Aquatic Species at Risk – Spring Cisco

Description
Habitat
Threats
Further Information
Scientific Information

Description

The spring cisco is a small silver-sided fish with a back that varies from blue-green to black in colour. It is found only in Lac des Écorces in Quebec. Adults are usually 15 to 30 cm long. The spring cisco spawns in the spring. It reaches sexual maturity at three years and rarely lives beyond eight years. This small fish is preyed upon by various piscivorous fish. The spring cisco population is estimated to have declined significantly over the past 15 years.

M. Héneault (Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec)

Habitat

The spring cisco lives in a single lake, Lac des Écorces (Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality), in the province of Quebec. Spring cisco are found throughout Lac des Écorces. Adults prefer cold water and are found in the deepest parts of the lake during the summer. They mainly spawn in the lake’s deepest point. Larvae and juvenile fish occupy the upper part of the lake.

The fact alone that the sole spring cisco population is found in a single lake indicates significant vulnerability. The abundance indices for this population show a steady decline for the past 15 years. Suspected causes of this decline are predation and competition from non-native species, particularly the rainbow smelt, and deterioration of the lake’s overall water quality due to residential development (e.g. artificial banks and defective septic tanks) and agriculture (e.g. discharge of chemical products and fertilizers).

Further Information

The presence of the spring cisco is known and mentioned in the Antoine-Labelle Regional County Municipality development plan. The Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec has been monitoring the population since 1981. The spring cisco was designated an endangered species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 2009.

A federal recovery strategy is being developed with the Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec and local authorities. Critical habitat of the spring cisco will be identified in this recovery strategy so that it can be protected under the Act. In 2010, the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune began controlling the Lac des Écorces population of rainbow smelt, an introduced species that is a predator and competitor of the spring cisco, as well as the main threat to its recovery. In addition, any efforts to preserve or improve the ecological integrity of Lac des Écorces would benefit the spring cisco.

Scientific Information

Scientific name: Coregonus sp.
SARA status: Endangered
COSEWIC status: Endangered (April 2009)