Abstract
Diel and distributional abundance patterns of free embryos and larvae of fishes in the lower Columbia River Basin were investigated. Ichthyoplankton samples were collected in 1993 during day and night in the main-channel and a backwater of the lower Columbia River, and in a tributary, the Deschutes River. Fish embryos and larvae collected in the main-channel Columbia River were primarily (85.6%) of native taxa (peamouth Mylocheilus caurinus, northern squawfish Ptychocheilus oregonensis, suckers Catostomus spp., and sculpins Cottus spp.), with two introduced species (American shad Alosa sapidissima and common carp Cyprinus carpio) comprising a smaller percentage of the catch (13.3%). Similarly, in the Deschutes River native taxa [lampreys (Petromyzontidae), minnows (Cyprinidae), and suckers Catostomus spp.] dominated collections (99.5% of the catch). In contrast, 83.5% of embryos and larvae in the Columbia River backwater were of introduced taxa [American shad, common carp, and sunfishes (Centrarchidae)]. In all locations, all dominant taxa except sculpins were collected in significantly greater proportions at night. Taxon-specific differences in proportions of embryos and larvae collected at night can in some instances be related to life history styles. In the main-channel Columbia River, northern squawfish and peamouth were strongly nocturnal and high proportions still had yolksacs, suggesting that they had recently hatched and were drifting downriver to rearing areas. In contrast, sculpin abundances were similar during day and night, and sculpins mostly had depleted yolksacs, indicating sculpins were feeding and rearing in offshore limnetic habitats. Taxon-specific diel abundance patterns and their causes must be considered when designing effective sampling programs for fish embryos and larvae.
Similar content being viewed by others
References cited
Balon, E.K. 1975. Reproductive guilds of fishes: a proposal and definitions. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 32: 821–864.
Balon, E.K. 1990. Epigenesis of an epigeneticist: the development of some alternative concepts on the early ontogeny and evolution of fishes. Guelph Ichthyol. Rev. 1: 1–48.
Beamesderfer, R.C. 1992. Reproduction and early life history of northern squawfish, Ptychocheilus oregonensis, in Idaho's St. Joe River. Env. Biol. Fish. 35: 231–241.
Beamish, R.J. 1980. Adult biology of the river lamprey (Lampetra ayresi) and the Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata) from the Pacific coast of Canada. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 37: 1906–1923.
Blaxter, J.H.S. 1986. Development of sense organs and behaviour of teleost larvae with special reference to feeding and predator avoidance. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 115: 98–114.
Brown, A.V. & M.L. Armstrong. 1985. Propensity to drift downstream among various species of fish. J. Freshwater Ecol. 3: 3–17.
Brown, L.R., S.A. Marten & P.B. Moyle. 1995. Comparative ecology of prickly sculpin, Cottus asper, and coastrange sculpin, C. aleuticus, in the Eel River, California. Env. Biol. Fish. 42: 329–343.
Carter, J.G., V.A. Lamarra & R.J. Ryel. 1986. Drift of larval fishes in the upper Colorado River. J. Freshwater Ecol. 3: 567–577.
Clark, A.L. & W.D. Pearson. 1980. Diurnal variations in ichthyoplankton densities at Ohio River Mile 571. Trans. KY. Acad. Sci. 41: 116–121.
Copp, G.H. & B. Cellot. 1988. Drift of embryonic and larval fishes, especially Lepomis gibbosus (L.), in the upper Rhone River. J. Freshwater Ecol. 4: 419–424.
Corbett, B.W. & P.M. Powles. 1986. Spawning and larva drift of sympatric walleyes and white suckers in an Ontario stream. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 115: 41–46.
Eisler, R. 1961. Effects of visible radiation on salmonid embryos and larvae. Growth 25: 281–346.
Enright, J.T. 1977. Diurnal vertical migration: adaptive significance and timing, Part. 1. Selective advantage: a metabolic model. Limnol. Oceanogr. 22: 856–872.
Faurot, M.W. & R.G. White. 1994. Feeding ecology of larval fishes in Lake Roosevelt, Washington. Northwest Sci. 68: 189–196.
Forrester, G.E. 1994. Diel patterns of drift by five species of mayfly at different levels of fish predation. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 51: 2549–2557.
Gale, W.F. & H.W. Mohr, Jr. 1978. Larval fish drift in a large river with comparison of sampling methods. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 107: 46–55.
Gallagher, R.P. & J.V. Conner. 1983. Comparison of two ichthyoplankton gears with notes on microdistribution of fish larvae in a large river. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 112: 280–285.
Geen, G.H., T.G. Northcote, G.F. Hartman & C.C. Lindsey. 1966. Life history of two species of catostomid fishes in Sixteenmile Lake, British Columbia, with particular reference to inlet spawning. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 23: 1761–1788.
Gehrke, P.C. 1992. Diel abundance, migration and feeding of fish larvae (Eleotridae) in a floodplain billabong. J. Fish Biol. 40: 695–707.
Harvey, B. C. 1991. Interaction of abiotic and biotic factors influences larval fish survival in an Oklahoma stream. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 48: 1476–1480.
Hinshaw, J.H. 1985. Effects of illumination and prey contrast on survival and growth of larval yellow perch Perca flavescens. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 114: 540–545.
Holland, L.E. 1986. Distribution of early life stages of fishes in selected pools of the upper Mississippi River. Hydrobiologia 136: 121–130.
Holland, L.E. & J.R. Sylvester. 1983. Distribution of larval fishes related to potential navigation impacts on the upper Mississippi River, Pool 7. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 112: 293–301.
Houde, E.D. 1968. Sustained swimming ability of larvae of walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) and yellow perch (Perca flavescens). J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 26: 1647–1659.
Houde, E.D. 1987. Fish early life history dynamics and recruitment variability. Amer. Fish. Soc. Symposium 2: 17–29.
Hunter, J.R., S.E. Kaupp & J.H. Taylor. 1981. Effects of solar and artificial ultraviolet-B radiation on larval northern anchovy Engraulis mordax. Photochemistry and Photobiology 34: 477–486.
Hunter, J.R., J.H. Taylor & H.G. Moser. 1979. Effect of ultraviolet irradiation on eggs and larvae of the northern anchovy Engraulis mordax, and the Pacific mackerel, Scomber japonicus, during the embryonic stage. Photochemistry and Photobiology 29: 325–338.
Iwasa, Y. 1982. Vertical migration of zooplankton: a game between predator and prey. Amer. Nat. 120: 171–180.
Jackson, D.C., A.V. Brown & W.D. Davies. 1991. Zooplankton transport and diel drift in the Jordan Dam tailwater during a minimal flow regime. Rivers 2: 190–197.
Johnston, T.A., M.N. Gaboury, R.A. Janusz & L.R. Janusz. 1995. Larval fish drift in the Valley River, Manitoba: influence of abiotic and biotic factors, and relationships with future yearclass strengths. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 52: 2423–2431.
Keast, A. 1978. Feeding interrelations between age-groups of pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) and comparisons with bluegill (L. macrochirus). J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 35: 12–27.
LaBolle, L.D., H.W. Li & B.C. Mundy. 1985. Comparison of two samplers for quantitatively collecting larval fishes in upper littoral habitats. J. Fish Biol. 26: 139–146.
Lindsey, C.C. & T.G. Northcote. 1963. Life history of redside shiners, Richardsonius balteatus, with particular reference to movements in and out of Sixteenmile Lake streams. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 20: 1001–1030.
McGurk, M.D. 1984. Effects of delayed feeding and temperature on the age of irreversible starvation and the rates of growth and mortality of Pacific herring larvae. Mar. Biol. 84: 13–26.
McPhail, J.D. & C.C. Lindsey. 1970. Freshwater fishes of northwestern Canada and Alaska. Fish. Res. Board Can. Bull. 173. 381 pp.
Miller, T.J., L.B. Crowder, J.A. Rice & E.A. Marschall. 1988. Larval size and recruitment mechanisms in fishes: toward a conceptual framework. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 45: 1657–1670.
Mills, C.A., W.R.C. Beaumont & R.T. Clarke. 1985. Sources of variation in the feeding of larval dace Leuciscus leuciscus in an English river. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 114: 519–524.
Misitano, D.A. 1977. Species composition and relative abundance of larval and post-larval fishes in the Columbia River estuary, 1973. U.S. Fish. Bull. 75: 218–222.
Muth, R.T. & J.C. Schmulbach. 1984. Downstream transport of fish larvae in a shallow prairie river. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 113: 224–230.
Naesje, T.F., B. Jonsson & O.T. Sandlund. 1986. Drift of cisco and whitefish larvae in a Norwegian river. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 115: 89–93.
Nester, R.T. 1987. Horizontal ichthyoplankton tow-net system with unobstructed net opening. N. Amer. J. Fish. Manage. 7: 148–150.
Parsley, M.J., D.E. Palmer & R.W. Burkhardt. 1989. Variation in capture efficiency of a beach seine for small fishes. N. Amer. J. Fish. Manage. 9: 239–244.
Parsley, M.J., L.G. Beckman & G.T. McCabe Jr. 1993. Spawning and rearing habitat use by white sturgeons in the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 122: 217–227.
Pavlov, D.S., Y.N. Sbikin, A.Y. Vashchinnikov & A.D. Mochek. 1972. The effect of light intensity and water temperature on the current velocities critical to fish. J. Ichthyol. 12: 703–711.
Pavlov, D.S., A.M. Pakhorukov, G.N. Kuragina, V.K. Nezdoliy, N.P. Nekrasova, D.A. Brodskiy & A.L. Ersler. 1977. Some features of the downstream migrations of juvenile fishes in the Volga and Kuban rivers. J. Ichthyol. 17: 363–374.
Peňáz, M., A.-L. Roux, P. Jurajda & J.-M. Olivier. 1992. Drift of larval and juvenile fishes in a by-passed floodplain of the Upper River Rhone, France. Folia Zoologica 41: 281–288.
Poe, T.P., H.C. Hansel, S. Vigg, D.E. Palmer & L.A. Prendergast. 1991. Feeding of predaceous fishes on out-migrating juvenile salmonids in John Day Reservoir, Columbia River. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 120: 405–420.
Poe, T.P., R.S. Shively & R.A. Tabor. 1994. Ecological consequences of introduced piscivorous fishes in the lower Columbia and Snake rivers. pp. 347–360. In:D. J. Stouder, K. L. Fresh, R. J. Feller & M. Duke (ed.) Theory and Application in Fish Feeding Ecology, University of South Carolina Press, Columbia.
Popova, I.K. & B.P. Legkii. 1993. Behavioral mechanisms of dispersion of certain carp larvae from their spawning grounds. Russian J. Ecol. 24: 402–406.
Reimers, P.E. & C.E. Bond. 1967. Distribution of fishes in tributaries of the lower Columbia River. Copeia 1967: 541–550.
Sheaffer, W. A. & J. G. Nickum. 1986. Backwater areas as nursery habitats for fishes in Pool 13 of the upper Mississippi River. Hydrobiologia 136: 131–140.
Shephard, W.C. & E.L. Mills. 1996. Diel feeding, daily food intake, and Daphnia consumption by age-0 gizzard shad in Oneida Lake, New York. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 125: 411–421.
Snedecor, G.W. & W.G. Cochran. 1980. Statistical methods, 7th ed. Iowa State University Press, Ames. 507 pp.
Swee, U.B. & H.R. McCrimmon. 1966. Reproductive biology of the carp, Cyprinus carpio L., in Lake St. Lawrence, Ontario. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 95: 372–380.
Zigler, S.J. & C.A. Jennings. 1993. Growth and mortality of larval sunfish in backwaters of the upper Mississippi River. Trans. Amer.Fish. Soc. 122: 1080–1087.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gadomski, D.M., Barfoot, C.A. Diel and distributional abundance patterns of fish embryos and larvae in the lower Columbia and Deschutes rivers. Environmental Biology of Fishes 51, 353–368 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007485015830
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007485015830