Lahontan cutthroat trout

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Lahontan cutthroat trout
Lahontan cutthroat trout image USFWS.jpg
O. clarkii henshawi, stream form
Status TNC T3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Salmoniformes
Family: Salmonidae
Genus: Oncorhynchus
Species:
O. clarkii
Subspecies:
O. c. henshawi
Trinomial name
Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi
(Gill and Jordan, 1878)

Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi) is the largest subspecies of cutthroat trout, and the state fish of Nevada. It is one of three subspecies of cutthroat trout that are listed as federally threatened. [2] [5]

Contents

Natural history

Lahontan cutthroat trout, lake form, from Pyramid Lake, Nevada. Lahontan pyramid.jpg
Lahontan cutthroat trout, lake form, from Pyramid Lake, Nevada.
1938 remarks by FDR on the taste of Nevada trout. Informal Remarks of the President in Imlay, Nevada - NARA - 197812.jpg
1938 remarks by FDR on the taste of Nevada trout.

The Lahontan cutthroat is native to the drainages of the Truckee River, Humboldt River, Carson River, Walker River, Quinn River and several smaller rivers in the Great Basin of North America. [6] These were tributaries of ancient and massive Lake Lahontan during the ice ages until the lake shrank to remnants such as Pyramid Lake and Walker Lake about 7,000 years ago, although Lake Tahoe —from which the Truckee flows to Pyramid Lake—is still a large mountain lake. In this sense, Lahontan cutthroats essentially evolved in inland ocean-like conditions.

Here, Lahontan cutthroats became a large (up to 1 m or 39 in) and moderately long-lived predator of chub suckers, and other fish as long as 30 or 40 cm (16 in). The trout was able to remain a predator in the larger remnant lakes where prey fish continued to flourish, but upstream populations were forced to adapt to eating smaller fish and insects. Some experts consider O. c. henshawi in the upper Humboldt River and tributaries to be a separate subspecies, O. clarkii humboldtensis or the Humboldt cutthroat trout, adapted to living in small streams rather than large lakes. [7]

The record size cutthroat trout of any subspecies was a Lahontan caught in Pyramid Lake weighing 41 lb (18.6 kg), although anecdotal and photographic evidence exists of even larger fish from this lake.

Human history

The Lahontan cutthroats of Pyramid and Walker Lakes were of considerable importance to both the Paiute tribe and Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. These trout, as well as cui-ui (Chasmistes cujus), a sucker now found only in Pyramid Lake, were dietary mainstays and were used by other tribes in the area. [8]

When John C. Frémont and Kit Carson ascended the Truckee River on January 16, 1844, they called it the 'Salmon Trout River', after the huge Lahontan cutthroat trout that ran up the river from Pyramid Lake to spawn. [9]

American settlement in the Great Basin nearly extirpated this species. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Lahontan cutthroats were caught in tremendous numbers and shipped to towns and mining camps throughout the West; estimates have ranged as high as 1,000,000 lb (450,000 kg) annually between 1860 and 1920. A dam in Mason Valley blocked spawning runs from Walker Lake. By 1905, Derby Dam on the Truckee River below Reno interfered with Pyramid Lake's spawning runs. A poorly designed fish ladder washed away in 1907, then badly timed water diversions to farms in the Fallon, Nevada area stranded spawning fish and desiccated eggs below the dam. By 1943, Pyramid Lake's population was extinct. Lake Tahoe's population was extinct by 1930 from competition and inbreeding with introduced rainbow trout (creating cutbows), predation by introduced lake trout, and diseases introduced along with these exotic species.

Upstream populations have been isolated and decimated by poorly managed grazing and excessive water withdrawals for irrigation, as well as by hybridization, competition, and predation by non-native salmonids. This is important, as although Lahontan cutthroat trout can inhabit either lakes or streams, they are obligatory stream spawners. [10]

Pyramid Lake and Truckee River water quality

Pyramid Lake, the second-largest natural lake in the Western United States—prior to construction of the Derby Dam, which diverted water from the lake—has been the focus of several water quality investigations, the most detailed starting in the mid-1980s. Under direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a comprehensive dynamic hydrology transport model, the Dynamic Stream Simulation and Assessment Model (DSSAM), was applied to analyze impacts of a variety of land use and wastewater management decisions throughout the 3,120-square-mile (8,100 km2) Truckee River Basin. [11] These analyses allowed more competent decisions to be made regarding the watersheds, as well as management of treated effluent discharged to the Truckee River.

Conservation

Lahontan cutthroat trout currently occupy a small fraction of their historic range. The primary obstacle to their recovery is non-native salmonid predation by brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) on fluvial cutthroat and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) on lacustrine cutthroat. [6] Also, hybridization of cutthroat with non-native rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) continues to threaten recovery of the pure Lahontan cutthroat. In the Truckee River and Lake Tahoe watershed, only Independence Lake and Cascade Lake have continuously harbored the historic native lacustrine Lahontan cutthroat population. [12] [13] In Independence Lake precariously low spawner numbers have recently increased along with five years of brook trout removal. [14]

Pyramid and Walker Lakes have been restocked with fish captured in Summit Lake in Nevada and Lake Heenan in California, and those populations are maintained by fish hatcheries. Unfortunately, the Summit Lake strain does not live as long or grow as large as the original lacustrine strain of fish. However, in the 1970s, fish believed to have been stocked almost a century ago from the Pyramid Lake strain were discovered in a small stream along the Pilot Peak area of western Utah border, and are a genetic match to the original strain. This Pilot Peak strain is now integral to the reintroduction and planting programs maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [15] Another strain of the subspecies from Independence Lake is available, and a broodstock managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at their hatchery on Hot Creek, though less is known on the suitability of Independence Lake fish to other systems.

Preservation of highly complementary habitats is crucial for the survival of the different age classes of cutthroat trout, with clean gravels needed for spawning, slow-moving side channel habitats used by juvenile fish, and deeper pool habitats such as beaver ponds for larger adult fish. [16]

They were classified as an endangered species between 1970 and 1975, [3] then the classification was changed to threatened species in 1975, [4] and reaffirmed as threatened in 2008. [10]

Although Lahontan cutthroat trout stand little chance of surviving for long in Lake Tahoe, the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) planted them instead of rainbow trout on the lake's Nevada shore in summer 2011. The goal is to enable anglers to catch Lake Tahoe's native trout for the first time since 1939. The California state record was caught in Lake Tahoe in 1911 by William Pomin, weighing 31 lb (14 kg), 8 oz (230 g). [17]

Because it tolerates water too alkaline for other trout, Lahontan cutthroats are stocked in alkaline lakes outside its native range, including Lake Lenore (alternately Lenore Lake), Grimes Lake and Omak Lake in central Washington [18] and Mann Lake [19] in Oregon's Alvord Desert east of Steens Mountain.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trout</span> Freshwater fish from subfamily Salmoninae

Trout is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera Oncorhynchus, Salmo and Salvelinus, all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the family Salmonidae. The word trout is also used for some similar-shaped but non-salmonid fish, such as the spotted seatrout/speckled trout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyramid Lake (Nevada)</span> Lake in Nevada, United States

Pyramid Lake is the geographic sink of the basin of the Truckee River, 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Reno, Nevada, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truckee River</span> River in Nevada and California, United States

The Truckee River is a river in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river flows northeasterly and is 121 miles (195 km) long. The Truckee is the sole outlet of Lake Tahoe and drains part of the high Sierra Nevada, emptying into Pyramid Lake in the Great Basin. Its waters are an important source of irrigation along its valley and adjacent valleys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cutthroat trout</span> Species of fish

The cutthroat trout(Oncorhynchus clarkii) is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is one of the Pacific trout, a group that includes the widely distributed rainbow trout. Cutthroat trout are popular gamefish, especially among anglers who enjoy fly fishing. The common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the underside of the lower jaw. The specific name clarkii was given to honor explorer William Clark, coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonneville cutthroat trout</span> Subspecies of fish

The Bonneville cutthroat trout is a subspecies of cutthroat trout native to tributaries of the Great Salt Lake and Sevier Lake. Most of the fish's current and historic range is in Utah, but they are also found in Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada. This is one of 14 or so recognized subspecies of cutthroat trout native to the western United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Truckee River</span> River in [[Nevada County, California]] and [[Sierra County, California]], United States of America

The Little Truckee River is a 34.3-mile-long (55.2 km) river that is a tributary to its larger counterpart, the Truckee River, north of Lake Tahoe. It drains the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada, flowing through Sierra County and Nevada County in eastern California.

The Alvord cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarkii alvordensis, was a subspecies of cutthroat trout. It was known only from Trout Creek in Oregon and Virgin Creek in Nevada, although it may have lived in several of the larger Alvord Basin streams during recent times. It was native to spring-fed creeks that ran down to Alvord Dry Lake in southeast Oregon, which was a large lake during the ice ages and an isolated drainage, part of the Great Basin today. This is one of the two cutthroat trout taxa considered extinct because all known populations are hybridized with rainbow trout which were introduced into streams in the Alvord basin in the 1920s, resulting in cutbows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fallen Leaf Lake</span> Lake in the state of California, United States

Fallen Leaf Lake is a mountain lake located in El Dorado County, California, near the California–Nevada state border, about one mile south west of the much larger Lake Tahoe. It is approximately aligned north-to-south and oval in shape, measuring approximately 2.9 miles (4.6 km) on the long axis and 0.9 miles (1.4 km) on the short axis. The lake was created by at least two glaciers that traveled northward down the Glen Alpine Valley. If the glacier had continued instead of stopping, Fallen Leaf Lake would be a bay of Lake Tahoe, similar to nearby Emerald Bay. A terminal moraine is visible at the north end of the lake on the northeast edge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westslope cutthroat trout</span> Subspecies of fish

The westslope cutthroat trout, also known as the black-spotted trout, common cutthroat trout and red-throated trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout and is a freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. The cutthroat is the Montana state fish. This subspecies is a species of concern in its Montana and British Columbia ranges and is considered threatened in its native range in Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal cutthroat trout</span> Subspecies of fish

The coastal cutthroat trout, also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroat trout occurs in four distinct forms. A semi-anadromous or sea-run form is the most well known. Freshwater forms occur in both large and small rivers and streams and lake environments. The native range of the coastal cutthroat trout extends south from the southern coastline of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to the Eel River in Northern California. Coastal cutthroat trout are resident in tributary streams and rivers of the Pacific basin and are rarely found more than 100 miles (160 km) from the ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paiute cutthroat trout</span> Subspecies of fish

Paiute cutthroat trout is one of fourteen subspecies of cutthroat trout. Paiute Cutthroat are native only to Silver King Creek, a headwater tributary of the Carson River in the Sierra Nevada, in California. This subspecies is named after the indigenous Northern Paiute peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martis Creek</span> River in California, United States

Martis Creek is a northward-flowing stream originating on Sawtooth Ridge, west of the peak of Mount Pluto in Placer County, California, United States. After crossing into Nevada County, California, it is a tributary to the Truckee River on the eastern side of Truckee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trout Creek (Truckee River tributary)</span> River in California, United States

Trout Creek is a small tributary of the Truckee River draining about 5.1 square miles (13 km2) along the eastern crest of the Sierra Nevada. It originates east of Donner Ridge and north of Donner Lake in the Tahoe–Donner Golf Course and flows through the town of Truckee, California, to its confluence with the Truckee River in Nevada County, California, just west of Highway 267.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Creek (Lake Tahoe)</span> River in California, United States

Taylor Creek is a 2.2-mile-long (3.5 km) northward-flowing stream originating in the Fallen Leaf Lake and culminating at Baldwin Beach at Lake Tahoe, about 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Camp Richardson in El Dorado County, California.

The Humboldt cutthroat trout is a subspecies of cutthroat trout, a North American fish in the family Salmonidae. It is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout. It was formally scientifically named in 2008 by Trotter and Behnke, who stated its distribution is in the basins of the upper Humboldt River of northern Nevada, the Upper Quinn River, as well as the Whitehorse (Coyote) basin (Oregon). The Nevada and Oregon Fish and Wildlife authorities still consider these populations belonging to the subspecies O. c. henshawi.

The Whitehorse Basin cutthroat trout refers to a population segment of the cutthroat trout complex from the streams of the Whitehorse Basin, southeastern Oregon. It is alternatively considered as a part of the Lahontan cutthroat trout subspecies, or of the Humboldt cutthroat trout whose main range is in Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackwood Creek (California)</span> River in California, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spooner Lake</span> Reservoir in Nevada, United States

Spooner Lake is a man-made reservoir located just north of the intersection of Highway 50 and Highway 28 near Spooner Summit, a pass in the Carson Range of the Sierra Nevada leading to Carson City, Nevada from Lake Tahoe. It is located in Lake Tahoe – Nevada State Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cascade Lake (California)</span> Lake in El Dorado County, California

Cascade Lake is a glacial lake located in El Dorado County, California approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from Lake Tahoe. Cascade Lake is the second largest tributary lake feeding into Lake Tahoe. Its depth is 170 feet (52 m), 1 mile (1.6 km) long and 0.5 miles (0.80 km) wide. The lake is also within three to four miles from its neighboring lake, Fallen Leaf Lake, and Emerald Bay.

Independence Creek is a 11.2-mile-long (18.0 km) northeast-flowing creek that is tributary to the Little Truckee River, north of Lake Tahoe. It drains the Independence Basin on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, which includes Independence Lake, ultimately flowing through Sierra County to the Little Truckee River in Nevada County, thence to the Truckee River and ultimately, Pyramid Lake.

References

  1. ↑ NatureServe (7 April 2023). "Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 35 FR 16047
  4. 1 2 40 FR 29863
  5. ↑ "Lahontan cutthroat trout". U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nevada Office. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 Robert J. Behnke (1992). Native Trout of Western North America. Bethesda, Maryland: American Fisheries Society Press. p. 112. ISBN   9780913235799 . Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  7. ↑ Trotter, Patrick C.; Behnke, Robert J. (2008). "The case for humboldtensis: A subspecies name for the indigenous cutthroat trout, Oncorhynchus clarkii of the Humboldt River, Upper Quinn River, and Coyote Basin Drainages, Nevada and Oregon". Western North American Naturalist. 68 (1): 58–65. doi:10.3398/1527-0904(2008)68[58:TCFHAS]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR   41717657.
  8. ↑ Sigler, William F.; Sigler, John W. (1987). Fishes of the Great Basin. Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press. p. 111. ISBN   9780874171167 . Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  9. ↑ John Charles Fremont (1847). Narrative of the exploring expedition to the Rocky mountains: in the year 1842, and to Oregon and north California in the years 1843-44. Hall & Dickson. p.  309 . Retrieved 2012-10-28. salmon trout river.
  10. 1 2 Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office (2008-09-09). 90-Day Finding on a Petition To Delist the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (PDF) (Report). Vol. 73. Federal Register. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
  11. ↑ C. Michael Hogan, Marc Papineau of Earth Metrics Inc. (1987). Development of a dynamic water quality simulation model for the Truckee River (Report). Washington D.C.: Environmental Protection Agency Technology Series.
  12. ↑ M. Jake Vander Zanden, Sudeep Chandra, Brant C. Allen, John E. Reuter, and Charles R. Goldman (2003). "Historical Food Web Structure and Restoration of Native Aquatic Communities in the Lake Tahoe (California–Nevada) Basin". Ecosystems. 6: 274–288. Retrieved January 18, 2024.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ Mary M. Peacock, Evon R. Hekkala, Veronica S. Kirchoff, and Lisa G. Heki. "Return of a giant: DNA from archival museum samples helps to identify a unique cutthroat trout lineage formerly thought to be extinct". Royal Society Open Science. 4: 171253. Retrieved January 18, 2024.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Scoppettone, G. Gary; Rissler, Peter H.; Shea, Sean P.; Somer, William (2012). "Effect of Brook Trout Removal from a Spawning Stream on an Adfluvial Population of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout". North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 32 (3): 586–596. doi:10.1080/02755947.2012.675958.
  15. ↑ Mike Caltagirone (2010-01-19). "Bringing Home the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout". Blood Knot Magazine. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
  16. ↑ White, Seth M.; Rahel, Frank J. (2008). "Complementation of Habitats for Bonneville Cutthroat Trout in Watersheds Influenced by Beavers, Livestock, and Drought". Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 137 (3): 881–894. doi:10.1577/T06-207.1.
  17. ↑ Bruce Ajari (2011-08-11). "Reintroduction of Lahontan cutthroat trout should benefit anglers". Tahoe Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
  18. ↑ Rich Landers (11 May 2016). "Lahontans still thrive at Lake Lenore despite net poaching" . Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  19. ↑ Sheehan, Madelynne Diness (April 2005). Fishing in Oregon: The Complete Oregon Fishing Guide (10th ed.). Scappoose, Oregon: Flying Pencil Publications. pp. 282–83. ISBN   978-0-916473-15-0.

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