Lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis and Lampetra planeri) ammocoete habitat associations at regional, catchment and microhabitat scales in Northern Ireland

Habitat characteristics associated with lamprey ammocoetes (Lampetra spp.) were investigated at three different spatial scales: regional (Northern Ireland), catchment (Ballinderry River) and microhabitat. At the regional scale, ammocoetes were more abundant in rivers with a pH greater-than-or-equal8...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology of freshwater fish 2008-12, Vol.17 (4), p.542-553
Main Authors: Goodwin, C.E, Dick, J.T.A, Rogowski, D.L, Elwood, R.W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
barriers
depth
Freshwater
habitat associations
Lampetra
Lampetra fluviatilis
Lampetra planeri
lamprey
migration
Petromyzontidae
scale
sediment
sediments
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Summary:Habitat characteristics associated with lamprey ammocoetes (Lampetra spp.) were investigated at three different spatial scales: regional (Northern Ireland), catchment (Ballinderry River) and microhabitat. At the regional scale, ammocoetes were more abundant in rivers with a pH greater-than-or-equal8.2, while within a catchment, abundance was negatively related to the number of potential lamprey barriers and distance upstream. At the microhabitat scale, at sites where ammocoetes were present, ammocoetes were more abundant where median phi greater-than-or-equal1.94 (very coarse sand), where sediment depth greater-than-or-equal11.5 cm, and where kurtosis was >1.71. This study provides information on habitat associations of lamprey in the UK which may be of use in their conservation, in particular it highlights the negative association of migration barriers with lamprey abundance.
ISSN:0906-6691
1600-0633
DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0633.2008.00305.x