Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
A more detailed overview of the Morrison Creek Lamprey and other lamprey species of Morrison
Creek can be found in this document written by Heather McDermott for the Morrison Creek
Streamkeepers.
The following is modified from a document written August 6, 1999 by Lesley Ann Chapman.
Introduction:
Note: There are three reported lamprey species found in the Morrison Creek Watershed; Pacific
lamprey (Lampetra tridentata), the Western brook lamprey (L.richardsoni) and the Morrison Creek
Lamprey (L.richardsoni variety marifuga).
The Morrison Creek Lamprey (Lampetra richardsoni var. marifuga) is a rare form of the widely
distributed Western Brook Lamprey. This particular species lives exclusively in Morrison Creek - a
tributary to the Puntledge River in Courtenay BC on Vancouver Island - it is found nowhere else in the
world! Due to its extremely limited distribution and potential impacts resulting from ongoing
development in the Morrison Creek Watershed, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in
Canada (COSEWIC) has recently upgraded the conservation status for the MC Lamprey to
"endangered". Species listed under this designation are defined as a species facing imminent extirpation
or extinction. As far as we know, the Morrison Creek Lamprey have co-existed with salmon in the
Morrison Creek Watershed since the end of the last ice age.
Life-Cycle:
Lampreys are a very successful group of aquatic vertebrates that are found in most temperate rivers and
coastal seas. They have been in existence for over 300 million years. They spawn only once, depositing
their eggs in gravel in the streambed. After the eggs hatch, the young quickly burrow into soft
sediments on the channel bottom where they spend about 5 to 7 years living as filter feeding larvae
called ammocetes before metamorphosing into free-swimming juveniles.
Illustration by Heather McDermott
All lamprey species have one of three different adult life history types: i) anadromous and parasitic; ii)
non-anadromous and parasitic; and iii) non-anadromous and non-parasitic. However, the most unique
and interesting characteristic of the MC Lamprey is that it produces two different life history types
from a single population. That is, as the MC Lampreys mature to spawn, some of the metamorphosing
juvenile lampreys become non-parasitic forms (no pronounced teeth), while others become parasitic
(have teeth). Both forms of the MCL are non-anadromous.
Spawning Behaviour
Sketch shows the unusual mating behavior of lampreys. (From Hardisty & Potter) You can clearly see a
pair of spawning lamprey in the first of several Video Clips. Some biologists maintain that this unusual
mating method prevents interbreeding between lampreys of different sizes.
Report Lamprey Sightings in the Watershed:
Anyone that encounters the parasitic form of the MC Lamprey (silver with teeth) (if they are seeing
teeth, they are already too close!) please report the date and location of the sighting to either the
Morrison Creek Streamkeepers at (250) 338-1867, or to Dr. R.J. Beamish, Senior Scientist, Pacific
Biological Station, Nanaimo, BC Phone (250) 756-7029. It is also asked that any lampreys found in
Morrison Creek, including the parasitic form, be left alone and unharmed.
For more academic information about the Morrison Creek Lamprey (L. richardsonii var. marifuga),
please email Dr. Richard Beamish or phone him at (250) 756-7029 or read the document written by
Heather McDermott available at the top of this page.