DESCRIPTION, COMPARISON, AND PREDICTION OF PACIFIC LAMPREY (ENTOSPHENUS TRIDENTATUS) AND WESTERN BROOK LAMPREY (LAMPETRA AYRESII) HABITAT IN THE SOUTHERN OREGON COASTAL RANGE
Date
2024
Authors
Jung, Parker
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Lampreys are jawless fish that represent one of the most ancient extant lineages on the planet, evolving into their current form over 340 million years ago. Ten of the approximate forty extant lamprey species are native to Oregon, making the state’s freshwater ecosystems of special interest for lamprey conservation. Lamprey conservation is of great interest due to their significance not only in their ecological niche, but in Pacific Northwest indigenous culture. Five of Oregon’s lamprey species, including the Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) and the western brook lamprey (Lampetra ayresii), are listed by the state as sensitive species. The Pacific lamprey and western brook lamprey exhibit significant habitat overlap in Southern Oregon coastal streams despite major differences in their size and life histories. This study aimed to characterize and compare these species’ habitats using presence/absence data produced by an eDNA sampling effort conducted by South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (SSNERR). Environmental variables considered in this assessment include elevation, slope, aspect, hillshade, stream density, forest type, canopy cover, and cost distance. Most variables were significant above a 70% confidence interval, indicating that they may be found to be significant on a 95% confidence level in studies that work with data differently and remediate the caveats associated with this analysis. Variables that were found to be significant above a 95% confidence level for at least one species include elevation, stream density, and cost distance. Random forest classifiers used to predict suitable habitat for each species had an accuracy score of 60% for the Pacific lamprey and 83% for the western brook lamprey, indicating the greater specificity of western brook lamprey habitat. Regardless of caveats that resulted from the nature of the data and method of analysis, the findings and predictions produced by this project should be useful as a supplementary tool to temporally variable conditions in predicting the presence of these species. Understanding where these species are likely to be present will further their conservation by informing planning for restoration and construction projects and therefore decreasing the likelihood of suitable habitat degradation.
Description
55 pages
Keywords
Biology, Hydrology, Fish, GIS, Marine