Ichthyomyzon greeleyi
| Mountain Brook lamprey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mountain Brook Lamprey (Ichthyomyzon greeleyi) | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Cephalaspidomorphi |
| Order: | Petromyzontiformes |
| Family: | Petromyzontidae |
| Genus: | Ichthyomyzon |
| Species: | I. greeleyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Ichthyomyzon greeleyi C. L. Hubbs & Trautman, 1937 | |
Ichthyomyzon greeleyi or the Mountain Brook Lamprey is a lamprey found in parts of the Mississippi river basin, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and in the Cumberland River and Tennessee river. This fish is jaw-less with a small sucker mouth and a long, eel-like body. They are fairly small, only growing to about 8 inches throughout their lifetime.
Icthyomyzon greeleyi, the Mountain Brook Lamprey, is a non-parasitic species of lamprey, meaning that they do not attach themselves to larger species of fish. Although the Mountain Brook Lamprey is not a threatened species, there are other similar species which are. This paper is a description of a monitoring plan for this species, to help prevent destruction from human interactions, habitat loss, and pollution.
The nonparasitic Ichthyomyzon greeleyi is believed to have derived from the parasitic I. bdellium and occurs, often in abundance, within many of the tributaries of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers system (Vladykov and Kott,1979). All non-parasitic lampreys require two distinctly different habitats that are connected by free flowing (free of dams) stretches of streams. Adults are found in clear brooks with fast flowing water and either sand or gravel bottoms. Juveniles or ammocoetes are found in slow moving water buried in soft substrate of medium to large streams (ODNR). As previously stated, the Mountain Brook lamprey is non parasitic and does not attach itself to other fish. In the larval stage before metamorphosis, the lampreys feed on detritus and algae, and after they complete metamorphosis, they obtain energy from stored fat reserves. The spawning season for lampreys is from late April to early May (DEC.gov).
Geographic Distribution of Species
The mountain brook lamprey has a fragmented range in the Mississippi basin with populations being found in New York, Pennsylvania and adjacent areas of Ohio. Mountain brook lamprey are also found in the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers in Tennessee, northern Alabama, Kentucky, and Virginia. In New York State, this lives in French Creek, and other northern and central parts of the Allegheny basin. The mountain brook lamprey is found in gravel riffles and sandy runs of clean, clear streams and in the sand, mud and debris in pools and backwaters. It spends its life in creeks without moving to larger rivers (DEC.gov).
Ecology
The general view is that lampreys do not feed during metamorphosis with the loss of body energy reserves being countered by water uptake (Moore & Potter 1976, Beamish et al 1979). However, in the case of I. greeleyi, it is reasonable to assume metamorphosing animals do not feed but maintain body size by water uptake. This derives from measurements of oxygen consumption for ammocoetes of I. greeleyi (= I. hubbsi) by Hill and Potter (1970). Based on their measurements (9.5”C) and on energy concentration determined for 1. Gagei (Beamish & LeGrow 1983), the energy requirements for metamorphosis might be achieved without loss of body weight by increasing relative water content from 75 to 79-81%. Preliminary data indicate body water contents of 75.6 + 0.5 (n = 9), 76.22 0.7 (n = 14) and 76.8 + 0.9 (n = 13) for I. greeleyi in phases 1,3 and 4, respectively. By the completion of metamorphosis body water content increased to 79.4 rt 3.7% (n = 6), a value almost identical to that predicted from the earlier metabolic studies (Beamish 1987).
Life History
Spawning occurs in late May when the water temperature reaches 18.9 C (42.5 F). The males build nests just above riffles in about 1 foot of water, and just downstream from a flat stone 6 to 12 inches in diameter. The male excavates the nest by removing small stones and pebbles, forming a depression about 2 inches deep and 8-10 inches in diameter with a fine gravel and sand bottom. Spawning occurs when a female moves over a nest and attaches to a rock. Spawning pairs stimulate other pairs to begin spawning. The mountain brook lamprey lives up to 5 or 6 years, and usually dies after spawning. (DEC.gov) The post embryonic life cycle of all lampreys includes a distinct larval or ammocoete and adult period. A juvenile period prior to the adult period is present in parasitic lampreys, but is absent in the nonparasitic or brook lampreys (Hardisty and Potter, 1971a,b). The sedentary and phytophagous larval period of all lampreys is spent in the sandy silt substratum of cool streams (Moore and Mallatt, 1980). Coloration of live mountain brook lamprey did not change between the ammocoete and senescent periods and ranged from butterscotch to olive brown. The dorsal surface was generally darker than the lateral and ventral surfaces. Scattered dark pigment spots are present along the length of the dorsal-lateral surface. Metamorphosis commenced between early and mid-August (Beamish 1987). Time required for metamorphosis of the populations of mountain brook lamprey in Bent Creek, Cane Creek and Davidson River is estimated at 100-140 days (Beamish 1987).
Current Management
Globally the status of the I. greeleyi is "Apparently secure". Further, the short-term trend for the species complies with the stability of the species. However, in the long-term, there has been a 30-70% decline and some extirpation (NatureServe). In 10 states I. greeleyi is considered vulnerable, imperiled, or critically imperiled. The major cause of this decline is habitat destruction due to dams, pollution, and siltation (www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/factsheet).
Management Recommendations
The best management strategy for the mountain brook lamprey is going to be habitat protection, because this will be the main reason that they decline. Some threats include: siltation from over grazing, row cropping and land clearing, run off with cow manure, sewage, fertilizer, and pesticides. These must be reduced in order for I. greeleyi to thrive. Because I. greeleyi is so small and hard to find, there is not a lot of information currently published about a lot of their habits, however, what we do know is sufficient enough to help prevent extinction and loss of habitat if managed properly.
Literature Cited
Beamish, F.W.H., and Austin, L.S. 1985. Growth of the Mountain Brook Lamprey Ichthyomyzon greeleyi Hubbs and Truatman. Copeia 1985: 881-890.
Beamish, F.W.H., I.C. Potter & E. Thomas. 1979. Proximate composition of the adult anadromous sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, in relation to feeding, migration and reproduction. J. Anim. Ecol. 48: l-19.
Beamish, F.W.H., and Medland, T.E. 1987. Metamorphosis of the mountain brook lamprey Ichthyomyzon greeleyi. Environmental Biology of Fishes 23:45-54.
<http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/26031.html>
<http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Default.aspx?tabid=22726>
Hardisty, M.W. 1961. Sex composition of lamprey populations. Nature 191: 1116-1117.
IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 28 September 2007.
Medland, T.E. & F.W.H. Beamish. 1987. Age validation for the mountain brook lamprey, lchthyomyzon greeleyi. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 44: 901-904.
Moore, J.W. & I.C. Potter. 1976. Aspects of feeding and lipid deposition and utilization in the lampreys, Lampetrafluviati-lis (L.) and Lumpetru planeri (Bloch). J. Anim. Ecol. 45: 699-712.
NatureServe. 2007. NatureServe Explorer: And online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 6.2. NatureServe, Arlintion, Virginia. http://www.natureserve.org/explorer.
<www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/factsheet/11248.pdf>
Potter, I.C., and Bailey, J.R. 1972. The life cycle of the Tennessee brook lamprey Ichthyomyzon hubbsi Raney. Copeia 1972:470-476.
Raney, E.C. 1939. The Breeding Habits of the Ichthyomyzon greeleyi Hubbs and Trautman. Copeia. 1939: 111-112.
Smith, C.L. 1985. The inland fishes of New York State. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Albany, New York, xi + 522 pp.
Truatman, M.B. 1981. The fishes of Ohio. Second edition. Ohio State University Press, Columbus, Ohio. 782 pp
Vladykov, V.D. & I. Kott. 1979. List of northern hemisphere lampreys (Petromyzonidae) and their distribution. Misc. Spec. Publ. 42, Dept. Fish. Oceans, Ottawa.
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