HABITAT IMPROVEMENT. Fishery Division PROJECT. =ww=miria PORTLAND, OREGON OREGON STATE GAME COMMISSION P. 0.

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1 HABITAT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT Fishery Division toson Slak SAME COMMISSION =ww=miria OREGON STATE GAME COMMISSION P. 0. BOX 3503 PORTLAND, OREGON Opossum Shrimp Collection Number 23

2 STATE OF OREGON OREGON STATE GAME COMMISSION FISHERY DIVISION C. J. Campbell, Chief of Operations OPOSSUM SHRIMP COLLECTION FEDERAL AID TO FISH RESTORATION PROJECT PROJECT F-76-D-3 By Wendell H. Stout and Ralph L. Swan District Aquatic Biologists Opossum Shrimp Collections, 1967 Number 23

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4 OPOSSUM SHRIMP COLLECTION ABSTRACT Opossum shrimp, Mysis relicta Loven, were collected at Upper Waterton Lake, Alberta, Canada in the summer of 1967, terminating a three-year project. Approximately 1,090,000 Mysis were transplanted into Big Cultus, Crescent, Detroit, Fourmile, Ice, Miller, Odell, Olive, Timothy, Waldo, and Wallowa Lakes in an attempt to enhance the quantity of fish food organisms in these Oregon waters. INTRODUCTION The introduction of the opossum shrimp, relicta Loven, (shown in Figure 1) into Oregon lakes was continued in 1967 for the third successive year, marking the termination of the project. Records of the earlier importations are reported by Sayre and Stout (1965), and Stout and Grenfell (1966). Additional details of the life history, collecting and transportation methods, and trawling sites are presented in these two earlier reports. Approximately 1,090,000 opossum shrimp were collected at Upper Waterton Lake, Alberta, Canada (shown in Figure listributed to Big Cultus, Crescent, Detroit, Fourmile, Ice, Miller, Odell, Olive, Timothy, Waldo, and Wallowa Lakes. All of the lakes are the oligotrophic type with the exception of Detroit, Olive, and Timothy which are reservoirs. Experimental introduction of Mysis into such waters is important because of the large number of deep hydroelectric reservoirs existing and planned in the Pacific Northwest. Grimas (1961) has shown the detrimental influence of impoundment upon the bottom fauna of northern Swedish lakes. While the Northwest reservoirs are not enlargements of existing lakes, water conditions are similar and additional

5 Figure 1. The Opossum Shrimp, Mysis relicta Figure 2. Upper Waterton Lake, Alberta, Canada 2

6 food organisms are needed for better fish production. Furst, in a personal communication to the authors (1967), reported the successful introduction of Mysis relicta in impounded Lakes Blasjon and Torron (Furst 1965)0 METHODS Collection Trawling operations to collect the Mysis shrimp in 1967 commenced on August 4 and were completed on August 24. The bottom trawling was generally confined to the northern end of Upper Waterton Lake and included Emerald Bay adjoining the Waterton Park townsite. As experienced in two previous years, large concentrations of the shrimp were found at depths ranging from 75 to 150 feet. The gear utilized to capture the shrimp was the same as that used in 1966 (Stout and Grenfell, 1966), and is shown in Figure 3. The Mysis were held aboard the boat in insulated cans into which oxygen was delivered at a slow, constant rate through aquarium air stones. Prior to shipment, the shrimp were stored in standard hatchery troughs well supplied with cool, running water and protected from direct light. Transportation All of the Mysis destined for Oregon lakes in 1967 were shipped by air. The shrimp, in measured quantities, were loaded into 5-gallon plastic containers (cubitainers)l, charged with oxygen, and sealed. The average number of Mysis per cubitainer was 26,500, with the minimum and maximum loads 10,000 and 31,500, respectively. Figure 4 illustrates the loading operation. The containers were Manufactured by Hedwin Corporation, Baltimore, Maryland 3

7 Figure 3. Boat and bottom trawl net used in the 1967 collections.figure 4. Loading Mysis into cubitainers for shipment. 4

8 then packed in ice and hauled by pickup truck to the airstrip at Babb, Montana- - a distance of approximately 40 miles from Waterton Lakes. At Babb, the containers were loaded into a chartered Piper Comanchee aircraft, iced, and covered for the flight to Oregon. Upon arrival in Oregon, the containers of Mysis were distributed by vehicle to their destined lakes. Counting The number of opossum shrimp collected and transported to Oregon was determined by volumetric displacement. Figure 5 depicts the measurement operation. It required an average of 2,550 Mysis to displace one fluid ounce of water. Figure 5. Measuring opossum shrimp by volumetric displacement

9 Distribution In 1967, eleven lakes in Oregon were planted with Nysis, six of which were initial introductions. The five remaining lakes had been stocked previously in 1965 and 1966 except for Crescent Lake which was stocked initially in Each cubitainer was filled with approximately 4 gallons of 40 F. water. Oxygen was metered into each container before sealing to bring the oxygen content to supersaturation, after which the container was sealed. The first shipment of opossum shrimp to Oregon was made on August 12. Fourteen cubitainers were loaded with an average number of 22,500 shrimp per container and loaded into the aircraft. The containers were marked for delivery to Oregon as follows8 Wallowa Lake, 130,000; Waldo Lake, 163,000; Olive Lake, 20,000; and Ice Lake, 20,000. The first deliveries were made approximately four hours after loading at Waterton Lake, and the final release was made at Waldo Lake seven hours after leaving Waterton Lake. The cubitainers received no additional oxygen beyond the original charge. The shrimp arrived at their destinations in good condition with the exception of one container which had lost its oxygen charge due to imperfect sealing of the cap. The second aerial shipment of 417,000 Mysis was made on August 20. The shrimp were loaded into the cubitainers at an average quantity of 27,600 per container. The individual lake distribution was as follows Waldo Lake, 50,000; Crescent Lake, 101,000; Timothy Lake, 61,000; Big Cultus Lake, 101,000; and Detroit Reservoir, 104,000. The maximum time enroute was again seven hours when the final release was made at Detroit Reservoir. The only mortality observed was approximately one percent of the Detroit Reservoir group. Dissolved oxygen quantities in the cubitainers at delivery ranged from 5 to 9 mg. per liter. 6

10 The third and final transfer of 389,000 shrimp was made on August 26. The listed lakes received introductions of Mysis as follows Wallowa Lake, 31,000; Odell Lake, 126,000; Miller Lake, 157,000; and Fourmile Lake, 75,000. The cubitainers received an average load of 31,400 Mysis each. The final releases were made approximately six hours after loading out at Waterton Lake and no mor= talities were observed. A tabulation of all opossum shrimp introductions into Oregon lakes is presented in Table 1. DISCUSSION Comparative water quality data from the denoz! and recipient lakes are delineated in Table 2. Data from Spring Creek, the water supply for the old Waterton Park Fish Hatchery, was included as the opossum shrimp were held in the water for several days prior to aerial transportation. The ability of the shrimp to adapt to this change in water quality is significant. Records of successful introductions of nyila relicta to new habitats are presently few (Sparrow, et al, 1964). However, new records of successful transplantations appear in the recently published literature (Schumacher, 1966) and other reports (Furst, personal communication, 1967). Considerable activity in transplanting Mysis and other crustacea is being carried out in Russia (Furst, 1965). On February 27, 1968, an adult Mysis relicta was recovered with a bottom trawl from a depth of 100 feet in Wallowa Lake. This reveals the survival of the opossum shrimp for at least a 6-month period. Further searches the Oregon lakes are planned for 1968 and ensuing years. 7

11 Table 1 Numbers of Mysia relicts, Released in Oregon Lakes Year Lake Total Big Cultus , , ,000 Timothy 20,000 98, ,000 Waldo 119, , , ,000 Wallowa 150, , , ,000 Crescent 100, , ,000 Detroit 100, ,000 Fourmile 75,000 75,000 Ice 20,000 20,000 Odell 125, ,000 Olive 20,000 20,000 Miller 160, ,000 TOTALS 295, ,000 1,090,000 2, P

12 Table 2 Comparative Water Quality Data of Nysis Lakes Lake ph Color_ Turbidity Total Solids mei Alkalinity mg/1 Hardness mg/1 SO 4 mg/1 NH 3 -N mg/1 NO 3 -N mg/1 P 4 mg/1 Cl mg/1 Conductivity Big Cultus Crescent , X0.1 < ,0 Detroit , Fourmile '0.01 ' Ice , ) Miller = <) Odell Olive , Timothy Waldo , Wallowa , Waterton , Spring Creek/ < Mysis were held in Spring Creek water prior to air shipment to Oregon.

13 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The cooperation and courtesy extended by the Canadian Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, National and Historic Parks Branch, is gratefully acknowledged. Individual thanks are directed to Mr. J. R. B. Coleman, Director of the National and Historic Parks Branch; Mr. W. J. Lunney9 Superintendent of Waterton Lakes National Park; Mr. Ken Goble, Superintendent of the Waterton Park Fish Hatchery; and the Waterton Lakes National Park Warden Service. REFERENCES Furst, Magnus Experiments on the Transplantation of Mysis relicts Loven into Swedish Lakes. Rept. Inst. Freshw. res. Drottningholm 46s Grimas, U The Bottom Fauna of Natural and Impounded Lakes in Northern Sweden (Ankarvattnet and Blasjon). Rept. Inst. Freshw. Res. Drottningholm 42; Sayre, R. C., and W. H. Stout Opossum Shrimp Collection. Oregon State Game Comm. Fish Hab. imp. Pro. No. 16. Schumacher, Robt. E Successful Introduction of M sis relicta Loven into a Minnesota Lake. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 95 2)g 216. Sparrow, R. A. H., P. A. Larkin, and R. A. Rutherglen Successful Introduction of M sis relicta into Kootenay Lake, B. C. Journ. Fish. Res. Brd. Can ; Stout, W. H. and R. A. Grenfell Opossum Shrimp Collection. Oregon State Game Comm. Fish Hab. Imp. Pro.,No