Morrison Creek Lamprey
Photograph of Morrison Creek lamprey, by Jim Palmer.
This specimen is ~ 12 cm total length, and is thought to be three to four
months post metamorphosis.
Species at Risk Act
Status: Endangered
Recovery Strategy: link
COSEWIC Summary
Date of Assessment:
May 2000
Common Name: Morrison Creek lamprey
Scientific Name: Lampetra
richardsoni var. marifuga
COSEWIC Status: Endangered
Reason for Designation: Endemic to British Columbia, this single, small population is susceptible to habitat loss from urban development and highway construction.
Canadian Occurrence: British Columbia
COSEWIC Status History: Designated Threatened in April 1999. Status re-examined and changed to Endangered in May 2000. May 2000 assessment was based on new quantitative criteria applied to information from the existing 1999 status report (Beamish et al. 1999).
Brief Description of Morrison
Creek Lamprey and Its Habitat
Morrison Creek lamprey is a unique life history form of the western brook lamprey (Lampetra richardsoni) that is believed to occur only in Morrison Creek, Vancouver Island. It was discovered in 1977, and is considered a derivative of L. richardsoni that and has been labelled L. richardsoni var. marifuga. Although described in some detail, the Morrison Creek lamprey has not been given formal taxonomic status, and additional work is recommended to clarify the taxonomy. Its extreme endemic distribution is the principal factor in its designation as “endangered,” and suggests that it will always remain at some risk.
Morrison Creek is a tributary to the Puntledge River on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and is somewhat unusual for this area because its headwaters are dominated by wetlands. It is possible that the unique features of the watershed (extensive headwater wetland habitat, large groundwater inflows and stable temperatures and flow) were instrumental in the evolution of this variety. The creek is characterized by cool, clean, year-round flows that originate from spring sources in the headwaters. There are multiple wetlands in the upper watershed, which likely attenuate flow and temperature fluctuations throughout the year.
Spawning habitat requirements of Morrison Creek lamprey are not known in detail, but are assumed to be similar to those of Western Brook lamprey, which construct nests in areas of gravel, where eggs are deposited and fertilized, and subsequently rear to hatching. Hatching generally occurs a short time after fertilization. Clean gravels with some water flow is assumed to be required for spawning and incubation of Morrison Creek lamprey, as it is for other lamprey species. Although the nest is not long-lived, suitable habitat may be subject to impacts (e.g., sedimentation) even at times of years when it is not occupied. The distribution and utilization of suitable spawning habitats within Morrison Creek is not known. Since natural spawning of the marifuga variety has not been observed, greater detail cannot be provided at this time.
After hatching, lamprey ammocoetes drift a short distance from the nest, where they burrow into soft fine sediments or sand and remain relatively sedentary for the duration of the larval phase, which can be an extended period (up to 7 years). Ammocoetes of L. richardsoni var. marifuga cannot be readily distinguished from those of “normal” L. richardsoni, but we assume that habitat needs for this life stage are similar for both forms. Larval habitat is thus defined generally as fine sediment areas in close proximity to spawning beds. The distribution of suitable rearing habitat and the distribution of ammocoetes within this habitat is not known for Morrison Creek.
Habitat requirements of other life stages of the marifuga variety are not known.
Some References
Beamish, R.J. 1985. Freshwater parasitic lamprey on Vancouver Island and a theory of the evolution of the freshwater parasitic and non-parasitic life history types. pp. 123-140. In R. E. Foreman, A. Gorbman, J. M. Dodd, and R. Olsson [eds.] Evolutionary biology of primitive fishes. Plenum Publishing Corporation, New York, NY. 463 p.
Beamish R.J., 1987. Evidence that parasitic and non-parasitic life history types are produced by one population of lamprey. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 44:1779-1782.
Beamish, R. J. 1998. Update COSEWIC status report on the Cowichan Lake Lamprey Lampetra macrostoma in Canada. Ottawa. 9 pp.
Beamish, R. J., L.A. Chapman and J.H. Youson. 1999. COSEWIC assessment status report on the Morrison Creek lamprey Lampetra richardsoni in Canada. Ottawa. 14 pp.
Beamish, R.J. and R.E. Withler. 1986. A polymorphic population of lampreys that may produce parasitic and nonparasitic varieties. pp. 31-49 In Uyeno, T., R. Arai, T. Taniuchi, and K. Matsuura [eds.] Indo-Pacific Fish Biology: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Indo-Pacific Fishes. Ichthyological Society of Japan, Tokyo.
Ellefson, J. 2003. Morrison Creek headwaters sensitive habitat inventory and mapping report. Comox Valley Project Watershed Society, Courtenay, BC.
Gill, H.S., C.B. Renaud, F. Chapleau, R.L. Mayden, and I.C. Potter. 2003. Phylogeny of living parasitic lampreys (Petromyzontiformes) based on morphological data. Copeia 2003: 687-703.
Kostow, K. 2002. Oregon lampreys: natural history status and analysis of management issues. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Larson, L.O. 1980. Physiology of adult lampreys, with special regard to natural starvation, reproduction, and death after spawning. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 37: 1762-1779.
McPhail, J. D. 2007. The freshwater fishes of British Columbia. University of Alberta Press, Edmonton.
Recovery Team Documents