Combining limnological and palaeolimnological approaches in assessing degradation of Lake Pskov |
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Authors: | Mihkel Kangur Külli Kangur Reet Laugaste Jaan-Mati Punning Tõnu Möls |
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Institution: | (1) Institute of Oceanography, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal;(2) Department of Biology, University of évora, 7002-554 Evora, Portugal |
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Abstract: | Historical spawning grounds for sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus L.) in most Portuguese river basins are becoming inaccessible due to the construction of impassable dams and/or weirs. Studies
like the one described in this paper are particularly important in areas like the Vouga river basin, where there is a considerable
fishing effort from both professional fishermen and poachers. In fact, for management and conservation purposes, it is important
to clarify several aspects of the sea lamprey spawning run in this particular watershed. Therefore, a total of 30 radio tagged,
migrating sea lampreys were released in the River Vouga and some of its main tributaries during 2004 and 2005. Results from
the tracking sessions were used to determine the effect of poaching on the spawners’ population and the characteristics of
the resting sites used during the upstream movement. The rivers’ stretches were also characterized according to the type of
substrate present in the riverbed and flow type, in order to determine its aptitude to constitute appropriate spawning habitats
for sea lampreys. We have identified in the upstream stretches of River Vouga, and in the tributary River Caima, characteristics
that are particularly suitable for the construction of nests by the spawners. Presence of larvae provided evidence that spawners
migrated into the River Vouga’s upper reaches. However, abundance and age class diversity appeared to be higher downstream
of Sernada and Carvoeiro weirs, corroborating the telemetry data which suggested difficulty in passing these obstacles during
low precipitation years. In the River Caima, migration was most predictable, which might be related to daily water releases
from a small hydropower dam at dusk, that stimulated the lampreys to resume migration. Poaching has had a considerable negative
effect on the success of the tagged lampreys’ migration: 76% of the animals released during 2005 were captured.
Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available for this article at and accessible for authorized user |
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Keywords: | Petromyzon marinus Radio telemetry Resting sites Spawning migration Poaching |
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