Vancouver Lamprey

Illustration of Vancouver lamprey, Lampetra macrostoma, by Loucas Raptis.

Species at Risk Act

Status: Threatened

Recovery Strategy: link

COSEWIC Summary

Date of Assessment: November 2000

Common Name: Vancouver lamprey, Cowichan Lake lamprey, Lake lamprey

Scientific Name: Lampetra macrostoma

COSEWIC Status: Threatened

Reason for Designation: This landlocked parasitic species is endemic to British Columbia and occurs in a very restricted area. It is at risk due to intensive human activity.

Canadian Occurrence: British Columbia

COSEWIC Status History: Designated Special Concern in April 1986. Status re-examined and confirmed in April 1998. Status re-examined and designated Threatened in November 2000. Last assessment based on an existing status report (Beamish 1998).

Brief Description of Vancouver Lamprey and Its Habitat

Vancouver lamprey (Lampetra macrostoma) is derived from the Pacific lamprey (L. tridentata).  Based on its unique morphological and physiological traits, primarily its large oral disk and physiological adaptation to freshwater, L. macrostoma was deemed a separate species.  Some phylogenetic uncertainty remains and requires additional investigation. There has been little or no research done on this species since the 1980s, and no firm conclusions can be drawn with the current data regarding population status and trends. 

Vancouver lamprey range in size from 18 to 27 cm, with females slightly smaller than males.  The average size of recently metamorphosed lamprey is 11.7 cm.  The considerable growth that occurs from recently metamorphosed individuals to adult size indicates that the species is an obligate parasite.  It is possible to collect ammocoetes from lake and stream sediments, but adults are easily captured only during the spawning period.  Thus, very little is known about the young adult phase.

The Vancouver lamprey is an extreme endemic.  It has been reported only in Cowichan and Mesachie lakes, on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and the lower part of tributaries to these lakes.  The two lakes are adjacent and connected via the Robertson River, Bear Lake and an unnamed watercourse, sometimes referred to as Mesachie Creek.  There are no complete barriers to fish downstream of Cowichan Lake, as evidenced yearly by anadromous salmonids that use the lake and its tributaries for spawning and rearing.  Pacific lamprey are common downstream of the lake outlet, but have not been observed upstream of this point.  Likewise, Vancouver lamprey have not been observed downstream of the lake outlet. Its extreme endemic distribution is the principal factor in its designation as Threatened, and suggests that the species will always remain at some risk. 

Vancouver lamprey use nearshore lake habitat for spawning, rather than the stream habitats typically used by Pacific lamprey.  However, ammocoetes have been found in the lower portions of some lake tributaries, indicating that some spawning does occur in these tributaries.  Beamish (1998) describes spawning aggregations on shallow gravel deltas near the mouth of tributary creeks, in water depths of 0.2 to 2 m.  Spawning behaviour in the lab is similar to that of Pacific 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.  Other lamprey species require clean gravels with interstitial flow or groundwater upwelling for spawning and incubation, and we assume that Vancouver lamprey have similar requirements.  Distribution into deeper habitats has not been investigated.

After hatching, ammocoetes drift a short distance from the nest, where they burrow into soft fine sediments or sand.  Vancouver lamprey ammocoetes are usually found within the lake in close proximity to tributary creeks.  Larval habitat is thus generally defined as fine sediment areas in close proximity to lake tributaries, but the depth and spatial distribution of larval habitat remains poorly understood.  Little is known about Vancouver lamprey biology between the time of metamorphosis and spawning.  Active feeding occurs in the warmer months, and considerable growth occurs from metamorphosis to time at spawning.  We assume that during this time, the lamprey seek prey in a variety of locations within the water column.  The habitat requirements of this life stage 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.

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

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