Ichthyomyzon Gagei - Management Recommendations

Management Recommendations

In order to monitor both the state of suitable habitats and population dynamics of I. gagei, sampling of both the numbers of individuals present and the conditions of their habitat is needed. I would recommend sampling populations of I. gagei both in regions where they are known to occur and regions where they could potentially occur. Sampling would be most effective if performed twice annually, once in the spring during spawning to find the numbers of spawning adults, and once in the fall to measure the abundance of larval lampreys. At these sampling times, the quality of the habitat from which I. gagei are sampled should also be assessed. The water temperature should be recorded, the composition of the substrate should be noted, and the water quality (pH, salinity, and other water quality measurements) should be analyzed and documented. Congregations of spawning adult lampreys could be easily sampled using Trap or Fyke nets as adult lampreys usually spawn in open, shallow riffle sections of rivers and streams. Non-lethal traps, such as minnow traps, could also be used to sample adult I. gagei populations. Larval populations are harder to sample as I. gagei remains burrowed in the substrate during the larval phase. Snorkeling may be the most effective way to sample these populations. In addition to sampling of populations and habitat quality, certain areas should be protected from human trespassing and pollution to ensure that the range of I. gagei does not become reduced. These protected areas should include some parts of waterways in each state that I. gagei occurs as to keep its current range intact and also in areas where I. gagei has become rare, such as the Tennessee River (Mettee 2004).