Otolith comparison of Alosa pseudoharengus (Wilson) and Alosa aestivalis (Mitchill)

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 1216-1218
Author(s):  
Wm. Stephen Price
Keyword(s):  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Blueback Herring ◽  
Alosa Aestivalis

Differences in the morphology of the otoliths of Alosa pseudoharengus (alewife) and Alosa aestivalis (blueback herring) have been found to be reliable criteria in distinguishing the two species.

scholarly journals Genetics and Hatchery Management: A Parentage-based Tagging Approach to Blueback Herring Conservation

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather K. Evans ◽  
Kara B. Carlson ◽  
Russ Wisser ◽  
Morgan E. Raley ◽  
Katy M. Potoka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Accurate Method ◽  
Parentage Analysis ◽  
F1 Hybrids ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Blueback Herring ◽  
River Herring ◽  
Alosa Aestivalis ◽  
Additional Challenge ◽  
Nextgeneration Sequencing

Abstract Blueback Herring Alosa aestivalis populations throughout the East Coast have declined precipitously since the late 1980s and were listed as a Species of Concern in 2006 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Natural resource agencies are attempting to restore this species to viable and sustainable levels with fry stockings cultured in hatcheries. To evaluate the long-term contribution of stockings to populations, agencies need an accurate method to track these stocking efforts. Genetic parentage-based tagging is recognized as a feasible means of assessing hatchery contribution of stocked fish to rivers of interest. However, Blueback Herring lack a reliable set of genetic markers to conduct parentage-based tagging. To this end, we analyzed previously described microsatellites as well as new microsatellite markers identified through NextGeneration sequencing to create a suite of 14 Blueback Herring markers useful for parentage-based tagging. The markers were successful in parentage analysis for Blueback Herring collected from the Chowan River, North Carolina. An additional challenge in the management of Blueback Herring is the ability to phenotypically distinguish Blueback Herring from the closely related Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus. Furthermore, recent studies provide evidence that these two species, collectively referred to as river herring, may be hybridizing with one another in some systems. Microsatellite marker AsaC334 can be utilized to discriminate between the two species, as well as to identify their F1 hybrids, thereby providing another genetic tool for hatchery management.

Evidence for temperature-dependent shifts in spawning times of anadromous alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis)

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven M. Lombardo ◽  
Jeffrey A. Buckel ◽  
Ernie F. Hain ◽  
Emily H. Griffith ◽  
Holly White
Keyword(s):  
Generalized Additive Models ◽  
Additive Models ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Spawning Habitat ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Blueback Herring ◽  
River Herring ◽  
Alosa Aestivalis ◽  
Timing Of Spawning

We analyzed four decades of presence–absence data from a fishery-independent survey to characterize the long-term phenology of river herring (alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus; and blueback herring, Alosa aestivalis) spawning migrations in their southern distribution. We used logistic generalized additive models to characterize the average ingress, peak, and egress timing of spawning. In the 2010s, alewife arrived to spawning habitat 16 days earlier and egressed 27 days earlier (peak 12 days earlier) relative to the 1970s. Blueback herring arrived 5 days earlier and egressed 23 days earlier (peak 13 days earlier) in the 2010s relative to the 1980s. The changes in ingress and egress timing have shortened the occurrence in spawning systems by 11 days for alewife over four decades and 18 days for blueback herring over three decades. We found that the rate of vernal warming was faster during 2001–2016 relative to 1973–1988 and is the most parsimonious explanation for changes in spawning phenology. The influence of a shortened spawning season on river herring population dynamics warrants further investigation.

Lipid content and energy expenditure in the spawning migration of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis)

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 1902-1907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Crawford ◽  
R. Roland Cusack ◽  
Timothy R. Parlee
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Content ◽  
Total Lipid Content ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Blueback Herring ◽  
Alosa Aestivalis ◽  
High Lipid ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Very High ◽  
Immature Fish

For the alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) total lipid content was neither size nor sex specific. The lipid content of alewife and blueback herring from the LaHave River, Nova Scotia, was similar at 7.6 and 7.0%, respectively. However, in samples from the Margaree River there was a significant difference in lipid content between alewife and blueback herring (7.8% vs. 5.4%, respectively). The difference appeared to be a consequence of water temperature since late migrants of both species had a significantly lower lipid content. For alewife migration in the LaHave River, a distance of 31 km, lipid content declined by 22%, whereas in the Margaree River lipid loss was 18% over 32 km. Lipid content was also dependent on reproductive maturity, with lipid levels of 14.4, 8.7, and 5.4% in immature, prespawning, and spent alewife from site 1 on the Margaree River. Immature fish were characterized by a very high lipid content associated with the visceral organs. Protein utilization was not evident in the prespawning migration of alewife from the LaHave River. Based on lipid depletion the migration energetics of alewife in the two rivers were similar at 21.68 and 18.53 kJ∙kg−1∙km−1 in the LaHave and Margaree Rivers, respectively.

Anomalous migrations of anadromous herrings revealed with natural chemical tracers

1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin E Limburg
Keyword(s):  
Life Histories ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
American Shad ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Mature Adults ◽  
Chemical Tracers ◽  
Blueback Herring ◽  
Alosa Aestivalis ◽  
Spawning Run

Anadromous herrings of the genus Alosa are generally thought to leave their natal river or estuary at the end of the first growing season and return as mature adults to spawn. Nevertheless, immature yearling alosines have been observed in large numbers in the Hudson River estuary during and after the spring spawning run. I analyzed the stable isotopic ( delta 13C, delta 15N) compositions of 26 blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), eight American shad (Alosa sapidissima), and 10 alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) collected from 55-225 km above the estuary mouth during April-July and compared them with isotopic compositions of young-of-year (resident) alosines, as well as adults (marine phase). delta 13C of the May-caught American shad and alewife indicated a marine origin (greater than -22.5omicron); blueback herring split into both marine and freshwater ( delta 13C less than -25.5omicron) groups. June-caught fish had intermediate values. Microprobe traces of Sr in these fishes' otoliths helped further to discriminate between resident fishes and those that had migrated to sea (or brackish water) and then moved back upriver for a period of several weeks. The combination of biogeochemical tracer methods holds promise for elucidating complex life histories of fishes and helps to pose questions about plasticity of migration.

Les parasites de l'alose d'été (Alosa aestivalis) et du gaspareau (Alosa pseudoharengus) de la rivière Miramichi, Nouveau-Brunswick

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (8) ◽  
pp. 1622-1624 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Landry ◽  
A. D. Boghen ◽  
G. M. Hare
Keyword(s):  
Parasite Species ◽  
Biological Indicators ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Parasite Fauna ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
New Host ◽  
Blueback Herring ◽  
Alosa Aestivalis ◽  
Diplostomum Spathaceum ◽  
New Host Records

The parasite fauna of blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) and alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) were examined to determine their usefulness as biological indicators in the differentiation of these two sympatric species. Thirteen parasite species were identified from 100 specimens each of blueback herring and alewife from the main estuary of the Miramichi River, New Brunswick, of which 11 and 8, respectively, represent new host records. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in the counts of Mazocraeoides sp., Diplostomum spathaceum (metacercaria), Derogenes varicus, Anisakis simplex (larvae), and Echinorhynchus gadi between alewives and blueback herring reflect differences of physiological and ecological order between these two host species.

Effect of environmental conditions on juvenile recruitment of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) in fresh water: a coastwide perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (7) ◽  
pp. 1037-1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Désirée Tommasi ◽  
Janet Nye ◽  
Charles Stock ◽  
Jonathan A. Hare ◽  
Michael Alexander ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fresh Water ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Juvenile Fish ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
River Temperature ◽  
Blueback Herring ◽  
Alosa Aestivalis ◽  
Nursery Habitats

The abundance of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) has declined throughout their range, and there are increasing concerns about their conservation status. Because of their diadromous life history, variability in rates of survival in fresh water can affect overall recruitment. The objective of our study was to assess how river temperature and flow influence young of the year (YOY) river herring recruitment in the Northeast US. Observations of adult and juvenile fish in five rivers were used to construct spawner–YOY recruits models; these rivers were chosen because of the length of the time series (>15 years) and the paired observations of spawners and juveniles. An environmentally explicit stock–recruitment model explained a substantial fraction (41% to 80%) of the variance in YOY abundance, depending on river system. Our approach allowed for a preliminary discussion of potential mechanisms, which need to be further substantiated by focused field and laboratory studies. Early summer river flow and river temperature had the greatest influence, indicating the importance of conditions in nursery habitats. In certain systems, spring or fall conditions were also important determinants of survival, suggesting additional effects of the environment on spawning of adults and juvenile egress from freshwater nursery habitats.

Redescription of Clavellisa cordata Wilson, 1915 (Copepoda: Lernaeopodidae) from anadromous clupeids in eastern Canada

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1559-1563 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Rubec ◽  
W. E. Hogans
Keyword(s):  
Original Description ◽  
American Shad ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Alosa Sapidissima ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Blueback Herring ◽  
Alosa Aestivalis ◽  
Northeastern Atlantic

The male and female of Clavellisa cordata Wilson, 1915 are described from the gills of blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), and American shad (Alosa sapidissima) collected in New Brunswick. The female differs from the original description in the presence of uropods, the apical armature of the first antennae, second antennae, and first maxillae, the presence of secondary teeth on the mandibles, and several additional processes on the maxillipeds. The male differs in the presence of uropods and in the detailed morphology of the various appendages, in particular the maxillipeds. Distinctive features of Clavellisa spinosa, another species occurring in the northwestern Atlantic, are briefly discussed. Differences between Clavellisa cordata and a closely related species, Clavellisa emarginata, occurring in the northeastern Atlantic, are listed. The present redescription of Clavellisa cordata represents a northern range extension and three new Canadian host records.

Genetic stock composition of marine bycatch reveals disproportional impacts on depleted river herring genetic stocks

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 951-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Hasselman ◽  
Eric C. Anderson ◽  
Emily E. Argo ◽  
N. David Bethoney ◽  
Stephen R. Gephard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Atlantic Herring ◽  
Alosa Pseudoharengus ◽  
Genetic Stock ◽  
Blueback Herring ◽  
Southern New England ◽  
Alosa Aestivalis ◽  
Genetic Stocks ◽  
Using Data

Bycatch of mid-trophic-level anadromous fishes that connect marine and freshwater ecosystems is a growing conservation concern. Anadromous alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) are important components of coastal freshwater and marine food webs, but have experienced dramatic declines in the abundances of spawning adults. Freshwater-focused restoration efforts have yielded few consistent signs of recovery, raising concerns that bycatch in Northwest Atlantic commercial fisheries may be negating these conservation actions. Using data from 15 microsatellites genotyped for baseline populations and bycatch, we conducted genetic stock identification to understand how bycatch was partitioned among previously identified regional genetic stocks. We then combined this information with fishery observer data to estimate genetic stock-specific bycatch mortality for the southern New England Atlantic herring fishery (2012–2013). Bycatch overall, but especially in the Atlantic herring fishery, was disproportionately assigned to the most severely depleted genetic stocks (alewife southern New England stock — 70% of assignments; blueback herring mid-Atlantic stock — 78% of assignments). These genetic stocks overlap in the region surrounding Long Island Sound, suggesting that bycatch taken from this area in recent years may be negatively impacting recovery efforts in this region. Our study suggests that mitigating bycatch on the southern New England fishing grounds may benefit recovery efforts for alewife and blueback herring genetic stocks that have experienced the greatest declines in spawning adult abundances.

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