NEWSLETTER
ST. LAWRENCE VISION 2000
VOLUME 10 – ISSUE 3 – JUNE 1999
Preceding issues

	SUMMARY
	To the Rescue of a Threatened Species in Quebec
	Re-establishing the Free Passage of Fish in the Richelieu River
	ZIP Chronicle
	News in brief

Le Fleuve is published jointly by St. Lawrence Vision 2000 partners.

Administration and coordination
Clément Dugas and Raymonde Goupil, Co-chairs Communications

Suzanne Bourget, Institutional Communications

Text
Gaétane Tardif, Environmental Consultant

Realization
Françoise Lapointe, Editor, SLV 2000

Translation from French to English
PWGSC–Translation Bureau

This Newsletter is also available in PDF Version.

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Interest in the copper redhorse is easy to explain. First, it is the only vertebrate species exclusive to Quebec. No other specimens have ever been found anywhere else in the world.

The population’s status is also very precarious. In the past, the copper redhorse was found only along some stretches of a few rivers in the St Lawrence Plain: the Richelieu, Yamaska, Noire, Mille Îles and Maskinongé rivers and the St Lawrence River from the western tip of the island of Montreal to the eastern end of Lake St Pierre.

Today, the Richelieu River seems to be home to the only copper redhorse population that is able to reproduce. It can still be found in the Mille Îles, Yamaska and Noire rivers, and has become very rare in the St Lawrence. There are thought to be a few thousand copper redhorse remaining.

Legend:

The copper redhorse feeds exclusively on mollusks, which it grinds with molar-like teeth located in its throat. The copper redhorse’s teeth are the same size as those of an adult human.

The species’ decline can be explained by a combination of several factors: environmental degradation, habitat fragmentation and disturbance during spawning.

The copper redhorse lives in watercourses that crisscross the most populated region of Quebec. Deforestation, agriculture, urbanization and industrial activity have led to a deterioration in water quality, which in turn has had an adverse impact on the species’ survival. In their work, biologists Alain Branchaud and Andrée Gendron suggest that contamination of the water by chemicals such as agricultural herbicides may interfere with copper redhorse spawning.

Dam construction has led to habitat fragmentation, increased sedimentation and reduced opportunity for spawners to move to breeding grounds.

With regard to disturbance during breeding periods, we know that the copper redhorse spawns in late June or early July when the water temperature is above 20ºC. It would appear that sharing rivers and streams with pleasure boaters is not always to the species’ advantage.

Designation, Protection, Research, Development -- and Tasting!

"On April 22, 1999, the copper redhorse became the first wildlife species officially designated as a threatened species under the Quebec Act respecting Threatened or Vulnerable Species," explained Michel Huot, the biologist in charge of threatened species for the Quebec government’s Wildlife and Parks Sector. "This long-awaited designation will better protect the copper redhorse and its habitat."

Under St Lawrence Vision 2000, an action plan was proposed by the Comité d’intervention pour la survie du chevalier cuivré [action committee for the survival of the copper redhorse], chaired by Pierre Dumont, a biologist at the Montérégie regional directorate in the Wildlife and Parks Sector. Intended to maintain the species and prevent its disappearance, the plan has two objectives:

• to promote the species’ survival in natural environments
• to ensure the species’ conservation by keeping specimens in captivity

A number of initiatives proposed by the Committee have already been or are in the process of being implemented. Some of the proposed solutions concern the species’ habitat. A wildlife sanctuary could be created in the near future to protect spawning grounds near the Chambly Basin rapids, safe from all disturbances and changes.

Other activities in the action plan are aimed at developing methods to compensate for the species’ low breeding rate in natural environments. Through the combined efforts of the University of Quebec at Montreal, the Quebec Department of the Environment and Wildlife and the Montreal Biodome, the techniques required for an artificial breeding program have been developed.

The planned fish pass on the Richelieu River at the St Ours Canal Historic Site should give the copper redhorse access to spawning grounds upstream in the Chambly Rapids.

Finally, beer lovers can also help the copper redhorse by looking for the Rescousse brand at SAQ outlets. Proceeds from the sale are being handled by the Quebec Wildlife Foundation and will go to support projects to protect and restore threatened species. Look for the label with the copper redhorse!

Legend:

Proceeds from the sale of Rescousse beer go to support projects to protect and restore threatened species. The project was the brainchild of biologists Andrée Gendron and Alain Branchaud.

Information:

Michel Huot, biologist
Government of Quebec
Wildlife and Parks
Telephone: (418) 521-3940, ext 4447
Fax: (418) 646-6863
E-mail: michel.huot@mef.gouv.qc.ca

Comité d’intervention. 1995. Plan d’intervention pour la survie du suceur cuivré (Moxostoma hubbsi), Québec, ministère de l’Environnement et de la Faune, Direction de la faune et des habitats, 48 p.

The purpose of this newsletter is to provide recent information on projects and activities surrounding the implementation of the St. Lawrence Vision 2000 Action Plan.