Northern brook lamprey

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Northern brook lamprey
Ichthyomyzon fossor.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Infraphylum: Agnatha
Class: Hyperoartia
Order: Petromyzontiformes
Family: Petromyzontidae
Genus: Ichthyomyzon
Species:
I. fossor
Binomial name
Ichthyomyzon fossor
Reighard and Cummins, 1916
Synonyms [2] [3]
  • Ammocoetes unicolorDeKay 1842
  • Ammocoetes borealisAgassiz 1850
  • Reighardina fossor(Reighard & Cummins 1916)

The northern brook lamprey (Ichthyomyzon fossor) is a freshwater fish in the family Petromyzontidae. It is closely related to the silver lamprey (I. unicuspis) and may represent an ecotype of a single species with I. unicuspis. [4]

Contents

Description

Northern brook lampreys are jawless fishes, also known as cyclostomes. Northern brook lamprey are considered non-parasitic lamprey. [5] They have poorly developed teeth and a round, disc-like, subterminal mouth, called an oral-disc, for suction. Northern brook lampreys have a single dorsal fin that continues along their entire length until it connects with the caudal fin. [6] This dorsal fin can be notched as well. Their coloration is gray-brown dorsally with a light line down the back and an even lighter ventral side. The length of adult northern brook lampreys does not typically exceed 16 cm and the body is attenuate. While the ammocoetes look similar to the adult lampreys the ammocoetes have a hooded mouth instead of an oral-disc and no eyes. [7]

Geographic range

Northern brook lampreys can be found in most of the Midwest and northeast regions of the United States. They inhabit the Mississippi drainage basin in Wisconsin and the Lake Erie tributary in New York. [7] They can be found in parts of Canada as well.

Habitat

The northern brook lampreys are found in various habitats throughout their lives. Ammocoetes start off their lives burrowed beneath fine sediment or organic matter in quiet waters while the adults live in sand or gravel in swift moving waters. [6] They are typically found in the headwaters of streams that are moderately warm and clean. [5]

Diet

As larve (ammocoetes), the northern brook lamprey are filter feeders; feeding primarily on detritus, zooplankton, algae, diatoms, bacteria, pollen and a host of other microorganisms as they remain burrowed in fine substrate in calm waters. [7] The juveniles and adults have non-functional intestines and do not feed; juveniles drift for 4–6 months and the adults spawn and die shortly after spawning.

Reproduction and life cycle

Spawning occurs around boulders and crevices of large rocks; 3–7 northern brook lamprey will build a nest together and then spawn in groups of 10–30. [7] Once the eggs are fertilized they are often covered and left alone with no parental care given to the young, as the lamprey die soon after. Northern brook lampreys begin spawning at 6 years of age once they have reached sexual maturity. Spawning is triggered by the warming of the water in the spring. Males begin building nests and females lay between 1200 [8] and 1524 [9] eggs to combat high mortality rates of young. [7]

Once the ammocoetes emerge from the eggs 2 weeks after fertilization, they spend the next 5–6 years feeding on algae and bacteria in burrows. They emerge in the fall as non-feeding juveniles after a 2–3 month metamorphosis and drift for 4–6 months until spawning begins. They then become sexually mature adults, partake in spawning and then die shortly thereafter. [7]

Conservation

Northern brook lamprey populations are decreasing in the great lakes area and the great lakes drainage basin from lampricides, habitat degradation, and added stressors. A study of Pennsylvania streams found that two of the six species of lampreys normally found breeding in the streams were not there. [10] One of the species not found was the northern brook lamprey. It is speculated that the main reason for population decline is due to the presence of sea lamprey and the lampricides used to be rid of them. [10] In Minnesota, northern brook lampreys are considered a special concern species as they are believed to be declining due to lampricide use and habitat degradation. [6] The lampricide treatments are used in response to the invasive species, sea lampreys, that are currently plaguing the great lake region. The increasing populations of sea lampreys and the increasing use of lampricides in response to sea lampreys has had negative impacts on most populations of lampreys, including the northern brook lamprey.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arctic lamprey</span> Species of jawless fish

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The pouched lamprey, also known as the piharau in the North Island, korokoro,kanakana in the South Island, or wide-mouthed lamprey, is a species in the genus Geotria, which is the only genus in the family Geotriidae. The second species in the genus is the Argentinian lamprey, which was revalidated as a separate species in 2020. The pouched lamprey is native to the southern hemisphere. It spends the early part of its life in fresh water, migrating to the sea as an adult, and returning to fresh water to spawn and die.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific lamprey</span> Species of jawless fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">European river lamprey</span> Species of freshwater lamprey

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The mountain brook lamprey or Allegheny 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 jawless with a small sucker mouth and a long, eel-like body. It is fairly small, only growing to about 8 inches (20 cm) in length.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brook stickleback</span> Species of fish

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<i>Eudontomyzon danfordi</i> Species of jawless fish

Eudontomyzon danfordi, the Carpathian brook lamprey or Danube lamprey, is a species of lamprey in the family Petromyzontidae. It is found in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Unlike other brook lampreys, this fish is parasitic.

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The lake lamprey, Entosphenus macrostomus, also known as the Vancouver lamprey or Cowichan lamprey, a recent derivative of the Pacific lamprey, is a species of freshwater lamprey endemic to two North American lakes: Lake Cowichan and Mesachie Lake in Vancouver Island, Canada. The lamprey was originally called the Vancouver Island lamprey, until an error in filing shortened it to the Vancouver lamprey. The alternate common name of "Cowichan lamprey" was coined and promoted by the species' describer, Dr. Dick Beamish, who originally identified the species in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamprey</span> Order of vertebrates, the cyclostomes

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<i>Lampetra ayresii</i> Species of jawless fish

Lampetra ayresii is a species of lamprey in the family Petromyzontidae. It is also called the river lamprey or western river lamprey. It is found in the eastern Pacific, specifically from Tee Harbor, Juneau in Alaska to the Sacramento–San Joaquin drainage in California, USA. It can survive in both marine surface waters and freshwater lakes, rivers, and creeks. In freshwater, it is found typically in the lower portions of large river systems. It is a predatory fish and feeds on fishes in the size range of 10–30 cm. It feeds by attaching to prey using its round, sucker-like mouth. Adult western river lampreys typically grow to about 21 cm (8.3 in) total length (TL), but can reach 31 cm (12 in) TL.

References

  1. ↑ NatureServe (2013). "Ichthyomyzon fossor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T202618A18236352. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202618A18236352.en . Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  2. ↑ Van Der Laan, Richard; Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ronald (11 November 2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (1): 1–230. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 . PMID   25543675. S2CID   31014657.
  3. ↑ Froese, R.; Pauly, D. (2017). "Petromyzontidae". FishBase version (02/2017). Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  4. ↑ Ren, Jianfeng; Buchinger, Tyler; Pu, Jiafei; Jia, Liang; Li, Weiming (16 October 2014). "Complete mitochondrial genomes of paired species northern brook lamprey ( Ichthyomyzon fossor ) and silver lamprey ( I. unicuspis )". Mitochondrial DNA. 27 (3): 1862–1863. doi:10.3109/19401736.2014.971261. PMID   25319286. S2CID   207726883.
  5. 1 2 http://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/factsheets/11247.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  6. 1 2 3 "Ichthyomyzon fossor : Northern Brook Lamprey | Rare Species Guide".
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ichthyomyzon fossor (Northern brook lamprey)". Animal Diversity Web .
  8. ↑ Leach, W.J. 1940. Occurrence and life history of the northern brook lamprey, Ichthyomyzon fossor, in Indiana. Copeia, 1940: 21–34.
  9. ↑ Vladykov, V.D (1960). "Description of young ammocoetes belonging to two species of lampreys: Petromyzon marinus and Entosphenus lamottenii". Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada. 17 (2): 267–288. doi:10.1139/f60-021.
  10. 1 2 Shan, Li, Karl-M. Werner, and Jr., Jay R. Stauffer. "An Examination Of Petromyzontidae In Pennsylvania: Current Distribution And Habitat Preference Of Lampreys." Northeastern Naturalist 21.4 (2014): 606–618. EBSCO MegaFILE. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
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