Reproductive ecology of muskellunge (Esox masquinongy), an introduced predator, in the lower Wolastoq/Saint John River, New Brunswick, Canada

Introduced predators can have harmful top‐down effects on their newly colonized system through competition with and direct predation on native species. Following an initial introduction of muskellunge in Lac Frontière, Québec in the 1970s at the headwaters of the Wolastoq/Saint John River, the speci...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of fish biology Vol. 102; no. 3; pp. 643 - 654
Main Authors:	Zelman, Kaleb, Harrison, Phillip, O'Sullivan, Antóin M., Andrews, Samuel, Peake, Stephen, Linnansaari, Tommi, Pavey, Scott A., Curry, R. Allen
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-03-2023 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:	Animals biotelemetry Canada Carnivorous animals Colonization Downstream Ecology Eggs Esocidae Esox masquinongy Fish Fish eggs Fish ladders Fishes Fishways Freshwater fishes Gene sequencing Headwaters Hydroelectric power Indigenous species Interspecific relationships Introduced species Juveniles Migratory species muskellunge Native organisms Native species New Brunswick non‐native species Nurseries Nursery grounds Predation Predators Quebec Radio telemetry Reproductive cycle Rivers spatial ecology Spawning Spawning seasons Tagging Telemetry Upstream Very high frequencies New Brunswick Canada Quebec New Brunswick Canada spawning biotelemetry muskellunge spatial ecology non-native species
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Introduced predators can have harmful top‐down effects on their newly colonized system through competition with and direct predation on native species. Following an initial introduction of muskellunge in Lac Frontière, Québec in the 1970s at the headwaters of the Wolastoq/Saint John River, the species rapidly migrated downstream, expanding its range by ~500 km over ~20 years. Despite this expansive colonization and concern over possible threats to native species, little is known about the basic ecology of muskellunge in this system. The last downstream barrier is the hydroelectric facility, Mactaquac Generating Station (MGS), 150 km upstream of the sea. While there are no downstream fish passage facilities at MGS, adult muskellunge have been recorded downstream. In this study, muskellunge (n = 23) were surgically tagged with very‐high‐frequency (VHF) radio or combined acoustic radio telemetry (CART) tags and tracked over two spawning seasons. We sought to determine if there was a reproducing population downstream of MGS and tracked Tagged muskellunge over two spawning seasons. We tracked fish to locate and confirm spawning sites, and followed up with egg and/or juvenile sampling surveys. Tagged muskellunge (90%) moved upstream towards the MGS during the spawning period in each year (2016 and 2017), where they remained throughout the entire spawning period. No spawning or nursery sites were confirmed near MGS, but in 2016 three distinct spawning locations and six distinct nursery sites were confirmed 10–12 km downstream amongst a chain of flooded islands. In 2016, eggs, sac‐fry and juveniles were collected and confirmed as muskellunge by genetic sequencing, providing the first empirical observation of successful spawning downstream of MGS.
Bibliography:	Funding information NSERC Collaborative Research and Development, Grant/Award Number: 462708‐13; Muskies Canada Inc; NB Power ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0022-1112 1095-8649
DOI:	10.1111/jfb.15302