Project title: Physiological Performance of Northern Pike (Esox lucius): implications for barrier design in invaded systems
Personnel Taylor Cubbage (M.S. Student) Funding source(s): U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Project description: The spread of invasive species has caused drastic ecological and economic consequences on a global scale, with an important example being the expansion of Northern Pike (Esox lucius) throughout Southcentral Alaska. Illegal introductions and subsequent establishment of pike in the region threaten the survival of native salmonids, along with the fisheries and ecosystems they support. Although current management methods in Alaska (e.g., rotenone and gillnetting) are effective for isolated waterbodies, alternatives are needed in the greater Cook Inlet region where reinvasion risk following eradication is high owing to abundant and highly interconnected lentic habitats. A proposed method to prevent pike in this region is barrier construction; to confidently design and implement such barriers that block pike but allow native fish passage, it is essential to first quantify the maximum swimming and leaping capabilities of pike. The specific objectives of this project are to determine, across a range of water temperatures and pike size classes, 1) waterfall height and plunge pool depth combinations of vertical drop structures that prevent ascent, using an adjustable waterfall apparatus, and 2) water velocities that require pike to swim anaerobically, using swim tunnels and open-channel flumes. All experimental trials will be conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Bozeman Fish Technology Center, and pike will be collected from Fort Peck Reservoir in Montana. The trials will provide estimates of maximum swimming and leaping capabilities of pike in optimum conditions, which will then be used to inform barrier designs to test in the field. An emerging hypothesis in invasive species ecology is that phenotypic plasticity allows certain individuals within a population to be more successful invaders than others. Recent research indicates that pike populations in Alaska possess morphological and trophic plasticity that may facilitate the success of individuals in new habitats, such as variations in size and diet composition. Size distributions between native and invasive pike populations in Alaska will be compared to determine size classes of pike to be used in experimental trials in Montana, and ultimately target potential invasive traits and drive the barrier designs that will be tested in Southcentral Alaska. To further elucidate the mechanisms by which pike may successfully invade new systems, the metabolic capacities of native and invasive pike in Alaska will be compared using muscle fiber typing and/or enzyme assays. As a eurytopic species and opportunistic predator with considerable angler rapport, pike are a potential threat to native fish communities in arctic and temperate latitudes worldwide. While current removal techniques work well in isolated systems, the innate physiological differences between salmonids and pike make species-selective barriers potentially a viable option. By considering intraspecific mechanisms that may facilitate invasion, and incorporating the species’ unique physiological limitations into management tactics, we can better target pike throughout their global invasive range while reducing impacts on native species. Co-Investigators: Collaborators: |
Outreach:
Products: Oral and poster presentations: Cubbage, T., Falke, J., Bradley, P., Albert, M., Dunker, K., and P. Westley. 2021.Physiological drivers of invasion success in Alaskan Northern Pike (Esox lucius). Mat-Su Salmon Science & Conservation Symposium [virtual], 17 November, 2021. Cubbage, T., Falke, J., Bradley, P., Albert, M., Dunker, K., Kappenman, K., and P. Westley. 2021. Preliminary Results of Pike Leaping Ability. Montana State University Ecohydraulics Guest Speaker Program, 15 September, 2021. Cubbage, T., Falke, J., Kappenman, K., Bradley, P., M. Albert, and K. Dunker. 2021. Physiological performance of Northern Pike (Esox lucius): implications for management in invaded systems. Alaska Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Virtual Meeting, 22-25 March, 2021. Cubbage, T., Falke, J., Kappenman, K., Bradley, P., M. Albert, and K. Dunker. 2020. Physiological performance of Northern Pike (Esox lucius): implications for barrier design in invaded systems. Mat-Su Salmon Science & Conservation Symposium, Virtual Meeting, 19 November, 2020. Cubbage, T., Falke, J., Kappenman, K., Bradley, P., and M. Albert. 2020. Physiological performance of Northern Pike (Esox lucius): implications for barrier design in invaded systems. Alaska Chapter American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, Fairbanks, Alaska, 24-26 March, 2020. |