Arctic grayling
Encyclopedia
Arctic grayling is a species
of freshwater
fish
in the salmon
family
(family Salmonidae
) of order
Salmoniformes. It comprises five subspecies
native to the Nearctic
and Palearctic
ecozone
s. T. a. arcticus is widespread throughout the Arctic
and Pacific
drainages in Canada
, Alaska
, and Siberia
, as well as the upper Missouri River
drainage in Montana
. The other subspecies have narrower ranges. T. a. baicalensis is restricted to the Lake Baikal
drainage in Russia
. T. a. grubii is found only in the Amur basin in east Asia
. They were also stocked at Toppings Lake by the Grand Tetons.
Several life history forms of Arctic grayling occur: fluvial
populations that live and spawn in rivers; lacustrine
populations that live and spawn in lakes; and potamodromous
populations that live in lakes and spawn in tributary streams.
The upper Missouri River basin population once merited a high priority for Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS). This unique southernmost population is now extirpated from all areas of the basin with the exception of the Big Hole River watershed. In preparation for an ESA listing, the US FWS began implementing a "Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances" (CCAA). This agreement would protect cooperating landowners from being prosecuted under the ESA "takings" clause so long as they fulfil specific obligations, spelled out in a contractual arrangement and intended to restore the dwindling population. The CCAA , however, is now in doubt. On 25 April 2007, the FWS removed Big Hole River grayling from ESA candidacy based on arguments that (1) the rarer fluvial populations should not have been "lumped together" with the more common lake-dwelling populations and (2) the Montana grayling populations are insignificant and their loss would be inconsequential given the presence of thriving populations in Alaska.
On 8 September 2010 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a revised 12 month finding on the petition to list the upper Missouri River Distinct Population Segment (Missouri River DPS) of Arctic grayling \ as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Actfinding that listing was warranted but precluded in the current fiscal year by higher priority listings. The Service has added the species to the candidate species list and will work on developing a proposed rule for listing as priorities allow.
T. a. arcticus grows to a maximum recorded length of 76 cm (30 inches) and a maximum recorded weight of 3.8 kg
(8.4 pound
s); the other subspecies range in maximum length from 30 to 44 cm (12 to 17 inches), with maximum weights of about 1 to 1.3 kg (2 to 3 pounds). Of typical thymalline appearance, the Arctic grayling is distinguished from the similar grayling
(T. thymallus) by the absence of dorsal
and anal spines and by the presence of a larger number of soft rays in these fins. There is a dark midlateral band between the pectoral and pelvic fins, and the flanks may possess a pink iridescence
. Some subspecies exhibit distinctive coloration. T. a. baicalensis is darker in colour with two wide vertical bars of lighter shade along its body. T. a. arcticus has been recorded as reaching an age of 18 years.
The Arctic grayling occurs primarily in cold waters of mid-sized to large rivers and lakes, returning to rocky streams to breed, although T. a. baicalensis remains in shallow waters for its entire life. The various subspecies are omnivorous. Crustacean
s, insect
s and insect larva
e, and fish eggs form the most important food items. Larger specimens of T. a. arcticus become piscivorous
and may even take small aquatic mammal
s, such as lemming
s. The immature fish feed on zooplankton
and insect larvae.
Spawning takes place in the spring. Adult fish seek shallow areas of rivers with fine, sand substrate and moderate current. Males are territorial and court females by flashing their colourful dorsal fins; the fins are also used to brace receptive females during the vibratory release of milt
and roe
. The fish are nonguarders: the eggs are left to mix with the substrate. Although the Arctic grayling does not excavate a nest, the highly energetic courtship and mating tends to kick up fine material which covers the zygote
s. The zygote is small (approximately 3 mm in diameter) and the embryo will hatch after two to three weeks. The newly-hatched embryo remains in the substrate until all the yolk has been absorbed. They emerge at a length of around 12 to 18 mm (0.5 to 0.7 inches), at which time they form shoals at the river margins. The juveniles grow quickly during their first two years of life.
As is the grayling
(T. thymallus), the Arctic grayling is economically important, being raised commercially for food
and fished for sport.
The species is sensitive to pollution and, although it has been extirpated from portions of its range, it remains widespread elsewhere and hence is not listed on the IUCN Red List
of threatened species.
Obsolete synonyms for T. a. arcticus include T. montanus, T. signifer, and T. tricolor. The species is also known as the Alaska grayling.
T. yaluensis
is sometimes also listed as a subspecies of T. arcticus but it may be identical to T. a. grubii.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
in the salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
(family Salmonidae
Salmonidae
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish, the only living family currently placed in the order Salmoniformes. It includes salmon, trout, chars, freshwater whitefishes and graylings...
) of order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
Salmoniformes. It comprises five subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
native to the Nearctic
Nearctic
The Nearctic is one of the eight terrestrial ecozones dividing the Earth's land surface.The Nearctic ecozone covers most of North America, including Greenland and the highlands of Mexico...
and Palearctic
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth's surface.Physically, the Palearctic is the largest ecozone...
ecozone
Ecozone
An ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of the Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms.Ecozones delineate large areas of the Earth's surface within which organisms have been evolving in relative isolation over long periods of time, separated from...
s. T. a. arcticus is widespread throughout the Arctic
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
and Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
drainages in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, as well as the upper Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
drainage in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. The other subspecies have narrower ranges. T. a. baicalensis is restricted to the Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
drainage in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. T. a. grubii is found only in the Amur basin in east Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. They were also stocked at Toppings Lake by the Grand Tetons.
Several life history forms of Arctic grayling occur: fluvial
Fluvial
Fluvial is used in geography and Earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them...
populations that live and spawn in rivers; lacustrine
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
populations that live and spawn in lakes; and potamodromous
Fish migration
Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousands of kilometres...
populations that live in lakes and spawn in tributary streams.
The upper Missouri River basin population once merited a high priority for Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS). This unique southernmost population is now extirpated from all areas of the basin with the exception of the Big Hole River watershed. In preparation for an ESA listing, the US FWS began implementing a "Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances" (CCAA). This agreement would protect cooperating landowners from being prosecuted under the ESA "takings" clause so long as they fulfil specific obligations, spelled out in a contractual arrangement and intended to restore the dwindling population. The CCAA , however, is now in doubt. On 25 April 2007, the FWS removed Big Hole River grayling from ESA candidacy based on arguments that (1) the rarer fluvial populations should not have been "lumped together" with the more common lake-dwelling populations and (2) the Montana grayling populations are insignificant and their loss would be inconsequential given the presence of thriving populations in Alaska.
On 8 September 2010 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a revised 12 month finding on the petition to list the upper Missouri River Distinct Population Segment (Missouri River DPS) of Arctic grayling \ as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Actfinding that listing was warranted but precluded in the current fiscal year by higher priority listings. The Service has added the species to the candidate species list and will work on developing a proposed rule for listing as priorities allow.
T. a. arcticus grows to a maximum recorded length of 76 cm (30 inches) and a maximum recorded weight of 3.8 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
(8.4 pound
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
s); the other subspecies range in maximum length from 30 to 44 cm (12 to 17 inches), with maximum weights of about 1 to 1.3 kg (2 to 3 pounds). Of typical thymalline appearance, the Arctic grayling is distinguished from the similar grayling
Grayling (species)
The grayling is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is the type species of its genus. Native to the Palearctic ecozone, the grayling is widespread throughout northern Europe, from the United Kingdom and France to the Ural Mountains in Russia...
(T. thymallus) by the absence of dorsal
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
and anal spines and by the presence of a larger number of soft rays in these fins. There is a dark midlateral band between the pectoral and pelvic fins, and the flanks may possess a pink iridescence
Iridescence
Iridescence is generally known as the property of certain surfaces which appear to change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes...
. Some subspecies exhibit distinctive coloration. T. a. baicalensis is darker in colour with two wide vertical bars of lighter shade along its body. T. a. arcticus has been recorded as reaching an age of 18 years.
The Arctic grayling occurs primarily in cold waters of mid-sized to large rivers and lakes, returning to rocky streams to breed, although T. a. baicalensis remains in shallow waters for its entire life. The various subspecies are omnivorous. Crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and insect larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e, and fish eggs form the most important food items. Larger specimens of T. a. arcticus become piscivorous
Piscivore
A piscivore is a carnivorous animal which eats primarily fish. Piscivory was the diet of early tetrapods , insectivory came next, then in time reptiles added herbivory....
and may even take small aquatic mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s, such as lemming
Lemming
Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. They are subniveal animals, and together with voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae , which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far, the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats,...
s. The immature fish feed on zooplankton
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...
and insect larvae.
Spawning takes place in the spring. Adult fish seek shallow areas of rivers with fine, sand substrate and moderate current. Males are territorial and court females by flashing their colourful dorsal fins; the fins are also used to brace receptive females during the vibratory release of milt
Milt
Milt is the seminal fluid of fish, mollusks, and certain other water-dwelling animals who reproduce by spraying this fluid, which contains the sperm, onto roe .-Milt as food:...
and roe
Roe
Roe or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp, scallop and sea urchins...
. The fish are nonguarders: the eggs are left to mix with the substrate. Although the Arctic grayling does not excavate a nest, the highly energetic courtship and mating tends to kick up fine material which covers the zygote
Zygote
A zygote , or zygocyte, is the initial cell formed when two gamete cells are joined by means of sexual reproduction. In multicellular organisms, it is the earliest developmental stage of the embryo...
s. The zygote is small (approximately 3 mm in diameter) and the embryo will hatch after two to three weeks. The newly-hatched embryo remains in the substrate until all the yolk has been absorbed. They emerge at a length of around 12 to 18 mm (0.5 to 0.7 inches), at which time they form shoals at the river margins. The juveniles grow quickly during their first two years of life.
As is the grayling
Grayling (species)
The grayling is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It is the type species of its genus. Native to the Palearctic ecozone, the grayling is widespread throughout northern Europe, from the United Kingdom and France to the Ural Mountains in Russia...
(T. thymallus), the Arctic grayling is economically important, being raised commercially for food
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
and fished for sport.
The species is sensitive to pollution and, although it has been extirpated from portions of its range, it remains widespread elsewhere and hence is not listed on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of threatened species.
Obsolete synonyms for T. a. arcticus include T. montanus, T. signifer, and T. tricolor. The species is also known as the Alaska grayling.
Subspecies
- Thymallus arcticus arcticus (Pallas, 1776) – Arctic grayling
- T. a. baicalensis (Dybowski, 1874) – Baikal black grayling
- T. a. grubii Dybowski, 1869 – Amur grayling
- T. a. mertensii Valenciennes, 1848
- T. a. pallasi Valenciennes, 1848 – East Siberian grayling
T. yaluensis
Thymallus yaluensis
Thymallus yaluensis is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. The species has been reported in Korea, Siberia, the Alps in Europe, and the northern Mississippi River drainage in North America.T...
is sometimes also listed as a subspecies of T. arcticus but it may be identical to T. a. grubii.
External links
- EcoRover blog about Big Hole River grayling
- Pat Munday's rating of Big Hole Watershed Committee effectivness in Big Hole River grayling restoration
- Length and age at maturity of Arctic grayling in the Snake River during 2003 / by Alfred L. DeCicco and Andrew D. Gryska. Hosted by Alaska State Publications Program.
- Summer abundance of Arctic grayling in the Chena River, 2005 by Klaus G Wuttig; Steven M Stroka; Alaska. Division of Sport Fish.; Alaska. Division of Commercial Fisheries. Hosted by Alaska State Publications Program.