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Changes in Population, Growth, and Physiological Indices of Longnose Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae) in the Red Deer River, Alberta, Canada

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Abstract

The Red Deer River, Alberta, Canada is a prairie river that is impacted by the point-source input of Red Deer’s municipal wastewater effluent and non-point- source agricultural runoff. We used population, growth, and physiological performance end points in longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataractae), an endemic and abundant minnow, to evaluate changes in fish health over a 220 km section of the Red Deer River. Longnose dace immediately downstream of Red Deer had elevated catch per unit effort with larger body and liver sizes compared to upstream of Red Deer sites, likely due to elevated riverine productivity from Red Deer’s wastewater effluent. Longnose dace immediately downstream of Red Deer showed depressed testosterone production capacity and elevated ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, which is consistent with exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds and aromatic hydrocarbons, respectively. Longnose dace 150–180 km downstream of Red Deer had reduced liver and gonad sizes, elevated EROD, and increased 11-ketotestosterone production capacity compared to upstream of Red Deer sites, possibly related to a non-point-source agricultural influence on water quality. Longnose dace populations at the most downstream sites were missing the oldest age classes and might reach sexual maturity faster than at upstream sites, which is consistent with a younger age structure. Our results highlight the importance of assessing multiple performance end points to reveal physiological or reproductive effects in natural fish populations. We have demonstrated how longnose dace populations change over a river impacted by municipal wastewater and agricultural runoff; further studies are required to determine if these changes will influence the long-term viability of longnose dace in the Red Deer River.

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Acknowledgments

This project was financially supported by an Undergraduate Student Research Award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada to KMJ and a Canadian Water Network research grant to LJJ. We also thank numerous volunteers who assisted in field collections, especially Marc Gautreau and Sandy Brasfield. The manuscript was greatly improved by the careful reviews of two anonymous reviews.

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  1. Lisa E. Peters

    Present address: Freshwater Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 501 University Cres., Winnipeg, MB, Canada, R3T 2N6

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 1N4

    Ken M. Jeffries & Leland J. Jackson

  2. Department of Biology, Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick-Saint John Campus, 2500 University Drive NW, Saint John, NB, Canada, E2L 4L5

    Lisa E. Peters & Kelly R. Munkittrick

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  1. Ken M. Jeffries
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Correspondence to Leland J. Jackson.

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Jeffries, K.M., Jackson, L.J., Peters, L.E. et al. Changes in Population, Growth, and Physiological Indices of Longnose Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae) in the Red Deer River, Alberta, Canada. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 55, 639–651 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-008-9146-1

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