs and diversion canals, and
three major tributary drainages (Honey, Deep, and Twentymile Creeks). Warner sucker
abundance and distribution has declined over the past century and it was federally listed as
threatened in 1985 due to habitat fragmentation and threats posed by the proliferation of
piscivorous non-native game fishes (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1985).
The Warner Valley is a northeast-southwest trending endorheic basin which extends
approximately 90 km (Figure 1). The elevation of the valley floor is approximately 1,370 m and
the basin is bound by fault block escarpments, the Warner Rim on the west and Hart Mountain
and Poker Jim Ridge on the east. The Warner basin was formed during the middle Tertiary and
late Quaternary geologic periods as a result of volcanic and tectonic activity (Baldwin 1976).
Abundant precipitation during the Pleistocene Epoch resulted in the formation of Pluvial Lake
Warner (Hubbs and Miller 1948). At its maximum extent approximately 11,000 years ago, the
lake reached approximately 100 m in depth and 1,300 km2 in area (Snyder et al. 1964, Weide
1975). In 2008, precipitation and snow pack were near average and Hart and Crump Lakes
never filled completely. In 2007, Crump Lake water levels were very low with less than a
quarter of the surface area wetted during the winter. Both lakes have been watered
continuously since 1993.
The Warner sucker inhabits the lakes and low gradient stream reaches of the Warner
Valley. Two life history forms are present that comprise the metapopulation of Warner suckers:
lake and stream morphs. The lake suckers are lacustrine adfluvial or potamodromous fish
which normally spawn in the streams. However, upstream migration may be blocked by low
stream flows during dry water years or by irrigation diversion dams and spawning may occur in
nearshore areas of the lakes (White et al. 1990). The stream suckers inhabit and spawn in the
three major tributary drainages (Honey, Deep, and Twentymile Creeks). Large lake-dwelling
populations of introduced fishes in the lakes likely reduce sucker recruitment by predation on
young suckers (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998).
The Recovery Plan for the Threatened and Rare Native Fishes of the Warner Basin and
Alkali Subbasin (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998) sets recovery criteria for delisting the
species. These criteria require that (1) a self-sustaining metapopulation is distributed
throughout the Twentymile, Honey, and Deep Creek (below the falls) drainages, and in Pelican,
Crump, and Hart Lakes, (2) passage is restored within and among the Twentymile, Honey, and
Deep Creek (below the falls) drainages so that the individual populations of Warner suckers can
function as a metapopulation, and (3) no threats exist that would likely threaten the survival of
the species over a significant portion of its range.
In 2008, we conducted investigations in Hart and Crump Lakes to quantify the
abundance and distribution of Warner suckers, to search for evidence of recent recruitment, and
to estimate sucker abundance relative to nonnative fish abundance. In addition we investigated
growth and movement patterns. We used Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tagged
suckers to determine growth rates and movements, tracked radio-tagged suckers to document
seasonal spawning migrations, fished a screw trap in Twelvemile Creek to monitor downstream
movements, and operated a trap at the Dyke diversion dam on Twentymile Creek to monitor
upstream movements.
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- Purpose:
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- Time Period of Content:
- Geographic Extent: Warner Valley
- Status: Final
- Use Constraints:
- Format: PDF File
Data Quality Information
- Lineage-Source:
Data Information
- No data information was supplied.
Entity and Attribute Information
- Attributes Description:
Is a physical copy maintained for reference at Headquarters?
No
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