Warner Sucker Investigations (2009)

Identification Information

Citation

Originator: Richardson, S.E., P. D. Scheerer, S.A. Miller, S.E. Jacobs, G. Swearingen, B. Berger, J. Deibner-Hanson, and J. Winkowski

Publish Date: 2010

Online Link: None

BPA Project #:

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

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. Historically, this species was abundant and its range included 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) (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1985). 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 sucker inhabits the lakes and low gradient stream reaches of the Warner Valley. The Warner sucker metapopulation is comprised of both lake and stream life history morphs. The lake suckers are lacustrine adfluvial or potamodromous fish that normally spawn in the streams. However, upstream migration may be blocked by low stream flows during low water years or by irrigation diversion dams. When this happens, spawning may occur in nearshore areas of the lakes (White et al. 1990). Large lake-dwelling populations of introduced fishes likely reduce recruitment by preying on young suckers (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998). The stream suckers inhabit and spawn in Honey, Deep, and Twentymile Creeks. 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. Objectives of our 2009 investigations included: 1) obtain a mark-recapture population estimate for suckers in the Twentymile Creek drainage and describe their current distribution, 2) describe associations between the distribution of suckers and habitat variables in Twentymile Creek, 3) evaluate a non-lethal ageing technique, 4) track radiotagged lake suckers (tagged in 2008) in Hart and Crump Lakes to assess spring movement patterns, 5) track spring spawning movements of lake suckers across a PIT-tag antenna installed at the mouth of Honey Creek, 6) test the feasibility of trapping larval suckers near the mouth of Honey Creek using larval drift nets and light traps to describe the relative abundance and timing of larval sucker movements, and 7) obtain a mark-recapture population estimate of suckers at the Summer Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA), where a self-sustaining population became established after a fish salvage from Hart Lake during the 1991 drought.

Purpose:

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Geographic Extent: Twentymile Creek, Warner Lakes Basin, Honey Creek and Deep Creek

Status: Final

Use Constraints:

Format: PDF File

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Is a physical copy maintained for reference at Headquarters? No