A Look At A Living Fossil
Last week was a busy one with Mike being away for most of it. That put me in charge of the farm. Even though this is the slow time of year for most chores and no cows decided to calve while the boss was away, I was scheduled every day with several board meetings, firewood delivery, my writing class, trying to complete some of the REALOregon homework assignments, and fighting the muck turned ooze as the rain kept coming down. A couple of the days had me in an early morning meeting in one town, a scoot home to catch up the morning chores, time to make a few bundles before evening chores and another meeting or presentation in the evening.
A dual-use presentation and meeting that I was determined to attend was held in Vernonia at the Library. There was a presentation by ODFW (Oregon Department of Fish And Wildlife) followed by a Board Meeting of the UNWC (Upper Nehalem Watershed Council). Since the Board had wanted to hear more about the jawless fish that inhabits our waterways, the two tasks were combined and it was a very informative evening.
Pacific Lamprey was the focus of the presentation since we as a group are interested in the water of our area and the natural inhabitants that depend on our rivers and streams. The lamprey are a list as a Sensitive Species but not yet on the endangered list. There is a lot to learn about the resiliency of this ancient fish.
From the Fish and Wildlife Website:
Pacific lamprey are one of the 40 members of the lamprey family still found on earth. The lamprey family is one of the oldest of all the vertebrates and is the only living representative of this ancient line. Lamprey have been on earth between 400 and 450 million years (compared to 200 million for sturgeon, 6 million years for salmon, and a minuscule 100,000 years for humans). They appeared during the same era as insects and seed-bearing plants.
These relics of the past have figured out a way through evolution to outlast the dinosaurs and millions of other forms of life and do this in remarkable ways. First off they are a fish although they have no scales, no bones, or paired fins as most fish do. Cartilage is what holds their body structure together. The are born without eyes but grow some partway through their life cycle.
The Pacific Lamprey are found in the Pacific Rim from Japan to Russia to Baja to Alaska. Females can carry 300,000 eggs and like the salmon, once they spawn their life cycle ends. The eggs hatch in tributaries like our Nehalem and smaller creeks of the area and begin no larger than an eyelash. For the next ten years of their life, they will be buried up to their mouth in the fine sandy gravel of the stream and filter feed inorganic matter that floats by. After ten years they transform to the juvenile stage, turn silver in color and grow eyes so they can begin their trek to the ocean. They attach themselves to rocks with their sucking motion and release once and a while to let the current move them downstream before finding another solid rock. It is during this time they also grow the teeth they use to attach to a host for food and for mobility once they get into the salt water. They stay feeding and touring in the ocean for one to five years before finding their way back to fresh water to begin the cycle again. Once they come into the fresh water stream they stop eating for a year or two before they spawn.
They are great travelers. Lamprey tagged in Russia have been found in Oregon recently. One may wonder how a snake-looking fish without paired fins could get all that distance and the answer was found by sampling the DNA found in the lamprey. The lamprey parasitize ocean-going travelers and feed off them as they navigate the seas. Fishermen notice scars on cod, flounder, salmon, whales and many other species that have been host for the lamprey as they cruise the ocean. The attachment of the lamprey does not hurt the host but does leave a cute little smiley-face scar that is very unique. The lamprey only attach long enough to feed, then drop off the host to rest while digesting their meal only to find a new host out of the bounty of the sea. They can do this process for years. Getting back into stream is a much harder process since they need to use their mouth to hold firm to keep from slipping back downstream with the flow. Passage hampered by humans in the form of dams and such are their primary threat to return for spawning.
We have a lot to learn about the lamprey. Their evolution has given them a terrific immune system and they are resistant to disease, they are able to withstand various water temperatures, and different balances of acidity and salinity. The lamprey may well outlast us humans as we struggle with the nature of nature.
Thank you so much for supporting our stories. We appreciate every reader we have and love it when you spread the word about SchmidlinAngusFarms, fill out the FOLLOW information so you get each story right to your email each day and/or leave comments about the stories. I would also like to take a moment to thank those who click on the icon to do shopping with the affiliate, your clicks give me credit for directing people to their site (clicking on the affiliate icon does not make you purchase, only gets you the their site) and sometimes I get a small commission from your purchases if you do shop, without a cost to you! As always, Prime and special codes work with the icon and you do not have to purchase any item that I promote. Please consider using my link when you do your cyber shopping. Thank you for your support