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Q\LIFQRNIA FISH-GAME
California Fish and Game is a journal devoted to the conservation of wild- life. If its contents are reproduced elsewhere, the authors and the California Department of Fish and Game would appreciate being acknowledged.
Subscriptions may be obtained at the rate of $5 per year by placing an order with the California Department of Fish and Game, 1416 Ninth Street, Sacramento, California 95814. Money orders and checks should be made out to California Department of Fish and Game. Inquiries regarding paid sub- scriptions should be directed to the Editor.
Complimentary subscriptions are granted, on a limited basis, to libraries, scientific and educational institutions, conservation agencies, and on exchange. Complimentary subscriptions must be renewed annually by returning the post- card enclosed with each October issue.
Please direct correspondence to:
Robson A. Collins, Editor California Fish and Game 350 Golden Shore Long Beach, California 90802
u
VOLUME 64
APRIL 1978
NUMBER 2
Published Quarterly by
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
THE RESOURCES AGENCY
DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
LDA
STATE OF CALIFORNIA EDMUND G BROWN JR., Governor
THE RESOURCES AGENCY HUEY D. JOHNSON, Secretary for Resources
FISH AND GAME COMMISSION
BERGER C. BENSON, President, San Mateo
RAYMOND S. DASMANN, Member SHERMAN CHICKERING, Vice President
Santa Cruz San Francisco
ABEL C. GALLETTI, Member ELIZABETH L. VENRICK, Member
Los Angeles Cardlff-by-the-Sea
DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
E. C. FULLERTON, Director
1416 9th Street Sacramento 95814
CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME Editorial Staff
ROBSON A. COLLINS, Editor-in-Chief Long Beach
KENNETH A. HASHAGEN, Editor for Inland Fishenes Sacramento
CAROL M. FERREL, Editor for Wildlife Sacramento
ROBERT N. TASTO, Editor for Marine Resources Menio Park
STEVEN N. TAYLOR, Editor for Salmon and Steelhead Sacramento
HAROLD K. CHADWICK, Editor for Stnped Bass, Sturgeon, and Sfiad Stockton
CONTENTS
73
Page
Some Rare and Unusual Occurrences of Fishes off California and Baja California John E. Fitch and Steven A. Schultz 74
An Evaluation of Disk-Dangler Tag Shedding by Striped Bass {Morone saxatilis) in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary Gary E. Smith 93
Taxonomy of the Colorado Cutthroat Trout [Salmo clarki pleuriticus) of the Williamson Lakes, California
J. R. Gold, G. A. E. Gall, and S. J. Nicola 98
An Analysis of Fish Catches Obtained with an Otter Trawl in Santa Monica Bay, 1969-73
Rimmon C. Fay, James A. Vallee, and Pat Brophy 104
Parasites of Silver Salmon iCoho) and King {Chinook) Salmon from the Pacific Ocean off Oregon Robert E. Olson 117
Notes
Comparison of Floy Internal Anchor and Disk-Dangler Tags on Largemouth Bass {Micropterus salmoides) at Merle Col- lins Reservoir Robert R. Rawstron and Ronald J. Pelzman 121
Successful Reproduction of Giant Pacific Oysters in Hum- boldt Bay and Tomales Bay, California John A. Span 123
Status of the Oregon Ruffed Grouse in Northwestern Cali- fornia Charles F. Yocom 124
Harbor Seals in and Adjacent to Humboldt Bay,
California Thomas R. Loughlin 127
Book Reviews 133
74 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
Calif. Fish and Came 64(2): 74-92 1978
SOME RARE AND UNUSUAL OCCURRENCES OF FISHES OFF CALIFORNIA AND BAJA CALIFORNIA
JOHN E. FITCH
Operations Research Branch
and
STEVEN A. SCHULTZ
Marine Resources Region
California Department of Fish and Game
Nineteen fish species captured off California and Baja California were deemed noteworthy for one or more reasons. Among these, 12 species (Benthodesmus elon- gatus pacificus, Carcharhinus obscurus, Coelorinchus scaphopsis, Cryptopsaras couesii, Epinephelus niveatus, Gadus macrocephalus, Lepidocybium flavobrun- neum, Myliobatis longirostris, Pleurogrammus monopterygius, Pteraclis aesticola, Ruvettus pretiosus, and Taractichthys steindachneri) rarely have been seen in our waters, but only seven of these 12 represent new locality records. Three are reported here because of their large size (Acipenser medirostris, Priacanthus cruentatus, and Zu cristatus), but Zu crista tus a\so is a rarely seen species. Two occurrences (Pset- tichthys melanostictus and Sebastes nebulosus) extended geographical ranges for commonly taken species; one fish (Elops affinis) was new to the outer coast of California; and one (Paralabrax auroguttatus) was new to California's marine fauna.
During any given year, perhaps six to ten of the fishes that are brought to Department of Fish and Came ( DFG ) personnel to identify, or which are caught on Department vessels, are worthy of more than a passing glance. Some of these are new to California's marine fauna; some represent new locality or size records; some afford an opportunity to obtain needed information on the fish's life history, habits, or morphology; and some are just plain rare. Details concern- ing 19 such species are reported below. These represent an accumulation of noteworthy occurrences over a several-year period.
Many of these fishes were brought to Department personnel at California State Fisheries Laboratory, Long Beach (CSFL), but they have not been retained there. Once a fish has been processed at CSFL and the fisherman has been thanked, it assumes the status of "specimen," and either is sent to an ichthyological collection on the Pacific Coast for permanent curation, or it is discarded. Institu- tions where such collections are housed are: California Academy of Sciences (CAS), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (LACM), Santa Barbara Natural History Museum (SBNHM), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), Southwest Fishery Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, La Jolla (SWFC), and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
We have arranged our accounts alphabetically by family, as that seemed the least troublesome way to present the information.
ACIPENSERIDAE— STURGEONS
Acipenser medirostris — green sturgeon
On July 11, 1975, Tony Spagnolini, a commercial fisherman, caught what appears to be the largest green sturgeon ever taken in the ocean south of San Francisco (Fitch and Lavenberg 1971:17). Mr. Spagnolini's sturgeon was caught in gill nets which he had set in "10 fathoms of water about one-half mile south of Dana Point west jetty light." The fish was a mature male, 163 cm (5 ft 4% inches) total length (tl), and weighed 25.7 kg (56 lb 972 oz). Its stomach was
RARE FISH OCCURRENCES 75
empty, but the intestinal tract contained the intact shell of a small live snail, Olivella baetica. A thin cross-section was made through one of the sturgeon's large pectoral fin rays, and with the aid of a microscope, several staff biologists were able to discern 11 excellent rings, presumed to be annuli.
The largest of 166 green sturgeon caught in gill nets and otter trawls during an ecological survey of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta was 56-58 cm fork length (fl), and was presumed to be a juvenile (Radtke 1966:122). Miller (1972) noted that four of five green sturgeon recovered from 54 individuals that were tagged in San Pablo Bay during 1967 and 1968, had migrated into the ocean. Three had moved north, one as far as Gray's Harbor, Washington, and one was recaptured at Santa Cruz, California, south of the tagging site. These fish had been "45 to 50 inches tl" at the time of tagging, and none had been at liberty for more than 3 years when recaptured. The green sturgeon is reported to attain a length of 213 cm (7 ft) and a weight of 136 kg (300 lb), but the largest which can be verified appears to be the largest of 75 fish caught in 1 day in Kyuquot Sound, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This fish was 203 cm (80 inches) long ( Hart 1 973 ) . None of the above reports contains age information, however, nor is there any information on age in an excellent, detailed account of the green sturgeon in California by Fry (1973).
BRAMIDAE— POMFRETS
Pteraclis aesticola — Pacific fanfish
Since only three Pacific fanfish have been reported from the eastern north Pacific (Noble and Blodgett 1952, as P. velifera; Mead 1972:166), and in view of uncertainty over its specific identification (Mead 1972:118), three recently- captured specimens will help shed light upon its distribution, life history, and meristics.
One of these, at 473 mm standard length (sl), ca. 560 mm TL, and 1015 g, is 58 mm longer (sl) than the previously known record-sized Pacific fanfish from near Cambria, California (Noble and Blodgett 1952). This 473 mm fish was netted during mid-September 1975 at Ranger Bank, Baja California (lat 28°3rN, long 1 15°30'W), in a nighttime purseseine set for bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, by the crew of the vessel Mauritania. It was a maturing male with an empty stomach. Its otoliths were examined for evidence of age and appeared to have 9 to 1 1 hyaline (winter) zones, but there is no certainty that these were annuli.
A previously unreported specimen in the SIO ichthyology collection and another in the SWFC collections have also been examined. The SIO fanfish (SIO 71-184) at 445 mm SL is also larger than the Cambria specimen. This fish was netted on August 2, 1971, some 80 km (50 miles) SW of Point Baja, Baja California, at lat 29°25'N, long 1 16°30'W. The SWFC fanfish, at 40 mm sl, is the smallest P. aesticola known at this time from the eastern north Pacific. It was spit up by an albacore, Thunnus alalunga, that was caught on June 8, 1976, at lat 32°25'N, long 13r28'W.
Mead (1972:107) distinguished the three species of Pteraclis {carolinus, velif- era, and aesticola) on the basis of branchiostegal rays; dorsal, anal, and pectoral rays; and vertebrae. He reported seven branchiostegal rays for P. aesticola, but the four specimens we examined all had eight. Other counts for three of these specimens (LACM 35990-1, SIO 63-491, and SIO 71-184, respectively) are: DR
76 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME
48 (allthreefish);AR 44, 41,42; PR 19 (all three); principal CR 9 + 8 = 17 (all three); vertebrae 22 + 23 = 45, 21 + 23 = 44, and 22 + 23 = 45. Gill rakers (1 -1-7 = 8) and pored lateral line scales (48) were counted only on the LACM fanfish. Based upon these counts, P. carolinus and P. aesticola can be differen- tiated only by vertebral counts, and this nnay be the best character for identifying P. velifera also. It is obvious from our meagre observations that additional material from the Pacific Ocean should be examined to determine if these differences will hold, and if, in fact, there are three species of Pteraclis.
Taractichthys steindachneri- — Pacific bigscale pomfret
Fitch and Lavenberg (1968:97) reported that "specimens of Taractes longlpin- nls [ = Taractichthys steindachneri\ apparently have been noted only four times in the eastern Pacific — all since April, 1953, all in the 80-mile stretch between Doheny State Park Beach and Redondo Beach, and all floundering or swimming feebly in the shallow surf." Subsequently, three additional specimens have been taken, two within this "80-mile stretch" of southern California coastline, and one at Goleta, about 145 km (90 miles) upcoast from Redondo Beach. Details regarding these as well as the four earlier captures are reported here for the first time.
The first three individuals, taken at Corona del Mar, Redondo Beach, and Doheny Beach respectively, were reported upon by Fitch (1953), Radovich (1961 ), and Anonymous (1961 ). The Redondo Beach specimen, a "24-pound" fish (650 mm sl) was retained by the fisherman who had picked it up in the surf, but the Corona del Mar fish (590 mm sl) and the Doheny Beach pomfret (328 mm sl) were deposited in the UCLA ichthyology collection. The fourth individ- ual mentioned by Fitch and Lavenberg (1968) was caught barehanded on March 17, 1964, in the surf near the Belmont Shore pier by a Long Beach fisherman, Kevin Desmond. This fish was 497 mm SL, 678 mm TL, and weighed about 5.5 kg (12 lbs).
Since 1968, three additional Pacific bigscale pomfrets have been taken on our coast. The first of these was seen on September 11, 1969, floundering in the surf off the Anaheim Bay jetty and was caught by an unknown fisherman. The fisherman allowed a biologist to measure and weigh the fish (measurements noted as "27 inches SL, 31^2 inches tl," and weight as "20 pounds"), and remove its head (for otoliths and other data), but he would not give up the specimen. The otoliths of this fish had six excellent hyaline (winter) zones.
During the last week of October 1975, an unknown fisherman gaffed a speci- men (409 mm sl, 541 mm TL, 3050 g) as it swam feebly past his skiff while he was fishing at the outer edge of a kelp bed off Salt Creek, South Laguna, Orange County, California. The pomfret was left with Tony Spagnolini at Dana Point Harbor who turned it over to Department biologists. Judged by some excellent growth zones on its otoliths, this fish was just entering its third winter. This Salt Creek pomfret, and the one taken at Belmont Shore in 1964, have been depos- ited in the LACM ichthyology collection.
Finally, on January 27, 1977, Ann Duffey and Marie Angel, Santa Barbara, while taking a noontime stroll on the beach at Goleta found a bigscale pomfret that apparently had just stranded itself. They turned the fish over to Gary Robinson, Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara ( UCSB ) who called it to our attention. When examined at CSFL a few days later,
RARE FISH OCCURRENCES 77
it was 526 mm sl, 675 mm tl, and weighed 5.6 kg ( 1 2.3 lb ). It has been retained at UCSB, but eventually will be deposited in the LACM fish collection.
The use of "Pacific" in the vernacular for this fish is to distinguish it from T. longipinnis, a bigscaled pomfret found in the Atlantic Ocean, and the only other member of the genus (Mead 1972).
CARCHARHINIDAE— REQUIEM SHARKS
Carcharhinus obscurus — dusky shark
In recent publications, the northern range limit for the dusky shark is not very definitive, being listed "to southern California" by Miller and Lea (1976:40) and "southern California . . ." by Kato, Springer, and Wagner (1967). In earlier publications, however, the northern range has been noted as "San Diego, Cali- fornia," (Rosenblatt and Baldwin 1958, for C. lamiella = C obscurus) and "San Pedro southward . . .; rare north of San Diego; common in San Diego Bay" (Walford 1935:33; for C. lamiella). Californian records based upon actual speci- mens are extremely rare, and Walford's report that the species was "common in San Diego Bay" apparently had been perpetuated for more than 50 years, having first appeared in print in 1883.
The capture on September 21, 1976, of a 105 cm tl C. obscurus at Redondo Beach, is of interest because it is a few miles upcoast from San Pedro and gives an exact geographic locality for a verified specimen. This small shark, an imma- ture male weighing 6 kg {^V^ lb), was caught in the surf at night by Fred Oakley of Hawthorne, California. Mr. Oakley presented the fish to jerry Goldsmith, Marineland of the Pacific, who turned it over to Fitch. The stomach of this shark contained the remains of a walleye surfperch, Hyperprosopon argenteum, and a jumbo squid, Dosidicus gigas.
The SIO ichthyology collection contains two dusky sharks from off southern California (SIO 63-677, La Jolla, 13 Aug. 1963, 930 mm tl; and SIO 63-678, 5 km (3 miles) off Ocean Beach jetty, 14 Aug. 1963, 3000 mm tl) and Richard Rosenblatt informed us (pers. commun.) that he has seen many others from off southern California. C. obscurus aX\d^\ns an estimated maximum length of 3.7 m (12 ft.) according to Kato, Springer, and Wagner (1967). They are known from tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world.
CERATIIDAE— SEADEVILS
Cryptopsaras couesil — triplewart seadevil
On July 19, 1976, Augustino Tarantino, a Fort Bragg commercial fisherman brought to Schultz a triplewart seadevil that he had trawled that day near Noyo Canyon in 192 m (105 fm). Examination in the laboratory revealed that Mr. Tarantino's catch was an adult female 245 mm sl (ca. 342 mm tl) with two parasitic males attached: one, 94 mm SL and the other 30 mm. C. couesii\s found in all the world's oceans (Fitch and Lavenberg 1968), but females with parasitic males are not common anywhere, only nine having been captured prior to the Noyo Canyon specimen (Pietsch 1975). In addition to being only the tenth known C. coues/i w\\h attached parasitic males, Tarantino's fish was only the second adult female from California, and was taken approximately 31 7 km ( 1 97 miles) upcoast from the previous northern range limit for the species. In addi- tion, the largest male was 21 mm longer than the largest previously known
78 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME
specimen, a 73 mm male attached to a 356 mm female captured off South Africa (Pietsch 1975, 1976).
The stomach of the Noyo Canyon seadevil contained the remains of seven lanternfish: five DIaphus theta, one Lampanyctus sp., and one too digested to identify but recognizable as a myctophid from its badly eroded otoliths.
Sagittae v^ere removed from the female seadevil and both parasitic males and examined for evidence of age. Those from the female had 1 1 excellent winter (hyaline) zones, and she was judged to have first spawned when 5 years old. The sagittae of the 94 mm male had seven winter zones, whereas those of the 30 mm male had three. Obviously, when more than one male is present, they do not necessarily all attach at the same time, nor do all attach after the female reaches maturity. Pietsch (1975) reported upon a female C. coues/i }S.S mm long which was parasitized with a firmly attached male 9.8 mm sl.
The Noyo Canyon specimen has been deposited in the LACM ichthyology collection.
ELOPIDAE— TARPONS
E/ops affinis — machete
On August 7, 1975, James A. Allen, Ventura, California, caught a machete while surffishing near the Southern California Edison steam generating plant at Mandalay Beach. He was using mussel, Mytilus californianus, for bait, and his fish (sex unknown) was 485 mm SL, 610 mm tl, and weighed 1095 g eviscerat- ed. Its otoliths were removed and when examined for evidence of age, there appeared to be seven fairly distinct annuli. Based upon this capture. Miller and Lea (1976:239) reported the northern range limit for Elops affinis as Ventura. Previously, £ affinis had been taken only in Salton Sea in California.
The history of £ affinis in Salton Sea is short but interesting. In August 1941, E. H. Glidden obtained two specimens from the Colorado River below Laguna Dam, "one 11 inches long and the other 14" (Glidden 1941 ), and reported upon several others that had been caught and seen there earlier that year. Because it was "a very desirable game fish," he hoped it would find its way into Salton Sea.
Glidden's wish seemed to have been answered, when in May 1942, commer- cial mullet fishermen and Department biologists caught 41, "ten-pounders" over a 10-day period at several Salton Sea localities. These fish "ranged in length (to fork of caudal fin) from 17.1 inches to 19.7 inches, and from 1.75 pounds to 2.5 pounds in weight" (Dill and Woodhull 1942).
In their glowing account of the ten-pounder's potential as a game fish in Salton Sea, Dill and Woodhull (1942) planned to recommend that Elops affinis be "classed as a game fish by law in our inland waters." As a result of this recom- mendation and in anticipation of heavy sportfishing pressure, the California Fish and Game Commission subsequently passed a law setting daily and possession bag limits on "ten-pounders" in California's waters. Although this law remained in effect for nearly two decades, to our knowledge no other ten-pounder ( = machete) was taken in our waters, including Salton Sea and tributaries, until Mr. Allen caught his in 1975 near Ventura. The "in the Salton Sea" notation by Miller and Lea (1976:52) is a 35-year perpetuation of wishful thinking.
The Ventura machete has been deposited in the LACM ichthyology collection.
RARE FISH OCCURRENCES
79
GADI DAE— CODS
Cadus macrocephalus — Pacific cod
Pinkas (1967) extended the southern range for the Pacific cod from Point Piedras Blancas to Santa Monica Bay, and discussed other captures from central California. On January 4, 1975, a second Pacific cod was caught in southern California waters. This fish, almost identical in size to the Santa Monica Bay specimen, was caught on hook and line in 183 m (600 ft) of water off Summer- land, Santa Barbara County, California, by Ernest Henderson of Oxnard.
The Summerland cod, a ripening female, was 545 mm SL, 595 mm tl, and weighed 2725 g. Its stomach contained the soupy remains and earstones from two slender sole, Lyopsetta exilis, and a small Pacific sanddab, Citharichthys sordidus. The otoliths from the cod were removed and examined for age, but not until they were sliced into thin sections could one discern what appeared to be three rather indistinct winter annuli. Although Ketchen (1970) reported that ". . . the best (most readable) specimen of Pacific cod otoliths is worse than the worst specimen which the writer has examined from the Atlantic," he did give ages for a considerable number of individuals. Our age-length data for the Summerland specimen agree with Ketchen's. This fish has been deposited in the LACM ichthyology collection.
GEMPYLIDAE— SNAKE MACKERELS
Ruvettus pretiosus — oilfish (Figure 1)
The oilfish was first reported from the eastern Pacific in 1944 (Barnhart and Hubbs), based upon a specimen 475 mm sl that was taken at Encinitas, San Diego County, California, on August 13, 1'942. Five years later, on January 28, 1947, a specimen that was "49 inched in length and weighed 34 pounds" (Fitch 1947) was caught in a purseseine set for bluefin tuna at Guadalupe Island, Baja California.
Since 1947, five additional oilfish have been caught in the eastern north Pacific, two off southern California, and three off Baja California; these have remained unreported until now. The first of these five, and the third from the eastern north Pacific, was caught in a gill net set in 1 10 m (60 fm) of water off
FIGURE 1 . Oilfish, Ruvettus pretiosus, 81 0 mm SL taken with gill nets off Marineland of the Pacific during the night of September 10-11 1967. Photo by Jack W. Schott
80 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
Marineland of the Pacific during the night of Septennber 10-1 1 , 1 967. It was 81 0 mnn SL, 960 mm tl, and weighed 5.4 kg (11 lb 14 oz). Phillip L. Cuglielmo, skipper of the gill netter San Aniello presented the fish to CSFL.
The next Ruvettus pret/osuswas caught by Terry Cross, Oceanside, California, in his gill nets which had been set overnight (September 20-21, 1972) in 146 m (80 fm) some "four or five miles due west of Oceanside." This fish, a female showing no sign of maturity, was 920 mm SL, 1060 mm TL, and weighed 6.8 kg (15 lb).
The three most-recently captured oilfish were taken December 14, 1976, on longline gear which was being fished by Mike Ward, Oxnard, California, some 64 km (40 miles) west of Cedros Island, Baja California (lat 2r'54'N, long 116°02'W). Fishing depth, according to Mr. Ward, skipper of the vessel La Vida, was 11 m (6 fm). He released one of these three oilfish, but returned to port with the other two. The largest of these, 135 cm SL, 145 cm fl, 156 cm tl, and weighing 27.7 kg (61 lb), he left with Chuck Saccio, San Diego Fish Company, who subsequently presented it to CSFL. The other oilfish, 122 cm sl, 132 cm fl, 145 cm TL, and weighing 21.9 kg (48.5 lb) was sent to SIO for identification, and later was given to CSFL. Upon examination at CSFL, both fish were found to be females with empty stomachs. Otoliths of the 1 56-cm specimen had eight excel- lent hyaline zones on them, whereas those from the 145-cm fish had seven.
Wheeler (1969:384) reported that R. pret/osus grows to "80 inches (203 cm) and a weight of 100 lb (45 kg)," and Munro (1958:116) noted the species as "obtaining 200 lb." Munro probably was repeating a weight that Nordhoff (1928) estimated for the species after being given a giant sized head. An editorial note at the end of Nordhoff's account attributes a length of "6 ft 10 inches" to R. pretiosus.
For centuries, the purgative properties of R. pretiosus Wesh have been exploit- ed by people in many parts of the world, and native fishermen have developed special gear and techniques for catching oilfish (Gudger 1925; Nordhoff 1928). One reason given for the popularity of Ruvettus i\esh (and oil) as a laxative is that it works rapidly without cramping. On the other hand, chemists who have analyzed the oil from R. pretiosus (Cox and Reid 1932; Nevenzel, Rodegker, and Mead 1965) have concluded that its purgative properties have probably been over-emphasized. Bone (1972) postulated that the oil in the flesh and bones of Ruvettus affects its buoyancy and hydrodynamics in such a manner that to maintain position in the water column the fish must orient obliquely when at rest.
The two oilfish brought ashore by Mike Ward have been deposited in the CAS and LACM ichthyology collections.
HEXAGRAMMIDAE— GREENLINCS
Pleurogrammus monopterygius — Atka mackerel
Although Miller and Lea (1976:243) have reported the Atka mackerel as ranging south to Morro Bay, California, they omitted pertinent details regarding the Morro Bay specimen, and the occurrence of P. monopterygius in California. Perusal of the literature and examination of museum and other collections, revealed that until 1974, only two Atka mackerel had been taken in our waters, one reported upon by Bolin (1952) and the other, an unreported specimen in the CAS collection ( CAS 25733 ) . Both had been caught near Santa Cruz, Monte-
RARE FISH OCCURRENCES 81
rey Bay, one in 1951 and the other in 1952. Interestingly, we were unable to find any record of Atka mackerel having been taken in waters off British Columbia, Washington, or Oregon, although they are abundant in the eastern north Pacific from southeast Alaska to and into the Bering Sea. They range south to Japan in the western Pacific (Quast and Hall 1972).
The Morro Bay specimen (323 mm SL, 375 mm TL, 478 g) was caught on hook and line by a Bakersfield, California sportfisherman, Jim Smith, on July 23, 1974. He kept it alive in the baitwell of the partyboat Pathfinder, until the vessel returned to port, and then turned it over to Dean Tyler of the Morro Bay Aquarium who notified our Morro Bay office of the catch. This fish, a male, was hooked near the bottom in 46 m (25 fm) about midway between San Simeon Point and Point Piedras Blancas, San Luis Obispo County, and is the basis for the southern range limit reported for the species by Miller and Lea (1976:243). Its otoliths had two excellent hyaline (winter) growth zones and an opaque margin.
Eleven months later another Atka mackerel was caught in an otter trawl being fished from the vessel Anna 14/ off Trinidad Head, California (lat 4r09'N, long 124°10'W). Although the net was fishing on the bottom in "62 to 100 fm," the Atka mackerel probably was caught at or near the surface while the net was being let out or retrieved. This fish was 325 mm SL, 385 mm tl, and weighed 600 g. Its sex was not determined. Its otoliths had three excellent hyaline zones and an opaque margin. Medveditsyna (1962) reported taking P. monopterygius m Russian waters which ranged in length from 30 to 50 cm, and noted that these fish were predominantly 2 to 10 years old.
The Morro Bay and Trinidad Head Atka mackerel have been deposited in the LACM ichthyology collection.
MACROURIDAE— GRENADIERS
Coelorinchus scaphopsis — gulf rattail
A gulf rattail caught with an otter trawl by the vessel Sea Romeo while fishing in 274 m ( 1 50 fm ) off Point Piedras Blancas, San Luis Obispo County, California, on September 11, 1974, extended the known range for the species northward approximately 225 km (140 miles). The fish, a mature female was 305 mm tl. In a recent review of the rattail fishes found off Oregon and in adjacent waters, Iwamoto and Stein (1974:50) called attention to the correct generic spelling for Coelorinchus, and told how it could be distinguished from other eastern north Pacific genera and species of macrourids. They examined three specimens from the CAS and SIO collections that had been taken in the vicinity of Santa Cruz Island and Point Conception, but apparently overlooked at least one other Californian specimen in the SBNHM collection (280 mm tl) that had been trawled in July 1967 "off Santa Barbara." Iwamoto and Stein (1974) also appar- ently missed notes by Lavenberg and Fitch (1966:105) and by Fitch (1966:10) mentioning its capture in the vicinity of Santa Barbara. C. scaphopsis otoliths have been found in at least two Pleistocene deposits in southern California ( Fitch 1966:10; 1970:20). The Piedra Blancas specimen has been deposited in the LACM ichthyology collection.
82 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME
MYLIOBATIDAE— EAGLE RAYS
Myliobatis longirostris — longnose eagle ray
In 1964, Applegate and Fitch described Myliobatis longirostris from a single adult male caught with a midwater trawl in Magdalena Bay, Baja California. During the ensuing 13 years, nine additional specimens, unreported until now, were brought to CSFL by Warren Beadle, Ivan Goyette, and Homer Moore, commercial fishermen who caught them in their white seabass nets while fishing off southern Baja California. Eight of these rays (3 females 330 to 820 mm disc width, 4 males 61 5 to 665 mm, and 1 not measured nor sexed ) were taken during 1970 and 1971 in 46 to 64 m (25 to 35 fm) between Santo Domingo Point and Cape San Lazaro. Seven of these and the holotype have been deposited in the LACM fish collection, and one has been sent to the United States National Museum of Natural History. The ninth previously unreported specimen, an adult male 665 mm wide, was caught in 64 m (35 fm) off Abreojos Point, Baja California, during January 1977. The three fishermen who brought these in reported catching numerous other longnose eagle rays in their gill nets, but only these nine were saved.
Within the Gulf of California, considerable numbers of M. longirostris are taken each year by shrimp trawlers. Most of these are discarded at sea, but many end up in the trash-fish piles at shoreside shrimp processing plants. Unfortunate- ly, we do not have depth or locality records for any of these Gulf specimens, but they show up in catches made near Guaymas in the north and Mazatlan in the south. Thus, the species' geographic range obviously extends from Mazatlan (at least) to San Cristobal Bay (Applegate and Fitch 1964) on the outer coast of Baja California. It has been taken throughout the water column, from the surface to 64 m (35 fm).
PLEURONECTIDAE— RIGHTEYE FLOUNDERS
Psettichthys melanostictus — sand sole
Miller and Lea ( 1 976:243 ) extended the southern range limit for the sand sole to El Segundo, Santa Monica Bay, based upon a specimen collected January 15, 1975, by Fitch at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power steam generating plant. Subsequently, on April 16, 1976, a sand sole 266 mm sl (321 mm TL, 306.5 g) was removed from the Unit 7 and 8 screenwell of Southern California Edison's steam generating plant at Redondo Beach by Mark Helvey and Llew Johnson. This fish, representing the second sand sole from Santa Monica Bay and a new southern range limit for the species, has been preserved at Southern California Edison's Research and Development Marine Laboratory, Redondo Beach. The 1975 sand sole from El Segundo is preserved in the LACM ichthyology collection.
PRIAGANTHIDAE— BIGEYES
Priacanthus cruentatus — glasseye catalufa
On June 30, 1974, Don Baker, an Encinitas, California sportfisherman caught at Alijos Rocks, Baja California (lat 24°57'03"N, long 115°44'55"W) a 507-mm (20-inch) TL bright-red, perch-shaped fish with a very large eye. He did not recognize the fish, so he had it frozen and brought it to CSFL after he returned
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to port. It turned out to be a record-sized Priacanthus cruentatus, which at 397 mm SL and 2725 g (6.0 lb) was so much larger than the previous known record size, i.e., "about a foot" (Gosline and Brock 1960:160), that it should be record- ed for posterity. Mr. Baker's fish, a spent female, had a number of pelagic red crabs, Pleumncodes planipes, in its stomach. Mr. Baker was fishing from the boat Cape Polaris in 33 m (18 fm) of water; he was using a piece of cut mackerel for bait.
FIGURE 2. Right sagittae of Cookeolus boops (A, 5.4 mm long), Pseudopriacanthus serrula (B, 6.5 mm long), Priacanthus cruentatus (C, 5.3 mm long) and Priacanthus alalaua (D, 3.2 mm long). Photos by Jack W. Schott.
There apparently is a substantial population of giant-sized P. cruentatus at Alijos Rocks as several others ranging in total length to 18 inches (455 mm) and in weight to just under 4 lb (1850 g) have been brought to CSFL and SIO by fishermen who caught them there. The 455 mm individual, a spawned out female ( 360 mm SL ) was taken there in October 1 970, and had the remains of one each Vinciguerria lucetia and Gonichthys tenuiculum in its stomach. Judged by growth zones on their otoliths, these Alijos Rocks "giants" are rapidly-growing fish: there were either'eight or nine hyaline (winter) zones on the sagittae of the 507 mm specimen, and five on the 455 mm one.
P. cruentatus is found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and in the eastern,
84
CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
central, and western Pacific (Caldwell 1962; Gosline and Brock 1960). In the eastern Pacific, they appear to be even more abundant at the Revillagigedos islands than at Alijos Rocks, but do not attain such a large size. Ten or more than 50 individuals caught in gill nets set overnight just upcoast from Braithwaite Bay, Socorro Island (Revillagigedos), during April 1955 had the following counts: D X, 13; A III, 13-14; GR 5-6 + 17-21 = 22-26; vert. 10 + 13 = 23.
In overall morphology, the sagittae of P. cruentatus are more similar to those of Cookeo/us and Pseudopriacanthus (the remaining genera of family Priacan- thidae), than they are to those from other species of Priacanthus (Figure 2). Observable differences between otoliths of cruentatus and those from six other species of Priacanthus {alalaua, arenatus, hamrur, macaracanthus, meeki, and tayenus) seem to be of generic magnitude, but we do not advocate changing their generic status without investigating and evaluating a multitude of other features, especially internal anatomy. We have no plans for making such a study; we merely wished to draw attention to this anomalous situation.
The 507-mm catalufa from Alijos Rocks has been deposited in the LACM ichthyology collection; whereas the 455-mm specimen was placed in the UCLA collection.
SCOMBRIDAE— MACKERELS AND TUNAS
Lepidocybium flavobrunneum — escolar (Figure 3)
Although 32 years elapsed between the taking of the first and second escolars in southern California, and 16 years between the second and third, the fourth
FIGURE 3. Escolar, Lepidocybium flavobrunneum, 768 mm SL taken with gill nets off Point Dume, November 11, 1976. Photo by Jack W. Schott.
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FIGURE 4. Typical gempylid (left series) and scombrid (right series) sagittae. A. Cempylus ser- pens 5.8 mm, B. Ruvettus pretiosus'i.7 mm, C. Rexea solanderi^A mm, D. Thyrsites atunlOA mm, E. Scomber scombrus 4.2 mm, F. Lepidocybium flavobrunneum7 .5 mm, G. Scomberomorus conco/or9A mm, H. Acanthocybium solanderi M.Z mm. Photos by Jack W. Schott.
was caught just 2 months after its predecessor. These four escolars came from a very restricted area of southern California's coastline, yet they represent the only known occurrences for the species in the eastern north Pacific.
The first escolar from California was picked up on shore at Long Beach in the spring of 1928. This fish, 734 mm TL, was reported upon by Myers (1932: as Xenogramma carinatum) , and apparently represented the fifth or sixth known specimen from anywhere in the world. Subsequently, L. flavobrunneum has been reported from numerous tropical and subtropical areas of the world's oceans, but never abundantly.
86 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME
The second specimen from California, previously unreported, was 610 mm TL and weighed 1835 g. It was picked up in the surf near Marineland of the Pacific's pier (Los Angeles County, Calif.) on August 1, 1960. The fisherman who caught it sought help from John Prescott, then Curator for Marineland, in identifying his prize, but would not donate it to science. Regardless, Fitch was able to make a number of observations from the specimen before returning it to its captor.
Sixteen years later, on November 11, 1976, jim Cramatico, a commercial fisherman, delivered a 6.5-kg (MYj lb) escolar to a San Pedro fresh fish market. This fish, taken in trammel nets off Point Dume, was recognized as a rarity by Joe DiMeglio, Pioneer Fisheries, so he saved it intact and presented it to William L. Craig, National Marine Fisheries Service, who turned it over to Fitch. Just two months later, on January 11, 1977, Chris Larson, of Balboa, California, while riding a wave just upcoast from the Newport pier, struck and stunned an escolar with the skeg of his surfboard. He grabbed the escolar before it could escape, and took it ashore where, in seeking help to identity it, Robert Decker, a Depart- ment Fish and Game warden, was contacted. The Point Dume escolar was a mature male, 768 mm SL, 814 mm FL, and 895 mm TL, whereas the Newport Beach fish (also a mature male) was 910 mm SL, 965 mm FL, and 1055 mm TL. It weighed 13 kg (28.5 lb). The stomachs of both of these individuals were empty. The otoliths of the Newport Beach escolar appeared to have either five or seven hyaline zones on them, but these were quite vague and there is no certainty that they were annuli. The Point Dume and Newport Beach escolars each had 31 vertebrae; 18 precaudal and 13 caudal. Matsubara and Iwai (1958) reported that a Japanese specimen had 16 precaudal and 15 caudal vertebrae.
Miller and Lea (1976:191) reported the range for L. flavobrunneum in the eastern Pacific as "from Peru to Washington," but there is no basis for the Washington record, and the northern limit at that time should have read "Point Vicente, Calif." The "62.25 inch" maximum size noted by Miller and Lea is a typographical error and should read "61.4 inch" as it is based upon a specimen 156 cm TL noted by Maksimov (1970).
Although L. flavobrunneum has been reported from, or is known to occur off California, Ecuador, Peru, Hawaii, Japan, New South Wales, Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia, Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, east coast of Canada, West Africa (including Gulf of Guinea), and South Africa, it is considered rare in all localities. Only in two accounts (Fourmanoir 1970; Maksimov 1970) were more than two individuals reported upon. Fourmanoir (1970) noted 13 adults cap- tured on long line gear in the vicinity of New Caledonia and New Hebrides during the period May 1959 through October 1969. These fish were taken at fishing depths of 110 to 195 m, and the seven which were measured were 743 to 918 mm SL. He also reported upon eight young L. flavobrunneum (29 to 90 mm SL) which were found in stomachs of yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus al- bacares) and albacore, and a 33-mm SL specimen that was caught with midwa- ter trawl. Maksimov (1970) presented length frequency, food habit, and other data upon 142 adults captured with longlines in two areas off the west coast of Africa during 1965 and 1966. Catches of L. flavobrunneum in these areas were only 0.204 and 0.175 individuals per 1000 hooks. From length frequencies, it was determined that females grew faster than males, but no ages were assigned. Escolars were found in stomachs of other fish on seven occasions: five times in swordfish, Xiphias gladius (581 stomachs examined); once in yellowfin tuna
RARE FISH OCCURRENCES 87
(3308 Stomachs); and once in another escolar (142 stomachs).
Matsubara and Iwai (1958), after conducting an extensive study of the anat- omy and relationships of Japanese gempylid fishes, placed L. flavobrunneum in family Gempylidae, but erected a subfamily, Lepidocybiinae, for it because of features which distinguish it from other gempylids, yet show relationship with some of the scombrids. The saccular otoliths (sagittae), not examined by Mat- subara and Iwai, are definitely scombroid (Figure 4) and resemble very closely those from Scomberomorus ( Fitch and Craig 1964) . Sagittae of the six gempylid genera available to us (i.e., Gempylus, Neolotus, Promethichthys, Rexea, Ruvet- tus, and Thyrsites) have a sulcus (groove on inner face of otolith) that is quite different from that found in Lepidocybium and among scombroids. As pointed out by Frizzell (1965), fish otoliths are structures of the nervous system buried in the cranium, and by this fact, their evolution to a great extent is independent of the forces of natural selection. Thus, logic dictates that they should be of greater value in interpreting evolution and lineages than are structures which are helpful to the fish in adapting to a particular environment or situation — structures which historically have been used by taxonomists in determining relationships among teleosts. Of all otolith characters, the features of the sulcus are most diagnostic for distinguishing families and genera. Because of their otoliths, as well as the characters found by Matsubara and Iwai (1958) which suggest a close affinity with scombroids, we believe that L. flavobrunneum should be assigned to family Scombridae rather than Gempylidae and have done so here.
The Point Dume and Newport Beach escolars have been deposited in the LACM ichthyology collection.
SCORPAENIDAE— ROCKFISHES
Sebastes nebulosus — China rockfish
The southern range for the China rockfish has been revised twice since 1973, once for the mainland coast (Burge and Schultz 1973:182) and once for our offshore islands (Love and Vucci 1974). Now, with capture of a specimen 200 mm SL, 243 mm tl, and 295 g off Redondo Beach on September 13, 1975, its mainland distribution must be revised once more. The Redondo 5. nebulosus was caught from one of the partyboats operating out of that port, and turned over to Kathy Kuletz, a Department employee. Although the exact locality and depth of capture were not obtained, fishing that day was conducted along the southern shore of Santa Monica Bay. The otoliths of this fish had seven hyaline (winter) zones and an opaque margin. The specimen has been deposited in the LACM ichthyology collection.
SERRANIDAE— SEA BASSES
Epinephelus niveatus — snowy grouper
Miller and Lea (1976:240) have reported the snowy grouper from Point Piedras Blancas, but purposely omitted pertinent details regarding the capture of that and other specimens from California. Until 1965, this species had not been taken north of about Cedros Island, Baja California, but on January 21 of that year a sportfisherman caught a 5-kg (11-lb) fish while fishing in "60 fm . . . 5 to 5^2 miles north or northwest of North Coronado Island" (Carl L. FHubbs, letter dated 28 January 1 965 ) . This then was the basis for E. niveatus being listed
2—76942
88 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME
as a member of the Californian fish fauna (Bailey et al. 1970) prior to 1974.
On June 10, 1974, a sportfisherman on the partyboat Sea Venture caught one while fishing in "about 50 fm" some 4.8 to 6.4 km (3 to 4 miles) west of Point Estero, San Luis Obispo County. Unfortunately, the fish was filleted, but the intact carcass with skin attached was readily identified. This specimen was 600 mm SL and 735 mm tl; its otoliths had either 20 or 21 hyaline (winter) zones on them. Sex was not determined.
During the next 18 months, three additional snowy groupers were taken in our waters: between Point Buchon and Avila, off Point Piedras Blancas, and off Redondo Beach. The Point Buchon fish, a female weighing 3.5 kg (7.8 lb), was caught on August 31, 1974, in an otter trawl being fished on the bottom in 130 m (71 fm). George Graft, skipper of the trawler St. Rita, turned it over to Department personnel at Morro Bay. It was 490 mm sl, 600 mm tl, and its otoliths had 14 or 15 hyaline zones on them.
The Piedras Blancas grouper was delivered to Gold Nugget Seafood, Morro Bay, on September 25, 1975. It had been trawled that day in 110 to 128 m (60 to70fm), and was 420 mm sl, 515 mm tl, and weighed 2325 g (5.12 lb). It too was a female. Its otoliths had either seven or eight hyaline zones.
Finally, on December 3, 1975, a snowy grouper was caught in 76 m (250 ft) of water some 13 to 15 km (8 or 9 miles) SW of King Harbor, Redondo Beach. This fish, 442 mm SL 538 mm TL, and weighing 2225 g (4.9 lb), was saved for us by Dan Armstrong, Redondo Sportfishing. The otoliths of this fish had eight excellent winter annuli. It too was a female and the stomach was empty.
In working with these four specimens, as well as with others captured from time to time along the central and southern Baja California coast, numerous discrepancies have been found in various characters ascribed to the species. Smith (1971 ) in this key to American species of the subgenus Epinephelus (p. 105) has used several characters (i.e., color pattern spotted, saddle shaped blotch on caudal peduncle, pelvic fins longer than pectorals) which are consist- ent only for juveniles. None of the Californian specimens, and few adults we have seen from the eastern Pacific, have the white spots on the sides from whence the species derives its common name. The black saddle on the caudal peduncle, and the elongate pelvic fins are both juvenile characters.
The largest individual we have seen from the eastern Pacific was a nearly ripe female 670 mm sl, 805 mm tl, which weighed 10 kg (22 lb). This fish was caught on Thetis Bank, Baja California (lat 24°56.5'N,long 112°36'W) on August 23, 1963, by James Cowie, a crewmember aboard the Department's research vessel Alaska. Greatest depth of capture in the eastern Pacific appears to be the 130 m (71 fm) at which the Point Buchon fish was trawled.
Selected counts for several eastern Pacific specimens are: D XI, 13-15; A III, 9; GR &-9 + 1 + 13-15 = 22-25.
The Piedras Blancas and Redondo Beach specimens have been deposited in the LACM ichthyology collection.
Paralabrax auroguttatus — gold spotted bass
Although Miller and Lea (1976:247) reported Paralabrax auroguttatus Uon\ California for the first time, several important details are missing from their account. This fish was caught from the half-day boat Redondo Special on August 18, 1975. Dan Armstrong, an employee of Redondo Sportfishing, who called
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89
Fitch about the bass, said that it had been caught "on the bottom in 200 ft of water," and that it "looked like a sand bass but was covered with large yellow spots. Some of the fins were yellowish green at the tips, and the pectoral fin was so thin you could see the body spots beneath it." Armstrong was shown photos of several species of Paralabrax, and unhesitatingly picked P. auroguttatus. Both his verbal description, and the depth of capture fit only P. auroguttatus from among the eastern Pacific members of genus Paralabrax (Walford 1974). Previ- ously, gold spotted bass had been taken as far north as Cedros Island, Baja California. They range south to Cape San Lucas (Outer Gorda Bank) and are abundant throughout much of the Gulf of California. They rarely are caught at depths shallower than 37 m (20 fm) and have been hooked on the bottom in 155 m ( 85 fm ) . The largest we have seen was a 71 0-mm tl fish which was caught in 64 m (35 fm) at the north end of Cedros Island.
TRACHIPTERIDAE— RIBBONFISHES
Zu cristatus — scalloped ribbonfish (Figure 5)
On July 1 2, 1 968, a scalloped ribbonfish, 980 mm SL and weighing 2500 g, was caught in a nighttime purse seine set for bluefin tuna at the "175-fathom spot
FIGURE 5. Scalloped ribbonfish, Zu cristatus. Upper: Juvenile 213 mm SL, lower: adult 980 mm SL. Photos by Jack W. Schott.
90 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME
above Ranger Bank" (lat 28°52.5'N,long 1 15°59.2'W). It was brought to CSFL by Cino Guidi, San Diego, a crewmember of the seiner Lou Jean, which caught the fish. When examined at CSFL, Guidi's ribbonfish was found to differ radically in external appearance from the description given for the species by Fitch (1964). Most obvious was the lack of scalloping (from whence the fish derives its common name) of the ventral profile between the pelvic fins and anus (Figure 5, bottom). Also missing were the elongate crest and pelvic rays, so prominent on the juveniles. The caudal rays of this large adult were considerably shortened, and the dark bars on its sides were vague and difficult to observe. The undulating lateral line scales posterior to the anus were present, however, and permitted positive identification, since this arrangement is unique to Zu.
Subsequently, an 811 -mm sl adult in the SIO ichthyology collection (SIO 66-272) was examined and found to be nearly identical in external appearance to our Ranger Bank ribbonfish. The SIO specimen was caught in a purse seine some 32 km (20 miles) SW of Asuncion Bay, Baja California (lat 26°52'N,long 114°30'W).
The scalloped ribbonfish, known from tropical, subtropical, and temperate seas throughout the world, ranges in the eastern Pacific from just south of the equator (SIO 64-396:latOO°59.8'S, long 10r42'W) to Newport Beach, California. The largest scalloped ribbonfish appears to be a specimen 1105 mm long from the Mediterranean (Tortonese 1958). The 980-mm specimen reported here seems to be the second largest known. It had the remains of a Pacific blackdrag- on, Idiacanthus antrostomus, 105 mm sl, in its stomach. Its sex and age were not determined. It has been deposited in the LACM ichthyology collection.
TRICHIURIDAE— CUTLASSFISHES
Benthodesmus elongatus pacificus — North Pacific frostfish
While the note by Anderson and Cailliet (1975) reporting the first two occur- rences of Benthodesmus elongatus pacificus in Californian waters was in press, a third example was taken by the German stern trawler Bonn. This fish, 897 mm SL, was caught on April 19, 1975, at lat 3r00'N, long 122°37'W (approx. 25 km SW of Ario Nuevo Point) where the bottom was 340 to 400 m beneath the surface. Fishing depth, according to F. Mombeck who saved the specimen and presented it to Fitch, was at 300 to 390 m. Dr. Mombeck reported taking approxi- mately 5000 kg of Pacific hake, Merluccius productus, in the same tow, along with small quantities of splitnose rockfish, Sebastes diploproa;h\d^c\(,g\\\ rockfish, 5. melanostomus; rex sole, Clyptocephalus zachirus; spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias; ribbonfish, Trachipterus sp.; lanternfish, Myctophidae; and "squids and shrimps." The Bonn frostfish represents the fourth known specimen from the eastern north Pacific, and very likely is the first individual taken in its normal habitat. It has been deposited in the ichthyology collection at LACM.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would have had little to report if it had not been for the curiosity of fishermen as to the identities of the "odd-balls" they catch from time to time. We have acknowledged these individuals in the body of this report but wish to reiterate their helpfulness at this time.
Others who have supplied us with data, furnished information regarding
RARE FISH OCCURRENCES 91
material they curate, called attention to pertinent literature, provided taxonomic assistance, or been otherwise helpful in our preparation of this report are E. H. Ahlstrom and John Butler (SWFC), Lillian Dempster and W. I. Follett (CAS), Robert J. Lavenberg and William Lewis (LACM), Richard Burge, Terese Hoban, Robert N. Lea, Howard Martin, Daniel J. Miller, Jim Phelan, and Lawrence Quirollo (DFG), and Richard H. Rosenblatt (SIO)
Jack W. Schott (CSFL) took the fish and otolith photos used in this report, and Laura Gartner typed the draft and final copy of the manuscript.
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Noble, Glenn A., and C. O. Blodgett. 1952. The fanfish, Pteraclis velifera, found in California. Calif. Fish Game,
38(4):565-566. Nordhoff, Charles B. 1928. Fishing for the oilfish. Natural History, N.Y., 28:40-45.
Pietsch, Theodore W. 1975. Precocious sexual parasitism in the deep sea ceratioid anglerfish, Cryptopsaras couesi Gill. Nature, 256:38-^*0.
1976. Dimorphism, parasitism, and sex: reproductive strategies among deepsea ceratioid anglerfishes.
Copeia, 1976 (4):781-793. Pinkas, Leo. 1967. First record of a Pacific cod in southern California waters. Calif. Fish Game, 53(2):127-128.
Quast, lay C, and E. L. Hall. 1 972. List of fishes of Alaska and adjacent waters with a guide to some of their literature.
U.S. Dept. Commerce, NOAA Technical Rept., NMFS SSRF-658:1^7. Radovich, )ohn. 1961. Relationships of some marine organisms of the northeast Pacific to water temperatures,
particularly during 1957 through 1959. Calif. Dept. Fish and Game, Fish Bull., (n2):1-62. Radtke, Larry D. 1966. Distribution of smelt, juvenile sturgeon, and starry flounder in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta with observations on food of sturgeon, p, 115-129. //7 Turner, J. L., and D. W. Kelley, Ecological studies
of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Part II, Fishes of the Delta. Calif. Dept. Fish and Game, Fish Bull.,
(136):1-168. Rosenblatt, Richard H., and W. |. Baldwin. 1958. A review of the eastern Pacific sharks of the genus Carcharhinus,
with a redescription of C. malpeloensis (Fowler) and California records of C. remotus (Dum^ril). Calif. Fish
Game, 44 (2 ):1 37-1 59. Smith, C. Lavett. 1971 . A revision of the American groupers: Epinephelus and allied genera. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
Bull., 46(2):67-242.
Tortonese, E. 1958. Cattura di Trachypterus cristatus Bon e note sui Trachypteridae del mare Ligure. Doriana, 11(89):1-5.
Walford, Lionel A. 1935. The sharks and rays of California. Calif. Div. Fish and Game, Fish Bull., (45):1-66.
1974. Marine game fishes of the Pacific coast from Alaska to the equator. Reprint of 1937 ed. publ. by
Univ. Calif. Press, Berkeley (available from Smithsonian Inst., Wash., D.C.):224 p. Wheeler, Alwyne. 1969. The fishes of the British Isles and north-west Europe. East Lansing, Michigan State Univ.
Press, 613 p.
STRIPED BASS TAG EVALUATION 93
Calif. Fish and Game 64(2): 93-97. 1978
AN EVALUATION OF DISK-DANGLER TAG SHEDDING
BY STRIPED BASS { MORON E SAXATI US) IN THE
SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN ESTUARY^
Gary E. Smith ^
Bay-Delta Fishery Project
California Department of Fish and Game
A total of 1,162 striped bass ( Morone saxatilis) was tagged with disk-dangler tags below the anterior and posterior dorsal fins. Tags from 337 of these fish were re- turned within 7 years. Tags attached below the anterior fin, the normal tagging location, experienced no immediate losses and annual losses of 4.9% for 4 years thereafter. Tags below the posterior fin experienced 5.6% immediate and 8.4% annual losses.
INTRODUCTION
Since 1969, the California Department of Fish and Game has conducted an intensive mark-recapture study on legal-sized striped bass (>40.6 cm [16 inches]) total length (tl) in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary. Study objec- tives include estimating bass abundance and mortality. The validity of these estimates depends on marked fish retaining their tags (Ricker 1975). This report describes disk-dangler tag shedding rates estimated from a double-tagging ex- periment conducted from 1969 to 1976.
METHODS
Tagging
Striped bass were captured for this study in fyke traps (Hallock, Fry, and LaFaunce 1957) in the Sacramento River near Isleton and Courtland between April 3 and July 7, 1969. A total of 1,162 double-tagged and 1,164 single-tagged fish were released.
Tagging methods are described by Chadwick (1963). Tags were individually numbered, laminated vinyl chloride disks 12.7 mm (0.5 inch) in diameter and 1.0 mm (0.04 inch) thick. Type 302 soft stainless steel wire 0.51 mm (0.02 inch) in diameter was used to attach the tags. Double-tagging was alternated with single-tagging. Fish with two tags had one tag placed halfway between the anterior dorsal fin and lateral line (A position) and the other halfway between the posterior dorsal fin and lateral line ( B position ) . All fish with single tags were tagged in position A. Tag returns from double- and single-tagged fish enabled me to evaluate tag shedding, effects of double-tagging on the likelihood of recapture, and whether the presence of B tags enhanced recognition of A tags.
Recovery
Tags were recovered during a creel census in the San Francisco Bay Area, by mail, and during subsequent tagging operations. Anglers returning only one tag from a double-tagged fish or failing to give recapture date were contacted by mail to obtain accurate information. If the angler failed to respond to the inquiry,
' Funds for this work were provided by Dingell-Johnson Project California, F-9-R, "A Study of Sturgeon and Striped
Bass" supported by Federal Aid to Fish Restoration funds. ' Presently assigned to Environmental Services Branch, Sacramento.
94 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME
I assumed the number of tags returned to be correct and the recapture date to be the postmark date on the angler's letter.
Data Analysis
Those A tags not detected and the proportion lost immediately after tagging (aK or Type I loss) and the rate at which A tags are subsequently shed (aS or Type II loss) are computed from a linear regression of tag retention on time (Myhre 1966). The equation is:
IOg[A + BNi/(A + BH + B-ANi)]
where: a+bN = Number of fish recovered with both tags. b_aN = Number of fish recovered with B tag only. 1 — aK = Portion of A tags which were detected and survived im- mediate tag shedding. 1— aS = Portion of A tags retained during each time interval, i = Midpoint of the respective time interval.
The quantity a+bNi/Ia+bN,) + (b-aNi) is an estimate of the proportion of A tags retained at time i; therefore, the regression provides estimates of tag retention rates, the compliments of which are loss rates. Estimates of B tag Type I and II losses were obtained by exchanging A and B in the equation. Confidence limits on the loss estimates were calculated by standard regression procedures (Steel and Torrie 1960).
Tag returns were grouped by 122 day intervals for the first 2 years and by 1 year intervals thereafter.
EVALUATION OF ASSUMPTIONS
The validity of the shedding estimates depends on several assumptions (Myhre 1966):
(1) Loss or non-detection of one tag is independent of the loss or non- detection of the other.
Chi-square analysis indicates the return rate of A tags from double-tagged fish was not significantly different than the return rate of A tags from single-tagged fish (Table 1 ). Hence, A tag loss was independent of B tag loss. Single B tags were not released, so the dependency of B tags on A tags cannot be tested. However, there is no reason to expect loss or non-detection of B tags to be dependent on A tag loss.
TABLE 1. Chi-square Analysis of A Tag Returns From Double- and Single-Tagged Striped Bass, April 1%9-1976.
Returned Not Returned
Observed Expected Observed Expected Total
Single-tagged fish 310 316.27 854 847.73 1164
Double-tagged fish m 315.73 840 846.27 1162
Total 632 1694 2326
X^ = 0.289, d.f. = 1, 0.500 < P < 0.750
(2) Shedding loss occurs at an average or uniform rate.
Visual examination of the data (Figure 1 ) suggests tag retention for both A and B tags was relatively uniform for the first 4 years. Between 4 and 7 years,
STRIPED BASS TAG EVALUATION 95
however, the data were quite variable. Consequently, this assumption may not have been fulfilled after 4 years, so I limited my analysis to the first 4 years.
(3) Non-detection loss results in the failure to recover the same proportion of each tag type.
Both tags were prominently located and of the same size and material. So, non-detection was probably equal.
(4) Likelihood of recapture is independent of number and tag type.
The return rate for double-tagged fish was not significantly different from the return rate for single-tagged fish (P<0.250) (Table 2). Thus, both groups were equally vulnerable to capture.
TABLE 2. Chi-square Analysis of Returns of Double- and Single-Tagged Striped Bass, April 1%9-1976.
Returned Not Returned
Observed Expected Observed Expected Total
Single-tagged fish 310 323.78 854 840.22 1164
Double-tagged fish ^IZ ^^^-^^ _?^ ^^^-^^ 1162
Total 647 1679 2326
X" = 1.510, d.f. = 1, 0.100<P<0.250
• TAGS ATTACHED BELOW ANTERIOR DORSAL FIN (POSITION A) ▲ TAGS ATTACHED BELOW POSTERIOR DORSAL FIN (POSITION B)
a tij
z
UJ
<
u. o
z o
1.0- 0.9-
0.8- 0.7-
0.6-
F 0.5-
o
< a: u.
0^
0
— LOG Y = 3.916 X lO'^ - (5.937 x lO"*) X
— LOG Y =-2.523 x lO'^- (I045x lO'^jX
300
— r—
600
900
1200
1500
1800
— T—
2100
1
2400
NUMBER OF DAYS AFTER TAGGING
FIGURE 1. Fraction of disk-dangler tags retained by striped bass in the Sacramento- San Joaquin Estuary, California, April 1969-76. Data grouped in 122 (through 732) and 366 (733- 2,562) day intervals. Numbers in parentheses indicate number of fish from which tags were obtained.
96 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME
SHEDDING RATES
Tags were recovered from 337 of the double-tagged fish within 7 years of release. Anglers returned tags from 317 of these fish and the other 20 fish were observed during subsequent tagging operations. Most (279) of these bass were recaptured with both tags present. Fifteen fish were recaptured with A tag missing and 43 were recaptured with B tag missing. No losses of either tag were observed through the first 122 days. Five fish were recovered between 123 and 244 days after tagging with B tags missing. An A tag loss was not observed until 362 days after tagging. Chi-square analysis of the return data indicates A tags were retained significantly better than B tags (Table 3).
TABLE 3. Chi-square Analysis of Returns of Double-Tagged Striped Bass With One and Two Tags, April 1%9-1976.
Tags Retained Tags Lost
Observed Expected Observed Expected Total
A Tags 283 270.50 11 23.50 294
B Tags 258 270.50 36 23.50 294
Total 541 47 588
X' = 13.320, d.f. = 1, P< 0.005
The difference in tag shedding is reflected in the estimates of the proportion of tags experiencing Type I and Type II losses during the first 4 years after tagging. No A tags (95% C.I. = -4.5 to 2.5%) experienced Type I losses (Table 4). Thereafter, 4.9% (95% C.I. = 1.6 to 8.0%) of the A tags were lost (Type II) each year. Estimated losses of B tags, on the other hand, were 5.6% initially (95% C.I. = -3.8 to 14.2%) and 8.4% annually thereafter (95% C.I. = -0.4 to 16.5%).
TABLE 4. Estimates of the Portion of Disk-Dangler Tags on Striped Bass Undetected or Lost Immediately (Type I Loss) and Loss Per Year (Type 11 Loss), Up to 4 Years After Tagging, April 1%9-1973.
Tag Position
A B
Type I loss -0.009 +0.056
Variance 3,032x10"'' 1.282x10"'
95% C.I -0.045 to +0.025 -0.038 to +0.142
Type II loss +0.049 +0.084
Variance 2.680x10"'° 2.017x10"'
95% C.I +0.016 to +0.080 -0.004 to +0.165
DISCUSSION Results of the 1969 double-tagging experiment indicate no disk-dangler tags attached beneath the first dorsal fin experienced a Type I loss, but 4.9% were shed annually up to 4 years after tagging. B tags, on the other hand, experienced Type I losses and were shed almost twice as fast as A tags each year up to 4 years. This difference may be partly due to anatomical differences between the two dorsal fins. Ptergiophores of the anterior dorsal fin (A position) are more
STRIPED BASS TAG EVALUATION 97
substantial than those of the posterior dorsal fin (B position), thus providing a more secure attachment. Additionally, muscle action due to swimming is less pronounced near the anterior dorsal fin, resulting in less tag movement, and tags in B position may be more susceptible to becoming entangled in debris. Except for this experiment, all bass tagging in the estuary since 1958 has been done with tags in the A position, so B tag shedding does not affect results of the mark- recapture studies.
Limiting the analysis to returns during the first 4 years may have caused an overestimate of A tag shedding. Although returns were erratic, all tag retention estimates for years 5 through 7 were higher than an extrapolation of the regres- sion line for the first 4 years (Figure 1 ). A regression calculated from all data yields an annual shedding rate of 2.3%
The A tag annual loss rate of 4.9% indicates about 2.5% of the tags are shed by mid-year. The percentage loss at that time is a reasonable estimate of the reduction in tag returns over the first year attributable to shedding. Hence, population abundance (Stevens 1977) and harvest rates (Chadwick 1968; Miller 1974) based on first year returns are underestimated by about 2.5%. Annual natural mortality rates would be overestimated to the same degree as harvest rates are underestimated. Estimates of annual survival (Chadwick 1968) are unaffected by shedding. When recapture data are accumulated during subse- quent years, bias due to shedding should gradually increase. However, these effects are not apparent (Stevens 1977).
REFERENCES
Chadwick, H. K. 1963. An evaluation of five tag types used in a striped bass mortality rate and migration study. Calif. Fish Came, 49(2): 64-83.
1968. Mortality rates in the California striped bass population. Calif. Fish Came, 54(4):228-246.
Hallock, R. J., D. H. Fry, Jr., and D. A. LaFaunce. 1957. The use of wire fyke traps to estimate the runs of adult salmon and steelhead in the Sacramento River. Calif. Fish Game, 43(41:271-298.
Miller, L. W. 1974. Mortality rates for California striped bass (Morone saxatilis) from 1965-1971. Calif. Fish Came, 60(4) :1 57-1 71.
Myhre, R. \. 1966. Loss of tags from Pacific halibut as determined by double-tag experiments. International Pacific Halibut Comm., (41):31 p.
Ricker, W. E. 1975. Computation and interpretation of biological statistics of fish papulations. Canada, Fish. Res. Bd., Bull., 191. 382 p.
Steel, R. C. D. and ). H. Torrle. 1960. Principles and procedures of statistics. McGraw-Hill Book Co. Inc., New York. 481 p.
Stevens, D. E. 1977. Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) monitoring techniques in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary, 90-108. /n.- W. Van Winkle, Ed., Proceedings of the Conference on Assessing the Effects of Power- Plant-lnduced Mortality on Fish Populations. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
98 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
Calif. Fish and Came 64(2): 98-103 1978
TAXONOMY OF THE COLORADO CUTTHROAT TROUT {Salmo clarki pleuriticus) OF THE WILLIAMSON LAKES,
CALIFORNIA
J. R. Cold
Cenetics Section
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas 77843
C. A. E. Gall
Department of Animal Science
University of California
Davis, California 95616
S. J. Nicola
California Department of Fish and Game
Inland Fisheries Branch
Sacramento, California 95814
We have examined 13 meristic characteristics, 19 morphometric measurements, coloration and spotting, and dentition from 21 specimens of cutthroat trout from the Williamson Lakes of the southern Sierra Nevada, California. According to records of the California Department of Fish and Game, these trout are descendant from fertil- ized eggs of the Colorado cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki pleuriticus, which were taken in 1931 from Trapper's Lake, Colorado. A comparison of selected meristic character- istics revealed no differences between the Williamson Lakes cutthroat trout and S. c. pleuriticus from Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. Life colors, spotting, and the presence of basibranchial dentition also identify the Williamson Lakes cutthroat trout as 5. c. pleuriticus. The similarities between the Williamson Lakes pleuriticus and those from present day Trapper's Lake suggest that the stocking of Trapper's Lake (subsequent to the California transplant) with Yellowstone cutthroat trout, S. c. lewisi, has had no detectable effect on the native Trapper's Lake pleuriticus population.
INTRODUCTION
Cope (1872) first described the Colorado cutthroat trout on the basis of specimens taken from the Green River basin in Wyoming, and from several streams in Idaho and Montana. He named the trout "Salmo pleuriticus ' , and believed it to be the native form of the Colorado — Green River drainage. At present, pleuriticus is recognized as a subspecies of the polytypic inland cut- throat trout, Salmo clarki (Miller 1950).
The past distribution of 5. c. pleuriticus apparently included the upper Green and Colorado River system of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico (Behnke 1970, 1974, 1975). The southernmost distribution oi pleuriticus \NdiS the Dirty Devil River in Utah to the west, and the San Juan River in New Mexico to the east. Reports of pleuriticus from the Little Colorado River in Arizona are considered erroneous (Behnke 1974). Phenotypically pure populations of pleuriticus presently exist only in a few, isolated headwater tributary streams in a small part of its native range (Behnke 1974; Behnke and Zarn 1976). Taxo- nomic information on pleuriticus is limited to the early observations of Cope (1872) and Jordan (1891) and to the recent studies of Behnke (1970, 1974, 1975). In this note, we present taxonomic data on a population of pleuriticus which was transplanted from Colorado to California.
According to records of the California Department of Fish and Game, 30,(XX)
COLORADO CUTTHROAT TROUT TAXONOMY 99
fertilized trout eggs were taken in 1931 from Trapper's Lake, Colorado, and the resulting fry stocked in the five barren Williamson Lakes of the southern Sierra Nevada, Inyo County, California. In 1931, Trapper's Lake apparently contained pure p/euriticus, although Yellowstone cutthroat trout (5. c. lewisf) subsequently stocked in Trapper's Lake may have hybridized with the naXwe pleuriticuspopu- lation (Snyder and Tanner 1960; but see Behnke 1974). We have examined 21 specimens from the Williamson Lakes to compare with pure pleuriticus popula- tions from Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. The purposes of this study were to document the occurrence of pure 5. c. pleuriticus in the Williamson Lakes, to add to the limited taxonomic data on the subspecies, and to assess whether the existing Trapper's Lake pleuriticus population might have been affected by the introduction of 5. c. lewisi.
METHODS
The 21 specimens were collected by the California Department of Fish and Game on September 11,1 974, from the lower three of the five Williamson Lakes. Counts of meristic characters and morphometric measurements followed Hubbs and Lagler ( 1 947 ) . The latter were converted to permillage proportions of stand- ard length. Vertebrae, interneurals, interhaemals, and epurals were counted from radiographs. Life colors and other pigmentation traits were observed from color slides and photographs (courtesy of E. P. Pister of the California Department of Fish and Game), and from the preserved specimens. Basibranchial dentition was examined using a staining technique suggested by R. J. Behnke (cited in Gold 1977).
To normalize the morphometric data, the permillage proportions were trans- formed to arcsin values (see Gold 1977). Means of taxonomic characters for males and females were subjected to "t" tests, each having 19 degrees of freedom.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION No sexual dimorphism for 13 meristic characters (Table 1 ) was revealed by the "t" tests. The means and ranges of 12 characters for both sexes combined are similar to those reported for other subspecies of 5. clarki excepi the lacus- trine-adapted 5. c. henshawi (Jehnke and Zarn 1976). The high mean number of scales in the lateral series (X = 188.9) is a characteristic trait of pleuriticus. Among other western Salmo, only 5. c. stomiasoi the Arkansas and Platte rivers and 5. aguabonita of the Kern River are as finely scaled (Dieffenbach 1966, Behnke 1969, 1973; Gold and Gall 1975a, b, Behnke and Zarn 1976).
TABLE 1. Meristic Characteristics of 21 Cutthroat Trout from the Williamson Lakes, Califor- nia.!
Females Character (n = 10)
Fork length (cm) 23.4 ± 0.9
(19.0-27.3) Pyloric caecae 39.7 ± 0.4
(37-41) Dorsal rays 11.2 ± 0.1
(11-12)
|
Males |
Combined |
|
(n = 11) |
(n = 21) |
|
22.0 ± 1.0 |
111 ± 0.6 |
|
(15.8-28.1) |
(15.8-28.1) |
|
38.0 ± 1.2 |
38.8 ± 0.7 |
|
(30^5) |
(30^5) |
|
11.2 ± 0.2 |
11.2 ± 0.1 |
|
(10-12) |
(10-12) |
100
CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
Anal rays 11.0 ± 0.2 10.7 ± 0.1 10.9 ± 0.1
(10-12) (10-11) (10-12)
Pectoral rays 14.6 ± 0.2 14.4 ± 0.1 14.5 ± 0.1
(13-15) (14-15) (13-15)
Pelvic rays 9.2 ± 0.1 9.0 ± 0.0 9.1 ± 0.1
(9-10) (9-9) (9-10)
Branchiostegal rays (left) 11.3 ± 0.2 11.3 ± 0.2 11.3 ± 0.1
(10-12) (10-12) (10-12)
Vertebrae 61.6 ± 0.2 61.6 ± 0,2 61.6 ± 0.1
(60-63) (61-63) (60-63)
Gill rakers (left) 20.5 ± 0.4 20.3 ± 0.3 20.4 ± 0.3
(18-22) (19-22) (18-22)
Scales in lateral line 126.0 ± 1.3 126.5 ± 1.1 126.2 ± 0.8
(121-134) (119-133) (119-134)
Scales in lateral series 186.9 ± 2.9 190.7 ± 2.3 188.9 ± 1.8
(173-203) (180-209) (173-209)
Interneurals 13.1 ± 0.2 13.3 ± 0.2 13.2 ± 0.1
(12-14) (12-14) (12-14)
Interhaemals 12.8 ± 0.2 12.5 ± 0.1 12.6 ± 0.1
(12-14) (12-13) (12-14)
Epurals 2.6 ± 0.2 2.8 ± 0.1 2.7 ± 0.1
(2-3) (2-3) (2-3)
t Data are shown as mean ± standard error, with ranges shown below in parentheses.
Significant sexual dimorphism in six morphometric characteristics was indicat- ed by the "t" tests: body depth, head length, distance from occiput to snout tip, maxillary length, width of gape, and length of anal fin base (Table 2). In all but length of anal fin base, the values for males exceeded those of females.
TABLE 2. Permillage Proportions of 21 Cutthroat Trout from the Williamson Lakes, California.!
Females Males Pooled
Measurement (n = W) fn=ll) s e.\\ "t"
Standard length (cm) 16.^24.2(20.6) 13.8-25.0(19.5) 1.221 0.93
Body depth 196-238(215) 221-254(239) 0.414 -3.89'*
Head length 227-258 (245) 235-275 (259) 0.325 -2.83'
Head width 99-114(106) 101-121(111) 0.229 -1.88
I nterorbit, least width 57-63(60) 51-72(64) 0.210 -1.76
Occiput to snout, length 155-176(168) 165-190(176) 0.284 -2.29*
Maxillary length 98-118(111) 104-149(123) 0.387 -2.87"
Caudal peduncle length 155-175(162) 159-174(166) 0.187 -1.76
Caudal peduncle depth 99-114(104) 99-115(108) 0.188 -1.70
Width of gape 132-164(145) 138-187(160) 0.436 -2.7T
Predorsal length 462-525 (486) 473-514 (497) 0.389 -1.64
Preanal length 726-773 (748) 726-780 (750) 0.455 -0.26
Prepectoral length 206-239(224) 215-251(233) 0.296 -2.03
Prepelvic length 519-559(539) 525-577(547) 0.409 -1.12
Dorsal fin base length 121-148(131) 118-147(131) 0.325 0.00
Anal fin base length 109-128(120) 103-119(112) 0.250 3.00"
Pectoral fin length 158-176(166) 159-184(172) 0.236 -1.86
Pelvic fin length 125-148(136) 127-148(141) 0.282 -1.49
Preadipose length 835-868(849) 835-869(853) 0.391 -0.84
Eye diameter 44-56 (49) 44-58 (50) 0.230 -0.26
t For each proportion, the range is shown, followed by the mean In parentheses.
1 1 Pooled standard errors for "t" tests were computed using a weighted analysis for unequal sample size and using
arcsin transformed means. • P < .05; •• P < .01.
COLORADO CUTTHROAT TROUT TAXONOMY
101
Detailed morphometric data on western Salmo are generally lacking, and some authors (e.g. Schreck and Behnke 1971 ) feel that these characters have little discriminatory value in western Salmo taxonomy. However, comparing morphometric characteristics of 5. c. pleuriticus from Williamson Lakes with those of 5. gairdneri (Needham and Card 1959) and 5. apache (Miller 1972), we found that pleuriticus has a narrower head than both S. gairdneri and S. apache, and is shorter than 5. apache in occiput to snout tip length, head length, length of dorsal fin base, and pectoral and pelvic fin lengths.
All 2J[ specimens from Williamson Lakes had well developed basibranchial teeth (X = 12.5, range = 2-22). The teeth were arranged fairly uniformly, usu- ally in 1 to 3 anterior to posterior rows. The unusal glossohyal teeth, found occasionally on the undescribed redband trout and rarely on 5. aguabonita (Gold 1977), were not observed.
Life colors and spotting of 5. c. pleuriticus irom Williamson Lakes are similar to those described by Behnke (1970, 1974) for 5. c. pleuriticus. The ventral region is a bright, almost gaudy crimson. Laterally, the colors become bronze- gold with overlying shades of light red. The blood-red cutthroat marks are conspicuous. Spots on the body are large, pronounced, and concentrated post- eriorly; they are most numerous on the caudal peduncle. Spots on the dorsal, anal, and particularly the caudal fins are numerous (Figure 1 ).
Figure 1 . S. c. pleuriticus from Williamson Lakes, California. Photograph by E. P. Pister, 1974.
No apparent differences in meristic characters exist between 5. c. pleuriticus from Williamson Lakes and 5. c. pleuriticus ixom Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah (Table 3). In conjunction with the similarities in coloration and spotting, and the presence of basibranchial dentition, we conclude that the Williamson Lakes trout are a phenotypically pure population of 5. c. pleuriticus. We also note that the
102
CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
similarities between the Williamson Lakes p/eur/ticus and those from present-day Trapper's Lake, particularly in the distinctive lateral series scale count ( Table 3 ) , suggest that the stocking of Trapper's Lake with S. c. /eiy/5/ apparently has had no detectable effect on the purity of the native pleuriticus population.
TABLE 3. Selected Meristic Characters from Colorado Cutthroat Trout of the Colorado- Green River Drainage and Williamson Lakes, California, t
Character Vertebrae Gill rakers
Location
Rock Creek, Wyoming 60-64(62.0) 18-20(18.8)
n = 14 n = 14
North Fork Beaver Creek, Wyoming 60-62 ( 61 .4) 1 8-22 ( 20.2 )
n = 14 n = 15
Douglas Creek, Wyoming 61-63(62.0) 18-21(19.4)
n = 14 n = 14 Little West Fork
Black Fork, Utah 61-63(62.2) 18-21 (19.1)
n = 21 n = 10
Trapper's Lake, Colorado 5^-63 (60.5) 18-22 (20.1)
n = 24 n = 15
Williamson Lakes, California 60-63 (61.6) 18-22 (20.4)
n = 21 n = 21
t All data except for Williamson Lakes are from Behnke (1970, 1975) parentheses), and sample sizes.
Pyloric caecae
Scales in lateral series
27^t6 (35.4) n = 14
35-44 (39.4) n = 15
31-42 (37.1) n = 14
32^1 (37.4) n = 10
32^1 (37.4) n = 15
30-45 (38.8) n = 21
175-200 (187.3)
n = 14 163-197 (182.3)
n = 15 159-197 (178.6)
n = 14
164-204 (185.4)
n = 10 162-204 (185.4)
n == 15 173-209 (188.9)
n = 21
Data are shown as ranges, means (in
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Williamson Lakes trout were collected by a field team comprised of California Department of Fish and Game and USDA Forest Service personnel; and are now part of the permanent collection of the California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, California. This study was supported partially by the California Department of Fish and Game as part of Dingell-Johnson project F-28-R, "Trout Genetics", supported by Federal Aid in Fish Restoration funds.
REFERENCES
Behnke, R. |. 1969. Rare and endangered species: The Greenback trout, Salmo clarki stomias Cope. Colo. Coop.
Fish. Unit, Colo. St. Univ., Ft. Collins, Colo. 5 p. (MImeo). 1970. Rare and endangered species report: The native trout of the Colorado-Green River basin, Salmo
clarki pleuriticus. Colo. Coop. Fish. Unit, Colo. St. Univ., Ft. Collins, Colo. 7 p. (Mimeo). 1973. Status report on the Greenback cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki stomias. Colo. Coop. Fish. Unit, Colo.
St. Univ., Ft. Collins, Colo. 11 p. (Mimeo). 1 974. Rare and endangered species report: Salmo clarki pleuriticus, Colorado River cutthroat trout. Colo.
Coop. Fish. Unit, Colo. St. Univ., Ft. Collins, Colo. 6 p. (Mimeo).
1975. The native cutthroat trouts of Wyoming. I. Evaluation of collections from the Green River and
Bear River drainages. Dep. Fish. Wildl. Biol., Colo. St. Univ., Ft. Collins, Colo. 12 p. (Mimeo). Behnke, R. )., and M. Zarn. 1976. Biology and management of threatened and endangered western trouts. USDA
For. Ser., Gen. Tech. Rep., RM-28:1^5. Cope, E. D. 1872. Report on the reptiles and fishes obtained by the naturalists of the expedition. U.S. Ceol. Surv.
Montana and adjacent territories (Hayden's Surv.); part 4, botany and zoology: 467-476. Dieffenbach, W. H. 1966, Taxonomy of the cutthroat trout (Salmo c/ar/t/ Richardson) of the south Platte drainage,
Colorado. Copeia, 1966(3): 414-424. Gold, ). R. 1977. Systematics of western North American trout' (Salmo), with notes on the redband trout of
Sheepheaven Creek, California. Can. ). Zool. 55(11 ):1858-1873. Gold, ). R., and G. A. E. Gall. 1975^. The taxonomic structure of six golden trout ( Salmo aguabonita) populations
from the Sierra Nevada, California. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. vol. XL(10):243-263 (Fourth Series).
COLORADO CUTTHROAT TROUT TAXONOMY 103
19756. Further record of Little Kern golden trout, Salmo aguabonita whitei, in the Little Kern River basin,
California. Calif. Fish Game, 61 (4):248-250. Hubbs, C. L., and K. F, Lagler. 1947. Fishes of the Great Lakes region. Cranbrook Inst. Sci., Bull., 26:186 p. Jordan, D. S. 1891. Report of explorations in Colorado and LJtah during the summer of 1889, with an account of
the fishes found in each of the river basins examined. Bull., U.S. Fish Comm., 9:1-40. Miller, R. R. 1950. Notes on the cutthroat and rainbow trouts with the description of a new species from the Gila
River, New Mexico. Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich. 529:1-42.
1972. Classification of the native trouts of Arizona, with the description of a new sp)ecies, Salmo apache.
Copeia, 1972(3).401^22.
Needham, P. R., and R. Card. 1959. Rainbow trout in Mexico and California, with notes on the cutthroat series.
Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool. 67:1-124. Schreck, C. B., and R.). Behnke. 1971. Trouts of the upfjer Kern River basin, California, with reference to systematics
and evolution of western North American Salmo. Canada, Fish. Res. Bd., J., 28:987-998. Snyder, C. R., and H. A. Tanner. 1960. Cutthroat trout reproduction in the inlets to Trapper's Lake. Colo. Dep.
Game and Fish Tech. Bull. 7:86 p. (Mimeo).
104 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
Calif. Fish and Came 64(2): 104-116. 1978.
AN ANALYSIS OF FISH CATCHES OBTAINED WITH AN OTTER TRAWL IN SANTA MONICA BAY, 1969-73 ^
Rimmon C. Fay, James A. Vallee, and Pat Brophy
Pacific Bio-Marine Laboratories, Inc.
P. O. Box 536
Venice, California 90291
Studies of the benthic biota in Santa Monica Bay from the period of April 1, 1%9, to July 13, 1973, are summarized and reported. Five hundred ninety-six hauls were completed with an 8-m (26-ft) otter trawl. Depths sampled ranged from 5 to 198 m (17 to 653 ft). One hundred and nine species of fishes were identified. A coefficient of community analysis was calculated to compare catches of fishes taken in four different areas of the bay. Three distinctly different assemblages of fishes were defined by this analytical method. This method was employed to compare the catches made in one area in 1971 with catches made in 1972. No significant differ- ences were determined in the species diversity present from one year to the next. A test of the otter trawl as a sampling device was undertaken, it was concluded that under the conditions employed, approximately 100 hauls, timed to include each season, were needed to obtain specimens of about 95% of those catchable species of fishes on an area of soft bottom in Santa Monica Bay.
INTRODUCTION
During 1973, approximately 340 million gallons of sewage per day (mgd) were discharged into Santa Monica Bay, California; 240 mgd by way of a 5-mile effluent outfall line, and 100 mgd by way of a 7-mile sludge outfall line. This is the majority of the domestic and industrial waste of the City of Los Angeles (Southern California Coastal Water Research Project [SCCWRP] 1973). Waste input has increased steadily to the current rate of discharge since 1894 when the first sewage outfall began to discharge into this bay (Tillman and Bargman 1973).
Ulrey and Greeley (1928) provided some data on fish species caught in Santa Monica Bay. In a more recent study, Carlisle (1969) attempted to demonstrate the effects of wastes on the demersal fishes of the bay. He concluded that the spreckled sandab, Citharichthys stigmaeus, was attracted to the sludge outfall and avoided the effluent outfall. In addition, the yellowchin sculpin, Icelinus quadriseriatus, and the California tonguefish, Symphurus atricauda, tended to avoid the effluent outfall. Carlisle also noted a considerable annual variation in the average catch per haul but was unable to relate the catch data to the waste discharge. In an analysis of trawl catches similar to the present study, Day and Pearcy (1968) used indices of similarity to prepare a trellis diagram which revealed that four defined associations of benthic fishes were present on the continental shelf and slope off Oregon. Recently, computer techniques have been used to identify some associations of fishes in southern California coastal waters, and the distributions of these associations in local waters, as indicated by sampling with trawl nets, have been mapped (SCCWRP 1973). Similar com- puter analyses of the demersal fish populations of San Pedro Bay have been made by Stephens, Gardiner, and Terry (1973).
Water quality in Santa Monica Bay is expected to change markedly in the next few years as a result of compliance with the Water Quality Plan for waste waters
' Accepted for publication February 1977.
ANALYSIS OF TRAWL CATCHES
105
adopted by the State of California in 1972 which, in part, proposes to ban the discharge of chlorinated hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and sludge into marine waters (California State Water Resources Control Board 1972). Thus, this may be a suitable time for an attempt to demonstrate the anticipated effects of an improvement in waste treatment on the local bottomfish community. This paper describes the first step in such a study.
A simple, qualitative method, which seemed adequate to detect major differ- ences in fish communities, was used to analyze otter trawl samples from waters within the zone influenced by the waste field in Santa Monica Bay. As the water quality changes, we plan to use this method to monitor quantitative changes in the fish biota of the bay.
This analysis is a by-product of collecting specimens of marine animals for research programs and would not have been possible without the cooperation of the California Department of Fish and Game which permitted us to work in a bay that is closed to commercial trawling.
The data reported are for stations at which this specimen collecting was conducted, and they (stations) were not selected to represent a particular dilution zone with regard to the influence of the waste field. However, our sample stations are within the area around the sewage outfall monitored by the City of Los Angeles ( SCCWRP 1 973 ) , indicating that they are within the dilution zone of the discharge.
METHODS Trawling was conducted from the "PISCES", an 8-m (26-ft) fishing vessel provided with a flasher/ recorder depth meter, omnigator ( VHF-FM radio direc-
FICURE 1. Locations of the four study areas selected for the coefficient of community analyses.
106
CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME
tion finder), and hydrographic winch, which was used to lower and retrieve an 8-m (26-ft) otter trawl. The body of the net had a stretch mesh of 3.8 cm (1.5 inches) with a liner of 1.3-cm (0.5-inch) stretch mesh. The dimensions of the otter trawl boards were 86 x 38 cm ( 34 x 1 5 inches ) . The area of study extended from Dume Submarine Canyon to the Redondo Submarine Canyon (Figure 1 ). Depths sampled ranged from 5 to 198 m (17 to 653 ft). A cable scope of 5:1 (length of cable:depth) was used at depths of 20 m (66 ft) or less and a ratio of 4:1 was used at greater depths. The study period extended from April 1, 1969, to July 1 3, 1 973. The duration of each trawl was 1 5 min measured from the time the net was on the bottom to when the winch was started to pull in the net. The towing speed was one knot. The catch obtained was sorted, fish species present noted, and the catch returned to the water. Any species not recognized was returned to the laboratory for identification, using Miller and Lea (1972) or previously published works.
In addition to this general survey, four specific study areas were selected for a coefficient of community analysis by selecting 15 hauls from each study area (Figure 1, Table 1 ). Areas 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 13 km (7.8 miles), 333°; 3 km (1.8 miles), 358°; V/-^ km (1.5 miles), 338°; and 572 km (3.3 miles), 315° (True), respectively, from the end of the effluent outfall.
TABLE 1. Location, Depths and Sampling Periods of Hauls Selected for Coefficient of Com- munity Analyses.
Area
Location
Coordinates
Depth (m)
Sampling Period
|
1 |
Off Big Rock |
118°36'W 34''02'N |
15-22 m |
|
2 |
Off Venice |
n8°31'W 33''5ri5'N |
37-48 m |
|
3 |
Off Marina Del Rey |
118°32'W 33'56'N |
55-64 m |
|
Off Marina Del Rey |
n8°32'W 33°56'N |
51-59 m |
|
|
4 |
West Side of Santa Monica Submarine Canyon |
118°34'30"W 33''57'30'N |
99-121 m |
May 3, 1970-May 27, 1971 Nov. 23, 1970-)an. 20, 1972 Feb. 25, 1971 -Aug. 17, 1971 Aug. 2, 1972-Nov. 8, 1972 Aug. 6, 1970-Feb. 25, 1971
The coefficient of community analysis is defined as the percentage of species which are common to any two samples, and is calculated according to the following equation:
Coefficient of community = c/a -(- b — C X 1(X)
where "a" is the number of species in the first sample, and "b" is the number of species in the second sample, and "c" is the number of species common to both samples (Johnson and Brinkhurst 1971 ). This analysis does not consider the relative abundance of the species present, thus the presence of one specimen of a less common species is given a status (present) equivalent to that of a species which may be present in abundance. In order to reduce this bias, only those fish which occurred in over one-half the catches in each of the four study areas were included in the coefficient of community analysis. The 15 hauls from each of the four study areas were arranged in order of increasing depth on a trellis diagram, and the coefficient of community calculated for all possible haul pairs (1770 pairs). A coefficient of 50 or more was taken as representative of a high degree of similarity between two hauls. For example, a coefficient of community of 50 results if two catches containing six species each have four
ANALYSIS OF TRAWL CATCHES 107
species in common. This level was appropriate for the present study since sets of data from the same area (where similarity should be high) generally had values over 50, while sets from different areas (where similarity should be low) generally did not. Mean coefficients of community and standard deviations were also determined for each study area and for the comparisons between study areas.
A coefficient of community analysis also was conducted to compare the catches made in Area 3 from February 25 to August 17, 1971, with catches made in the same area more than 1 year later (August 2 to November 8, 1972).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Five hundred and ninety-six hauls were made, resulting in a total of 109 identified species of fishes (Table 2). Unidentified juvenile rockfishes, Sebastes spp., were not included in the analysis. Eighty-seven of the species obtained in the present study also were reported by Carlisle (1969), who recorded a total of 104 species. It is not too surprising that only 87 of the species were common in both studies. The differences between these two studies are accounted for by apparently rare species which were represented by only a few specimens in one survey and were absent in the other. Thus, Carlisle listed 30 species which were represented by five or fewer individuals, and of these, only 17 were obtained in the present study, while 22 species collected by us were not reported by Carlisle (1969). it is of historical interest to note that Ulrey and Greeley (1928) reported taking 27 species of fishes by trawl in Santa Monica Bay. However, the fact that they made far fewer hauls (64) in a narrower depth range of 5 to 92m ( 1 7 to 304 ft) with less restrictive gear than that used by the present study, may well account for the low number of species reported by them.
TABLE 2. Fish Species Trawled in Santa Monica Bay
Scientific name Common name Depth (m)
Agonopsis sterletus ' Southern spearnose poacher 40
Amphistichus argenteus Barred surfperch 9-16
Anisotremus davidsonii Sargo 7-1 1
Anoplopoma fimbria * Sablefish 55-110
Aprodon cortezianus * Bigfin eelpout 51-198
Argentina sialis * Pacific argentine 27-110
Artedius notospilotus ' Bonyhead sculpin 15
Atherinops affinis Topsmelt 27
Brosmophycis marginata * Red brotula 51-79
Caulolatilus princeps Ocean whitefish 20
Cheilotrema saturnum Black croaker 7-11
Chilara taylori * Spotted cusk-eel 11-113
Chitonotus pugetensis * Roughback sculpin 37-49
Citharichthys sordidus * Pacific sanddab 44-188
Citharictithys stigmaeus *. Speckled sanddab 16-108
Citharichthys xanthostigma * Longfin sanddab 22-113
Coryphopterus nicholsii * Blackeye goby 22-84
Cymatogaster aggregata * Shiner surfperch 5-108
Damalichthys vacca * Pile surfperch 7-22
Embiotoca jacl(soni * Black surfperch 7-49
Embiotoca lateralis Striped surfperch 15
Engraulis mordax * Northern anchovy 7-27
Eopsetta jordani * Petrale sole 46-104
108 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
Cenyonemus lineatus ' white croaker 7-92
Clyptocephalus zachirus * Rex sole 68-188
Heterodonlus francisci * Horn shark 7-46
Heterostichus rostralus ' Giant kelpfish 9-20
Hexagrammos decagrammus Kelp greenling 37
Hippoglossina stomata ' Bigmouth sole 13-183
Hydrolagus colliei ' Ratfish 44-198
Hyperprospon argenteum * Walleye surfperch 9-27
Hypsopsetta guttulata ' Diamond turbot 5-20
Hypsurus caryi * Rainbow surfperch 7-22
Icelinus fimbriatus ' Fringed sculpin 33
Icelinus quadriseriatus * Yellowchin sculpin 18-134
Icelinus tenuis *. Spotfin sculpin 7
Icosteus aenigmaticus Ragfish 73-132
Lepidogobius lepidus * Bay goby 22-95
Leptocottus armatus Staghorn sculpin 9-64
Leuroglossus stilbius California smoothtongue 40-115
Lycodopsis pacifica ' Blackbelly eelpout 48
Lyconema barbatum * Bearded eelpout 168
Lyopsetta exilis * Slender sole 90-198
Macrorhamphosus gracilis Slender snipefish 55
Menticirrhus undulatus. California corbina 5-9
Merluccius productus * Pacific hake 82-102
Microstomus pacificus * Dover sole 18-198
Myliobatis californicus Bat ray 7-20
Neoclinus blanchardi * Sarcastic fringehead 40
Neoclinus uninotatus Onespot fringehead 13-55
Ondontopyxis trispinosa * Pygmy poacher 15-73
Otophidium scrippsi * Basketweave cusk-eel 1 1-66
Oxylebius pictus ' Painted greenling 7-11
Oxyjulis californica Senorita 1 1
Paralabrax clathratus * Kelp bass 7-20
Paralabrax nebulifer *. Barred sand bass 7-9
Paralichthys californicus ' California halibut 7-20
Parophrys vetulus * English sole 13-113
Peprilus simillimus * Pacific butterfish 7-40
Phanerodon furcatus * White surfperch 5-70
Platyrhinoidis triseriata * Thornback 7-51
Pleuronichthys coenosus ' C-0 turbot 20-53
Pleuronichthys decurrens * Curlfin turbot 9-84
Pleuronichthys ritteri ' Spotted turbot 9-31
Pleuronichthys verticalis ' Hornyhead turbot 7-95
Porichthys myriaster * Specklefin midshipman 11-37
Porichthys notatus * Plainfin midshipman 18-183
Radulinus asprellus * Slim sculpin 97
Raja kincaidii ' Sandpaper skate 135
Raja stellulata Starry skate 104-115
Ramphocottus richardsoni * Grunt sculpin 55-90
Rathbunella hypoplecta ' Smooth ronquil 92
Rhacochilus toxotes * Rubberlip surfperch 7-22
Rhinobatos productus ' Shovelnose guitarfish 7-22
Scorpeana guttata * Sculpin 11-81
Scorpaenichthys marmoratus * Cabezon 9-20
Sebastes alutus ' Pacific ocean perch 27-82
Sebastes auriculatus ' Brown rockfish 37
Sebastes carnatus Gopher rockfish 7
Sebastes chlorostictus * Greenspotted rockfish 97
Sebastes constellatus ' Starry rockfish 82
Sebastes diploproa * Splitnose rockfish 110
Sebastes elongatus * Greenstriped rockfish 31-198
ANALYSIS OF TRAWL CATCHES
109
Sebastes flavidus Yellowtail rockfish 24-101
Sebastes goodei * Chilipepper 5S-198
Sebastes helvomaculatus Rosethorn rockfish 165
Sebastes levis ' Cowcod 31-135
Sebastes miniatus * Vermillion rockfish 18-101
Sebastes mystinus Blue rockfish 11-55
Sebastes paucispinis * Bocaccio 11-198
Sebastes ruberrimus Yelloweye rockfish 84
Sebastes rubrivinctus * Flag rockfish 49-93
Sebastes saxicola ' Stripetail rockfish 31-92
Sebastes semicinctus * Halfbanded rockfish 20-134
Sebastes serranoides * Olive rockfish 92
Sebastes sp^* Unidentified juvenile rockfish 9-183
Sebastes vexillaris * Whitebelly rockfish 27-93
Seriphus politus ' Queenfish 7-27
Squalus acanthias * Spiny dogfish 7-27
Sygnathus sp.* Pipefish 5-95
Symphurus atricauda * California tongufish 11-183
Synodus lucioceps ' California lizardfish 7-192
Torpedo californica * Pacific electric ray 7-115
Triakis semifasciata Leopard shark 7-11
Xeneretmus latifrons * Blackedge poacher 44-198
Xeneretmus thacanthus * Bluespotted poacher 1S-57
Xystreurys liolepis * Fantail sole 1S-27
Zaiembius rosaceus * Pink surfperch 18-113
Zaniolepis frenata * Shortspine combfish 40-198
Zaniolepis latipinnis * Longspine combfish 18-110
• also taken by Carlisle.
Lists were made of the fish species taken in the 15 coefficient of community hauls selected from each of the four study areas and the frequency of occurrence of each species noted ( Table 3 ) . It was observed that 1 2, 9, 7, and 6 species were present in over one-half the catches in areas 1 , 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Eighteen species were caught over 50% of the time in one or more of the study areas, and of these 18 species, nine were present in all of the study areas in at least one haul. Four species were limited to only one study area. The white surfperch, Phanerodon furcatus, and the black surfperch, Embiotoca jacksoni, were found only in area 1, and the slender sole, Lyopsetta exilis, and the rex sole, Glyp- tocephalus zachirus, were found only in area 4. These differences are undoubt- edly due primarily to differences in the depth and bottom type preferences of the species involved.
|
TABLE |
3. |
Frequency of Occurrence of Fish Species of Community Analysis. |
Taken in the Hauls Used in Coefficient |
|
|
Frequency |
of occurrence (%) |
|||
|
Species |
Area I Area 2 |
Area 3 1971 |
Area 3 1972 Area 4 |
Symphurus atricauda 93.3 100.0 53.3 80.0 6.7
Icelinus quadriseriatus 86.7 100.0 73.3 86.7 6.7
Phanerodon furcatus 80.0
Citharichthys stigmaeus 80.0 100.0 93.3 86.7 46.7
Zaiembius rosaceus 73.3 53.3 46.7 66.6 20.0
Zaniolepis latipinnis 73.3 86.7 66.6 53.3 13.5
Synodus lucioceps 73.3 6.7 6.7 6.7
110 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
Porichthys notatus 66.6 80.0 93.3 80.0 100.0
Embiotoca jacksoni 66.6
Parophrys vetulus 60.0 6.7 86.7 53.3 66.6
Genyonemus lineatus 60.0 1 3.5
Scorpaena guttata 60.0 6.7 6.7 20.0
Hyperprospon argenteum 40.0
Sygnathus sp 40.0 26.7
Paralichthys californicus 33.3
Cymatogaster aggregata 26.7 33.3 53.3
Pleuronichthys ritteri. 20.0 6.7
Otophidium scrippsi 13.5
Hypsurus caryi. 13.5
Microstomus pacificus 6.7 66.6 93.3 86.7 100.0
Hypsopsetta guttalata 6.7
Paralabrax clathratus 6.7
Seriphus politus 6.7
Squalus acanthias 6.7
Porichthys myriaster 6.7 6.7
Damalichthys vacca 6.7 6.7
Xystreurys liolepis 6.7
Heterodontus francisci 6.7
Leptocottus armatus 6.7
Lepidogobius lepidus 6.7
Pleuronichthys decurrens
Sebastes miniatus
Pleuronichthys verticalis
Odontopyxis trispinosus
Zaniolepis frenata
Hippoglossina stomata
Sebastes semicinctus
Torpedo californica
Chilara taylori
Sebastes levis
Citharichthys xanthostigma
Eopsetta jordani.
Sebastes paucispinis
Sebastes goodei
Anoplopoma fimbria
Citharichthys sordidus
Lyopsetta exilis
Clyptocephalus zachirus
Leuroglossus stilbus
Aprodon cortezianus
Argentina sialis
Meduccius productus
Raja stellutata
Sebastes diploproa
Comparisons of the fish catches in the four study areas are shown in a trellis diagram (Figure 2), and in a diagram showing the mean coefficient of commu- nity for each of the four study areas and for the comparisons between study areas ( Figure 3 ) . As expected, most of the catch comparisons made within each area showed a high degree of similarity. That is, most of the coefficients are 50 or more within areas 1 through 4. Areas 1 through 4 have relatively high mean coefficients of 57.0, 69.1, 67.5, and 62.7, respectively. When area 1 is compared with areas 2, 3, and 4, most of the coefficients obtained are less than 50. The mean coefficients for these comparisons are 38.2, 37.5, and 15.3, respectively.
|
60.0 |
6.7 |
13.5 |
|
|
66.6 |
13.5 |
20.0 |
|
|
33.3 |
6.7 |
||
|
33.3 |
46.7 |
||
|
26.7 |
20.0 |
||
|
26.7 |
6.7 |
6.7 |
66.6 |
|
20.0 |
33.3 |
26.7 |
|
|
6.7 |
|||
|
6.7 |
13.5 |
20.0 |
20.0 |
|
40.0 |
26.7 |
20.0 |
|
|
20.0 |
33.3 |
||
|
20.0 |
33.3 |
||
|
6.7 |
|||
|
6.7 |
|||
|
6.7 |
20.0 |
||
|
6.7 |
13.5 |
6.7 |
|
|
6.7 |
53.3 53.3 40.0 40.0 13.5 13.5 13.5 6.7 |
ANALYSIS OF TRAWL CATCHES
111
Thus, the catches from area 1 show a moderate affinity with those from areas 2 and 3, and a very low affinity with those from area 4. Also, most of the coefficients are found to be less than 50 when areas 2 and 3 are compared with area 4. A mean coefficient of 25.2 is obtained when area 2 is compared with area 4, indicating that the catches from these two areas have a low affinity with one another, and the catches from areas 3 and 4 show a moderate degree of affinity as indicated by the mean coefficent of 41.3.
FIGURE 2. Trellis diagram comparing fish catches taken in the four study areas. A Black square represents a coefficient of community of 50 or more, a blank square one of less than 50.
When areas 2 and 3 are compared, most of the coefficients are found to be greater than 50, and a mean coefficient of 51 .9 is obtained from this comparison. Thus, examination of the trellis diagram and the mean coefficients of community indicates that three distinctly different species assemblages are defined in the four study areas. These differences are undoubtedly caused primarily by differ- ences in the bathymetric ranges of the areas studied. Similar differences in fish populations with depth were described by Stephens, et al. (1973).
112
CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
FIGURE 3. Mean coefficients of community for the fish catches of the four study areas, and for the comparisons between the study areas (S.D. — standard deviation).
In addition to comparing the specific composition of catches made in different parts of the bay, the coefficient of community analysis also can be used to compare catches made in the same location but at different times. A trellis diagram was constructed comparing the catches made in Area 3 in 1971 with those made in the same area in 1972 (Figure 4). It can be seen that the catches made in 1972 show somewhat less affinity with one another than do the catches of 1 971 . That is, the coefficients are less than 50 more often in 1 972 than in 1 971 . Nevertheless, the coefficients are greater than 50 for the majority of the sample pairs within each study period, and for the majority of the sample pairs obtained from a comparison of the two study periods indicating that the catches for both periods are similar. This is supported by the observation that the mean coeffi- cients of community are high for each period (67.5 and 57.0) and for the comparison between study periods (57.8) (Figure 5). It is clear that no major changes in the specific composition of fish catches occurred between 1971 and 1972 in Area 3.
ANALYSIS OF TRAWL CATCHES
113
FIGURE 4. Trellis diagram comparing the fish catches taken in Area 3 in 1971 with those taken in the same area in 1972. A black square represents a coefficient of community of 50 or more, a blank square one of less than 50.
It should be pointed out that not all changes in the specific composition of fish catches are detectable by this technique. Thus, the replacement of the species found only in one sample with species which are also unique to a subsequent sample will not alter the coefficient of community obtained when both are compared to a third sample. Reference must then be made to species lists to detect this kind of change.
An attempt was made to determine the adequacy of the otter trawl as a sampling device by comparing the cumulative number of species caught to the number of hauls made in each of the study areas (Figure 6). In Area 1 the frequency with which additional species were being caught decreased markedly after 15 hauls were made, although a few additional species continued to be obtained up to the 50th and last haul made in the area. Forty-eight species of fishes were caught in this area. In Area 2, a similar trend can be seen, although only six additional species were caught subsequent to the first 15 hauls. Forty-
114
CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
AREA 3 '71
AREA 3 '72
FICURE 5. Mean coefficients of community for the fish catches made in Area 3 in 1971 and 1972, and for the comparisons of these two periods (S.D. — standard deviation).
seven species were obtained in the 46 hauls made in the area. One hundred and thirty-six hauls were made in Area 3, where 43 species of fishes were caught. It should be noted that no additional species have been taken to date after haul number 1 06 in this area. Only 1 5 hauls were made in Area 4, resulting in a catch of 25 species of fishes. Although a definite reduction in the rate at which additional species were being caught can be seen in later hauls, it is clear that additional hauls would be needed to obtain a complete sampling of this area. Based on the comparison described above, approximately 100 hauls are needed in any one area in Santa Monica Bay, utilizing the equipment and procedures described in this study, to obtain specimens of about 95% of those species of fishes (including rare species) which may be expected to be caught, provided that sampling is extended to include all seasons.
ANALYSIS OF TRAWL CATCHES
115
Anticipated changes in waste water quality may result in several changes in the ecology of the benthic communities in Santa Monica Bay. Source control of toxins such as DDT and heavy metals, and the gradual leaching of toxins from the local sea floor may result in a gradual change in the sessile biota, while the elimination of suspended solids and sludge solids from waste waters may result in a relatively rapid change in the populations of the more mobile species, e.g., fish. The data presented in the present study may serve as a baseline against which future sampling by this technique may be compared in an attempt to quantify such changes in fish populations.
50i
25
C. NO.
OF SP.
25 NO. OF TRAWLS
AREA 1
50
25 NO. OF TRAWLS
AREA 2
30,
NO. OF TRAWLS AREA 3
5 15
NO. OF TRAWLS
AREA 4
FIGURE 6. Graphs of the cumulative number of species caught versus the number of hauls made in each of the four study areas.
116 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
REFERENCES
California State Water Resources Control Board. 1972. Water quality control plan for ocean waters of California.
California State Water Resources Control Board. Sacramento, Ca., 13 p. Carlisle, ). C, )r. 1%9. Results of a six-year trawl study in an area of heavy waste discharge: Santa Monica Bay,
Ca, Calif. Fish and Game, 55(1): 26-^6. Day, D. S., and W. C. Pearcy. 1968. Species associations of benthic fishes on the continental shelf and slope off
Oregon. Can., Fish Res Bd., )our., 25(12): 2665-2675.
Johnson, M. C, and R. O. Brinkhurst. 1971. AsscKiations and species diversity in benthic marco-invertebrates of the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario. Can., Fish Res. Bd., Jour., 28: 1683-1697.
Miller, D. J., and R. N. Lea. 1972. Guide to the coastal marine fishes of California. Calif. Dept. Fish and Came, Fish Bull., (157): 1-235.
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. 1973. The ecology of the southern California bight: implica- tions for water quality management. So. Calif. Coast. Wat. Res. Proj. El Segundo, California, 521 p.
Stephens, J. S., Jr., D. Gardiner, and C. Terry. 1973. Marine studies of San Pedro Bay. Part II, Biological Investiga- tions, June 1973. The demersal fish populations of San Pedro Bay. In manuscript. Occidental College, Los Angeles.
Tillman, D. C, and R. D. Bargman. 1973. Report on waste discharges to the ocean, Part I. Dept. Pub. Works, City of Los Angeles, 336 p.
Ulrey, A. B., and P O Greeley 1928. A list of the marine fishes (Teleosti) of southern California with their distribution. So. Cal. Acad. Sci., Bull., 27: 1-53.
SILVER SALMON PARASITES 117
Calif. Fish and Came 64(2): 117-120. 1978.
PARASITES OF SILVER (COHO) SALMON AND KING (CHINOOK) SALMON FROM THE PACIFIC OCEAN
OFF OREGON ^
ROBERT E. OLSON
Department of Zoology
Oregon State University
Marine Science Center
Newport, Oregon 97365
During the summer of 1972, 80 silver salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and 15 king salmon (O. tshawytscha) caught in the Pacific Ocean off Newport, Oregon, were examined for parasites. A total of 16 parasite species (11 of marine origin) were found in silver salmon and seven species (six of marine origin) in king salmon. Larval Anisakis sp were found commonly in both host species. These nematodes are of potential public health importance since larva! anisakids have been implicated else- where as human pathogens. Data on the prevalence of Nanophyetus silmincola unA Salvelinema walkeri'in silver salmon indicates that these species have potential value as biological tags.
INTRODUCTION
A survey of the protozoan and nnetazoan parasites of silver (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and king (O. tshawytscha) salmon caught in the Pacific Ocean was conducted during the sunnmer of 1972. Salmon were caught between 1 and 30 km (0.6-19 miles) off Newport, Oregon, before their return to fresh water. The purpose of the investigation was to provide information on the parasite faunas of these species during the oceanic phase of their life cycle, to obtain data on the longevity of parasites of freshwater origin, to explore the possibility that parasites might be used as biological tags to indicate geographical areas of salmonid origin, and to obtain information on the prevalence of parasites that are of potential public health importance.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Salmonids were collected by trolling with commercial salmon gear that was raised and lowered with a hand winch. On shipboard, the fish were measured to the nearest cm (fl), a blood smear made from blood obtained by heart puncture, the viscera removed and both viscera and carcass placed on ice until returned to the laboratory.
After weighing the carcass and viscera the following areas were examined for parasites the day following collection: skin, fins, eyes, musculature, gills, heart, liver, gall bladder, stomach, intestine, mesenteries, swim bladder and kidneys.
Blood smears were fixed in methanol and stained with Giemsa. Myxosporidi- ans were studied in wet mounts before preparing smears fixed in methanol and stained with Giemsa. Whole mounts of trematodes, cestodes, and acanthoceph- alans were prepared after fixation in AFA and staining in Semichon's acetocar- mine. Nematodes were fixed in 70% ethyl alcohol containing 5% glycerine and cleared in lactophenol for study. Copepods were preserved in 70% ethyl al- cohol.
' Accepted for publication June 1977.
118 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The 80 silver salmon examined ranged from 47.0 to 77.5 cm (18.5-30.5 inches) fl and from 1.1 to 6.1 kg (2.4-13.4 lb) in weight and harbored 16 species of parasites (Table 1 ). Based upon length, these fish were all determined to be 3 years old and to have been at sea for 2 years (Robert McQueen, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Pers. commun.). Fifteen king salmon ranged from 41.0 to 87.0 cm (16.2-34.3 inches) fl and from 0.9 to 7.9 kg (2.0-17.4 lb) in weight. King salmon age could not be determined from data on fish length.
No blood parasites were found and myxosporidians were uncommon. Of the 3 species of myxosporidians found in silver salmon, Myxosoma squamalis and Myxidium m/nteri are known to be acquired by hosts in fresh water (Iverson 1954; Sanders and Fryer 1970; Yasutake and Wood 1957). It is probable that spores are released when the salmon die after spawning and that the parasites are capable of living for the life of the host. Henneguya salmonicola has been reported from adult salmonids (Fish 1939) and has apparently not been ob- served in salmonids prior to their entry into salt water; this argues that the infections are of marine origin.
The hemiurid trematodes Brachyphallus crenatus aud Tubulovesicula lindber- gi are acquired by salmon in marine waters where these parasites are found in a wide variety of hosts (Pratt and McCauley 1961; Yamaguti 1971 ). Though the marine trematode Syncoelium katuwo has previously been reported from pink salmon {O. gorbuscha) and sockeye salmon {O. nerka) (Lloyd and Guberlet 1936; Margolis 1963) this is the first report of this parasite in silver salmon. Intestinal trematodes were absent in king salmon and uncommon in silver salmon. Two species were observed: Plagioporus shawl, a parasite acquired in fresh water (Margolis 1970) and therefore with a life span of at least 2 years; and Podocotyle sp, probably of marine origin.
The prevalence of Nanophyetus salmincola metacercariae (as determined by microscopic examination of kidney tissue) was low when compared with that reported by Milleman, Gebhart and Knapp (1964) from salmon collected in the same area. They found N. salmincola in 24 of 43 silver and three of four king salmon. The low prevalence observed in this study (4/80 silver salmon and 2/15 king salmon) could indicate that the bulk of the fish sampled were not from the endemic area for this parasite (southwestern Washington to northern California) or that they were from endemic areas where the parasite was not common. Unfortunately, data on the prevalence of N. salmincola in streams of high silver salmon production, such as the Columbia River system, are not available.
Both silver salmon and king salmon were commonly parasitized by the larval cestodes Phyllobothrium sp. and Bothriocephalus sp, the larval nematodes Anisakis sp. and the adult nematode Thynascaris sp. These parasites are of marine origin and are found in many species of marine fishes. Larval Anisakis sp are of potential public health importance since it has been shown that mem- bers of this group can infect man and cause pathology when improperly pre- pared or uncooked fish containing them is ingested (Asami et. al. 1965; Van Thiel, Kuipers and Roskam 1960).
Salvelinema walkeri , a freshwater nematode that locates in the swim bladder (Margolis 1967) was found in silver salmon, but not king salmon. This parasite occurred more commonly in fish collected in May and June (14/40) than in fish
SILVER SALMON PARASITES
119
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120 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
collected in July and August (3/40). The known geographic distribution of 5. walkeri indicates that British Columbia is the primary source of infected fish although a single record exists from northern California (Margolis 1967). Based upon the preponderance of reports of this parasite from British Columbia and on the low numbers of California silver salmon that are known to occur in the Oregon salmon troll catch (Robert McQueen, pers. commun.), it is likely that fish infected with this nematode were destined for British Columbian streams. In this regard, it is interesting to note that none of the four fish infected with N. salmincola carried 5. walkeri infections.
The acanthocephalan Nipporhynchus trachuri was found in silver salmon. This constitutes a new host record. The only other report of this parasite from the northeastern Pacific is that of Margolis (1963) who found it in sockeye salmon.
Lepeophtheirus salmonis\NaiS the only copepod found. It occurred commonly on both silver salmon and king salmon where it located on the body surface, usually just above the anal fin.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Appreciation is extended to Eugene Burreson and Richard Miller who assisted in the collection and examination of specimens, to Warren Groberg and Guy Tebbit who aided in specimen collection and to Robert McQueen of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife who gave valuable advice. This investigation was supported by Research Grant 04-3-158-4 from the Oregon State University Sea Grant College Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Sea Grant, Dept. of Commerce.
REFERENCES
Asami, K., T. Watanuki, H. Sakai, H. Imano, and R. Okamoto. 1%5. Two cases of stomach granuloma caused by Anisakis-\\\ne larval nematodes in Japan. Am. ). Trop. Med. Hyg., 14:119-123.
Fish, F. F. 1939. Observations on Henneguya salmonicola Ward, a myxos(X)ridian parasite in Pacific salmon. ). Parasit., 25:169-172.
Iverson, E. S. 1954. A new myxosfxjridian, Myxosoma squamalls, parasite of salmonid fishes. ). Parasit., 40: . 397^»04.
Lloyd, L. C. and ). E. Cuberlet. 1936. Syncoelium filiferum (Sars) from the Pacific salmon. Iran. Am. Micro. See., 55:44-48.
Margolis, L. 1%3. Parasites as indicators of the geographical origin of sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum) occurring in the North Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas. Int. North Pac. Fish. Comm., Bull., (11):101-156.
1%7. The swimbladder nematodes (Cystidicolinae) of Pacific salmons (genus Oncorhynchus) . Can. J.
Zool., 45:1183-1199.
.1970. The trematode Plagloporus shawi {Mc\n\.os\\, 1939) n. comb. (Opercoelidae: Plagioporinae) from
the North Pacific sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka. An. Inst. Biol. Univ. Nal. Auton. Mexico 41, Ser.
Zoologia, Num. Unico: 99-108. Milleman, R E., G. E. Gebhardt, and S E. Knapp. 1964. "Salmon poisoning" disease. 1. Infection in a dog from
marine salmonids. ). Parasit., 50:588-589. Pratt, I and ). E McCauley 1%1 Trematodes of the Pacific Northwest an annotated catalog. Oregon State
Monogr., Studies Zool., (11), 118 p.
Sanders, J. E. and ). L. Fryer. 1970. Occurrence of the myxosfKiridan parasite Myxidium minteri'm salmonid fish. ). ProtozooL, 17:354-357.
Van Thiel, P. H., F. C. Kuipers and R. Th. Roskam. 1960. A nematode parasitic to herring causing acute abdominal
syndromes in man. Trop. Ceogr. Med., 2:97-113. Yamaguti, S. 1971. Synopsis of digenetic trematodes of vertebrates. Vol. 1. Keigaku Publishing Co. Tokyo. Yasutake, W. T. and E. M. Wood. 1957. Some myxosporidia found in Pacific Northwest salmonids. J. Parasit.,
43:633-642.
NOTES 121
Calif. Fish and Came 64(2): 121-132 1978.
NOTES
Comparison of Floy Internal Anchor
and Disk Dangler Tags on Largemouth Bass
{Micropterus salmoides) at Merle Collins Reservoir
As part of an evaluation of mortality and survival rates of largemouth bass before and after a 305-mm ( 1 2.0-inch ) size limit went into effect at Merle Collins Reservoir, Yuba County, we initiated a tagging study of bass greater than legal length. This study compared the Floy internal anchor tag \ described by Thorson (1967) and Dell (1968), and the disk dangler tag.
Stobo ( 1 972 ) showed that the Floy tag Model FD-67 was suitable for field use on yellow perch [Perca flavescens). Results of the senior author's work with FD-67 on several salmonids were excellent (Rawstron 1973). However, subse- quent use of this tag on rainbow trout {Salmo gairdnerf) resulted in an 85% separation of the tubing from the nylon "T" bar. This experience was shared by Wilbur and Duchrow (1973) in their work with largemouth bass. They reported losses of up to 78% for FD-67 and 53% for FD-67C, a similar tag, from fish held in small hatchery ponds. The FD-68B, a stronger Floy tag, was the most satisfac- tory internal anchor tag tested by these workers. Largemouth bass retained 88% of the tags after 97 days in a 0.28 ha (0.70 acre) pond.
The main difference between these internal anchor tags is the amount of surface available for gluing between the nylon shaft and the vinyl tubing. In the FD-67 and FD-67C tags only about 0.3 to 0.6 cm (0.13 to 0.25 inch) of nylon contacts the vinyl irrespective of tube length, whereas in the FD-68B the nylon shaft is inserted about 3.8 to 5.1 cm (1.5-2.0 inches). In addition, the distal end of the vinyl tube has a nylon monofilament insert which contacts the nylon shaft. This bonding of similar materials further strengthens the FD-68B and overcomes the inherent weakness at the base of the other models. Therefore, because of the speed with which it can be applied and its commercial availability, we chose this tag to compare with a tag proven to be effective, the disk dangler. The latter has been widely and successfully used on a variety of fish species in California, including striped bass {Morone saxatilis) (Chadwick 1963); channel catfish {Ictalurus punctatus) (McCammon and La Faunce 1961); white catfish (/. caust) and brown bullheads (/. nebulosus) (McCammon and Seeley 1961 ); bluegill {Lepomis macrochirus) (Rawstron 1967); largemouth bass (Rawstron 1967; Rawstron and Hashagen 1972).
All bass were caught by electrofishing during April 1974, held in live cages, tagged, and released along the sections of shoreline from which they were captured. Totals of 239 and 145 fish were tagged with disk dangler and FD-68B internal anchor tags, respectively. All tags advertised a $5 reward, and were attached below the dorsal fin, approximately a third to a half the distance from the base of the longest spine to the lateral line. Chadwick (1963) described the application technique for the disk dangler tag. Rawstron ( 1 973 ) enlarged on the application technique for the internal anchor tag on salmonids provided by Thorson (1967) and Dell (1968).
' Tags and specifications obtainable from: Floy Tag and Manufacturing, Inc., 2909 Northeast Blakeley Street, Seattle, Washington 98105.
122 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
Anglers returned a total of 180 (75.3%) disk dangler and 91 (62.8%) internal anchor tags through March 1977 (Table 1). Proportional first year tag returns amounted to 0.60 and 0.56, respectively. However, proportionally fewer internal anchor tags were returned during the second and third years. Assuming bass retained all disk dangler tags and that these tags did not induce mortality, the percentage of internal anchor to disk dangler tags returned was 93% for the first year and 83% for the 3 years covered by this study. Survival rates calculated from disk dangler and internal anchor tag returns were 0.21 and 0.1 1 , respective-
ly.
TABLE 1. Number of Tags Returned by Month
Yearl Year 2 Year 3
1974-75 1975-76 1976-77
Disk Internal Disk Internal Disk Internal Month dangler anchor dangler anchor dangler anchor
April 29 13 5 3 0 0
May 69 43 14 3 3 0
)une 21 16 5 3 1 0
July 15 3 2 0 1 1
August 10 10 0 0
September 0 0 2 0 0 0
October 4 3 0 0 1 0
November 1 10 0 0 0
December 2 10 0 0 0
January 1 0 0 0 0 0
February 0 0 0 0 0 0
March 1110 0 0
TOTAL 144 81 30 9 6 1
We do not recommend that the internal anchor tag be used on largemouth bass when precise estimates of survival and natural mortality rates as defined by Ricker (1958) are required; the disk dangler should be used. However, our findings demonstrate that the internal anchor tag can be a useful tool. Rawstron ( 1 967 ) and Rawstron and Hashagen ( 1 972 ) showed that in California, the major component of mean annual exploitation rate for largemouth bass was generated from first year disk dangler tag returns. Since the two tag types showed no significant difference in first year returns, we conclude that the more rapidly applied internal anchor tag can be used in short-term ( < 1 year) studies of largemouth bass, and can yield a sufficiently accurate estimate of mean annual exploitation rate. This tag would prove particularly useful when large numbers of black bass must be tagged in a short time such as at bass tournaments. It could also be rapidly applied for identification of individual hatchery fish, or for verifi- cation of exploitation rates determined in earlier studies.
REFERENCES
Chadwick, Harold K. 1963. An evaluation of five tag types used in a striped bass mortality rate and migration
study. Calif. Fish Came, 49 (2): 64-83. Dell, Michael B. 1968. A new fish tag and rapid, cartridge-fed applicator. Am. Fish. Soc., Trans., 97(1):57-59. McCammon, George W., and Don A. LaFaunce. 1%1. Mortality rates and movement in the channel catfish
population of the Sacramento Valley. Calif. Fish Came, 47(1 ):5-26. McCammon, George W., and Charles M. Seeley. 1961. Survival, mortality, and movements of white catfish and
brown bullheads in Clear Lake, California. Calif. Fish Came, 47(3);237-255.
NOTES 123
Rawstron, Robert R. 1967. Harvest, mortality, and movement of selected warmwater fishes in Folsom Lake, California. Calif. Fish Came, 53 ( 1 ) :40-^*8.
1973. Comparisons of disk dangler, trailer, and internal anchor tags on three species of salmonids. Calif.
Fish Came, 59(4):266-280.
Rawstron, Robert R., and Kenneth A. Hashagen, Jr. 1972. Mortality and survival rates of tagged largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides) at Merle Collins Reservoir. Calif. Fish Came, 58(3):221-230.
Ricker, W. E. 1958. Handbook of computations for biological statistics of fish p)opulations. Can. Fish Res. Bd., Bull., (119): 300 p.
Stobo, Wayne T. 1972. The effects of dart tags on yellow perch. Am. Fish. Sec., Trans., 101 (2):365-366.
Thorson, Kenneth N. 1967. A new high-speed tagging device. Calif. Fish Came, 53(4):289-292.
Wilbur, Robert L., and Richard M. Duchrow. 1973. Differential retention of five Floy tags on largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) in hatchery ponds. Proc. 26th Ann. Conf. S.E. Assoc. Came Fish Comm. Oct. 22-25, 1972:407-413.
— Robert R. Rawstron and Ronald J. Pel z man, California Department of Fish and Game, 987 Jedsmith Dr., Sacramento, California 95819. Accepted July 1977. This study was performed as part of Dingell-Johnson Project California F- 18-R "Experimental Reservoir Management", supported by Federal Aid to Fish Restoration funds.
SUCCESSFUL REPRODUCTION OF GIANT PACIFIC OYSTERS IN HUMBOLDT BAY AND TOMALES BAY, CALIFORNIA
On May 11, 1974, a naturally set giant Pacific oyster, Crossostrea gigas (Thun- berg 1795), was discovered in Humboldt Bay. It was found attached to the center pilings of the Humboldt Bay bridge across the Samoa channel. Four additional naturally set oysters were located on other pilings later in the month. On July 18, 1974, investigation of a small rock pile near Mad River channel yielded another naturally set giant Pacific oyster.
All the oysters attached to the Humboldt Bay bridge belong to the 1973 year class (Ronald Warner, pers. commun.). Measurements range from 37 x 32 mm (1.5 X 1.3 inches) to 68 x 60 mm (2.7 x 2.4 inches). The specimen discovered near the Mad River channel is from an earlier year class. The measurements for this oyster are 104 x 62 mm (4.1 x 2.4 inches) and the valves are thicker than those collected from the bridge. The oysters on the bridge were attached ap- proximately at the —0.1 ft tide mark. Heavy concentrations of bay mussels, Mytius edulis (Linnaeus 1758), surrounded the oysters. The oyster on the rock pile was attached approximately at the — 1 .0 ft tide mark. It was located in heavy concentrations of native oysters, Ostrea lurida (Carpenter 1864).
The above specimens are not the first naturally set oysters to be collected in Humboldt Bay. F. "Doug" Douglas of Coast Oyster Company in Eureka has found naturally set oysters in Humboldt Bay as early as 1962 (F. Douglas, pers. commun.). His first discovery was made at Bird Island; the oyster had set on a bay mussel shell. The oyster valve measured 64 mm (2.5 inches) in length. The oyster was located at the -|-1.0-ft tide mark on the dike around Bird Island.
A second specimen was found by Douglas in January 1969. The oyster was attached to a discarded giant Pacific oyster shell. The valve of the natural set measured 102 mm (4 inches) in length and was estimated to be 18 to 20 months old (F. Douglas, pers. commun.). Exact collection location is not known.
124 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
On May 24, 1974, it was confirmed that naturally set giant Pacific oysters are in Tomales Bay. Several giant Pacific oysters were collected along the aban- doned railroad bed near Tomales Bay Oyster Company. The oysters were at- tached to rocks in water ranging from the 0.0 ft tide mark to the —1.5 ft tide mark. The oysters were large, ranging in size from 128 x80 mm (5.0x 3.1 inches) to 162 X 105 mm (6.4 x 4.1 inches) with well thickened valves making age determination difficult. Their age was estimated to be approximately 10 years (W. Dashlstrom, pers. commun.). The oysters were located by Brian Sanford.
There also have been reports of naturally set giant Pacific oysters north of Tomales Bay Oyster Company, near Tony's Seafood Restaurant. The oysters were removed either by theft or were added to the bottom culture by an employee (F. Konatich, pers. commun.). The oysters were attached to cement pilings and nearby rocks at the 0.0 ft to —1.5 ft tide mark. The naturally set oysters at Tony's Seafood were smaller than those from Tomales Bay Oyster Company (F. Konatich, pers. commun.).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to convey my appreciation to Walter Dahlstrom and Ronald Warner, Associate Marine Biologists with the California Department of Fish and Game, for the time they freely gave: W. Dahlstrom for organizing the field trip to Tomales Bay and making identification of the oysters collected there; R. Warner for identification of the oysters from Humboldt Bay.
My special appreciation goes to F. Douglas of Coast Oyster Company, F. Konatich of Tony's Seafood, and Gordan and Ruth Sanford of Tomales Bay Oyster Company for the information they contributed.
John A. Span, 1523 Williams St., Eureka, Calif. 95501 Accepted January 1976
STATUS OF THE OREGON RUFFED GROUSE IN NORTHWESTERN
CALIFORNIA
Grinnell and Miller (1944) delineated the range of the resident Oregon ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus sabini) in California to the "extreme northern humid coast strip, in Del Norte, Siskiyou and Humboldt Counties." They had records "east in Siskiyou County to Horse Creek near Klamath River and Salmon River district and south and east in Humboldt County to Redwood Creek at 800 feet in 1942, ... to Van Duzen River, 6 miles east of Carlotta and to 4 miles northeast of Bridgeville . . ."
Since 1954, I have recorded observations on ruffed grouse throughout its range in northwestern California. The locations are indicated by dots accom- panied by the year of the observations ( Figure 1 ) . The counties involved are Del Norte, Siskiyou, Humboldt and Trinity. My records extend the known breeding range of the ruffed grouse to southern Humboldt County, about 35 miles farther south than indicated over 30 years ago by Grinnell and Miller (1943).
I am indebted to Humboldt State University students, colleagues, field biolo- gists of the U.S. Forest Service and California Department of Fish and Game and personnel of the State and National Park Services for many of the sight records.
Apparently the status of this species has remained as an uncommon breeder throughout its range in California for a period of over 30 years (see Figure 1 ). Grinnell and Miller (1943) refer to it as "formerly fairly common locally, but apparently never, in California portion of general range, abundant . . ."
NOTES
125
54
SCALE IN MILES
Figure 1 . Dots indicate locations of observed ruffed grouse in northwest California since 1954 and the numbers near the dots indicate the year of the observation. Major rivers from north to south are the Smith, Klamath, Redwood Creek, Mad and Eel. The Trinity River flows into the Klamath River about 48 km (30 miles) from the coast and drains most of Trinity County. The Van Duzen River is the first major stream to run into the Eel River from the east.
126
CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
The cutting of the virgin stands of redwood {Sequoia sempervirens) and Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii) from the 1850's to the present (Vaux 1953) with the great increase of cutting of inland stands of Douglas-fir starting after World War II (Figure 2) did not cause a noticeable increase in ruffed grouse populations as it did with deer, porcupines (Yocom 1971 ) and fisher (Yocom and McCollum 1973). Cutting of forests in the lake states starts a succession of plant growth favorable to increases in ruffed grouse populations (Gullion, pers. commun.). After logging, aspens and numerous shrubs provide food and cover for ruffed grouse for as long as 40 years after the actual logging.
In our Pacific Coastal region (Yocom and Dasmann 1965), (Franklin and Dyrness 1969), the succession after logging on the coast often involves red alder {AInus rubra) , and inland several species of Ceanothus, Salix, and several other species, none of which are in the genus Populus. The lack of Populus species occurring in succession may account for the failure of ruffed grouse to increase in numbers after logging in our mountainous coastal area of northwestern Cali- fornia. Apparently AInus is a poor substitute for Populus diS an outstanding food supply for ruffed grouse.
|
l/IILLION BD.FT. |
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2500 +1 |
\ 1 1 |
||||||||||
|
1900 |
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ALL SPECIES ESTIMATED TREND REDWOOD |
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|
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|
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NOTES 127
REFERENCES
Franklin, Jerry F. and C. T, Dyrness. 1969. Vegetation of Oregon and Washington. U.S.D.A. Pacific Northwest
Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland, Oregon. 216 p. Crinnell, Joseph and Alden H. Miller. 1944. The distribution of the birds of California. Pacific Coastal Avifauna
No. 27. Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley, California. 608 p. Vaux, Henry ). 1955. Timber in Humboldt County. California Experiment Station Bulletin 748. 55 p. Yocom, Charles F. 1971 . Invasion of Humboldt and Del Norte counties of northwestern California by porcupines.
Murrelet 52(1):1-6. Yocum, Charles and Ray Dasmann. 1965. The Pacific coastal wildlife region. Revised edit. Naturegraph Co.,
Healdsburg, California. 120 p. Yocom, Charles F. and Michael T. McCollum^ 1973. Status of the fisher in northern California, Oregon and
Washington. California Fish Game, 59(4):30S-309.
Charles F. Yocom, Department of Wildlife Management, Humboldt State Uni- versity, Areata, California. Accepted November 1977.
HARBOR SEALS IN AND ADJACENT TO HUMBOLDT BAY,
CALIFORNIA
INTRODUCTION
Five species of pinnipeds occur along the northern California coast, Eume- topias jubata, Zaiophus californianus, Callorhinus ursinus (migrating fen ales), Mirounga angustirostris, and Phoca vitulina (Orr 1972). This paper summarizes data from a census of the harbor seal, P. vitulina, population along a 61 .6-km (38-mile) section of northern California during 1973.
The study area extended from the Eel River north to Patrick's Point State Park (Figure 1 ). The entrance to Humboldt Bay is 15.9 km (9.5 miles) north of the Eel River and is located at Lat. 40°45' N, Long. 124°10' W.
Harbor seals in the Humboldt Bay area haul-out on exposed shoreline and in protected bays. Within the study area, three primary hauling-out areas existed, the mouth of the Eel River, south Humboldt Bay, and the area between Patrick's Point and Trinidad (Figure 1 ). The major hauling-out area for the entire study was south Humboldt Bay.
South Humboldt Bay is a large shallow area 6.4 km (3.8 miles) long and 3.2 km (1.9 miles) wide. At low tide most of the area is exposed mudflats drained by two main channels; Hookton Channel on the east and Southport Channel on the west ( Figure 1 ) . At mean higher high tide the water surface area is 11.1 km^ (6.9 miles^) and at mean lower low tide the area is 4.0 km^ (2.5 Miles^) (Skeesick 1963). The remainder of the study area was exposed open coastline. The area including Patrick's Point and Trinidad is rocky jagged coast and the area to the south, including the coast near the Eel River, is sandy and relatively straight.
METHODS I collected data by direct observation with the naked eye or with optical aids during ebb tidei. A tripod-mounted Bausch & Lomb 20-45X zoom spotting scope was used frequently. Observations on the Patrick's Point population were facili- tated by utilizing rocks and logs on the beach which allowed me to approach to within 10 m (33 ft) of the seals that were hauled-out on the nearby rocks. Observations on the Humboldt Bay population were from hills bordering South
128
CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
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NOTES
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130 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME
Bay or from selected vantage points around the entire bay. Maximum viewing distance did not exceed 1.5 km (0.9 miles). The Eel River population was observed from the north bank of the river mouth. Observation time varied from 20 min to 15 hr, usually depending upon the amount of time and light available. I censused the study area at least three times per month then computed the arithmetic mean of these counts to determine the number of seals observed for each month.
RESULTS
The total number of harbor seals within the study area varied monthly (Table 1 ). The numbers increased from a mean of 62 in January to a mean of 593 in July, then steadily decreased again to a mean of 85 in December.
Fluctuations in the number of seals observed in South Humboldt Bay were great (Table 1 ). Actual counts for this area range from 404 (July 24, 1973) to a low of six (December 16, 1973). The means ranged from a minimum of 20 during December to a high of 314 in July. May, June, and July had the highest means of 257, 234, and 314, respectively. The means increased from 44 in January and then decreased, except for a nominal increase in September, to a low of 20 in December. July was also the month with the highest mean number of seals in the Trinidad and Patrick's Point areas. The highest total count oc- curred on July 19, 1973, when the total number of P. vitulina peaked at 640 with a large percentage occurring at the Eel River (190 animals = 30%) and the remainder primarily in south Bay.
Phoca vitulina on either of the channels in south Bay was variable (Table 2). Hookton Channel was utilized by more seals for hauling-out than was Southport. Also apparent was the continual usage of Hookton Channel during the period of weaning (through July) when the maximum usage of the channel occurred. Hookton Channel was rarely used during the winter months and then by only a few animals. Southport Channel was used consistently throughout the year, but never to the extent of Hookton Channel. P. vitulina hauled-out at specific areas of each channel. The extreme southern end of Hookton Channel was used most extensively by the seals and the most southern one-third of Southport Channel was used most frequently. There were no obvious physicial limitations restricting the seals from hauling-out at the upper ends of the channel; however, there may have been other factors such as commercial and sportboat traffic at these upper regions that forced the seals to haul-out further south where they were less apt to be disturbed.
Observations of P. vitulina in the Eel River were restricted to the river mouth. The seals hauled-out onto sand on the inland side of the south spit at the river mouth or onto sandbars exposed at ebb tides to the southwest of Cock Robin Island (0.5 km upriver). The mean number of seals in the area varied from six in March to 261 in June. Ohhe number of seals that constituted the large increase in numbers from May ( X =20) to June ( X =261 ), 40 of them were newly weaned pups. The first weaned pup arrived on May 3, 1973. Pup numbers diminished through September at which time it became too difficult to separate weaners from small juveniles.
Harbor seals hauled-out onto offshore rocks in the Patrick's Point area where a group of approximately 70 animals occurred 0.5 km south of Patrick's Point. In the Trinidad area a group of about 35 animals occurred directly offshore from
NOTES
131
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Number of harbor seal pups observed in South Humboldt Bay, California, on the dates given for 1973. Solid line equals Hookton channel; broken line equals Southport chan- nel.
the Humboldt State University Marine Laboratory. This group could be found in the more protected areas south of Trinidad harbor when inclement weather restricted their hauling-out onto the more exposed rocks. A similar situation was described by Bishop (1968) where P. vitulina in the Gulf of Alaska were forced from their hauling areas by heavy seas. Scattered groups of from one to eight harbor seals sometimes were seen on rocks located between these two points. The number of P. vitulina at these two sites was variable with a maximum peak in July and a minimum in the fall and winter months (Table 1).
Pupping locations for the study area were primarily in south Bay. Pups oc- curred at Patrick's Point and at Trinidad, and although parturition was not observed, I assumed that births occurred at these locations. There were four
132 CALIFORNIA FISH AND CAME
pups at Trinidad and five at Patrick's Point; these areas were not considered important pupping grounds for harbor seals within the study area.
Pupping in south Bay began on March 23, 1973, and continued through late May with the most intense parturition occurring in April. The number of ob- served pups increased appreciably during April (maximum count of 87 on April 11 , 1973), remained somewhat constant through most of May, and began de- creasing in late May (Figure 2).
Both Hookton and Southport Channels were utilized for pupping, with Hook- ton channel used significantly more than Southport (p less than .01; t = 3.453; df=44). The physical characteristics of these two channels are essentially the same (Cast and Skeesick 1964). Both consist of the same soil type, incline, exposure to winds, etc. Thus, any reason why a preference for Hookton Channel should occur was not apparent.
DISCUSSION
The number of harbor seals in the Humboldt Bay region appears to be increas- ing. Carlisle and Aplin (1966) censused the California pinnipeds on June 1-3, 1965, and found only six harbor seals in Humboldt Bay. Rosenthal (1968) recorded a maximum count of 294 harbor seals and 10 pups in May, 1966, and 308 plus 1 2 pups in May, 1 967. I recorded a maximum of 31 1 adults plus 83 pups in May, 1973 (this is not the maximum count for the study period). The increase in numbers appears to have been an increase in the number of pups which indicates an increase in the usage of south Humboldt Bay as a pupping ground for harbor seals.
REFERENCES
Bishop, Richard H. 1968. Reproduction, age determination, and behavior of the harbor seal, Phoca vitulina, in
the Gulf of Alaska. M.S. thesis, Univ. of Alaska, College, Alaska. 121 p. Carlisle, John C, )r., and). A, Aplin. 1966. Sea lion census for 1965 includingcountsof other California pinnipeds.
Calif. Fish Came, 52 (2): 119-120. Cast, James A., and D. C. Skeesick. 1964. The circulation, water quality, and sedimentation of Humboldt Bay,
California. Spec. Rep. #2, Atomic Energy Comm. Res. Contract # AT(04-3)-395. Orr, Robert T. 1972. Marine Mammals of California. Calif. Nat. Hist. Guides: 29. Univ. Calif. Press, Berkeley, Calif.
64 p.
Rosenthal, Richard |. 1968. Harbor seal censuses in Humboldt Bay during 1966 and 1967. Calif. Fish Game, 54
(4): 304-305. Skeesick, Delbert G. 1963. A study of some physical-chemical characteristics of Humboldt Bay. M.S. thesis,
Humboldt State Coll., Areata, Calif. 148 p.
— Thomas R. Lough I in, Department of Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024. Present address: Marine Mammals and Endangered Species Div. NMFS, Washington, D.C. 20235. Accepted July 1977.
REVIEWS 133
REVIEWS
Fish Remains in Archaeology and Paleo-environmental Studies
By Richard W. Casteel; Academic Press Inc., New York, 1976; 180 p., illustrated. $14.75.
In the first paragraph of the introduction, the author informs the reader that "the present work is not intended to be a 'cookbook' for the archaeologist or paleontologist," rather it is "presented as an introduction to some of the literature on fish remains as it pertains to archaeology and paleontology." Toward this end, he certainly has succeeded. In fact, so many unculled references are used to document concepts, methods, and techniques that one commences to wonder if he is getting a "snow job." On the other hand, it is extremely gratifying to see the 65 Russian references that Casteel has included. It is unfortunate, however, that he did not see fit to translate these titles, and the Russian author's names, into English.
In addition to the introduction and a chapter on making a comparative osteological collection of fish, there are chapters entitled "Otoliths" (20 p), "Scales" (34 p), "Vertebrae" (20 p), "Compari- son of methods for estimating fish size from bones" (31 p), and "Some applications" (18 p). References (24 p) and author and subject indexes complete the book. Although emphasis through- out is upon freshwater fish remains, there is no good excuse for overlooking the potential usefulness of piscine dentition in unraveling primitive food habits and life styles.
As a fishery biologist familiar with a fish's physical attributes, I believe that any archaeologist who can arrive at minimal fish numbers in a subfossil or fossil assemblage based upon recovered scales and vertebrae is missing his calling. By rights, that person should call himself a miracle worker. Regardless of my pessimistic opinion, Casteel's philosophy deserves consideration, namely, "it seems far better to exploit these potentials, keeping in mind the limitations involved, than to simply ignore this type of material when it is present in an assemblage."
Unfortunately unless or until archaeologists commence to employ fine screens in their investiga- tions, such concepts, methods and techniques as offered by Casteel will never be needed, and archaeology can retain its reputation as being one of the most backward fields of science in the world today. — John E. Fitch
The Caddis and the Angler.
By Larry Solomon and Eric Leiser. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA, 1977; 224 p., illustrated. $13.95.
It's almost to the point now where you can't go fly fishing unless you have a degree in entomology. The Caddis and the /In^/e/- provides the angler with sufficient information on the caddis life history, identification, emergences, and the tying and fishing of imitations to continue doing what most of us have been doing for years — catching fish with caddis imitations.
I found the book to be nicely done but of relatively little value to me; perhaps the brand new angler would find it useful. The detailed life history information and scientific names really aren't necessary to catch fish and the book doesn't provide sufficient information to key out collected specimens. Emergence data for a particular genus are of limited value when given for an entire section of the country (East, for example); local information is much more valuable. As usual "the West" stops at Montana/ Idaho, except for two pages from an Oregon correspondent. The excellent photographs and detailed tying instructions are the book's one strong point, in my opinion. Patterns are given for all life stages except the egg. Most of the patterns are nothing particularly new in tying techniques but they do appear to be good fishable patterns for the most part. All-in-all a good effort but it won't be an instant classic. — K. A. Hashagen, jr.
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