Spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 2

COSEWIC Executive Summary

Spotted Gar
Lepisosteus oculatus

Species Information

The spotted gar is a member of the family Lepisosteidae and is one of two gar species found in Canada. In comparison to the other gar species, longnose gar, the spotted gar has a shorter, wider snout and a shorter, deeper caudal peduncle.

Distribution

It has a wide, but disjunct, distribution in the Mississippi and Great Lakes drainages of eastern North America. Its occurrence in Canada has been confirmed at five locations: Lake St. Clair, Long Point Bay (including the Big Creek wetland), Point Pelee National Park, Rondeau Bay in Lake Erie, and Bay of Quinte in Lake Ontario.

Habitat

Adult spotted gar prefer quiet, vegetated, shallow clear waters of lakes and rivers. Submerged branches, fallen trees or log complexes provide resting cover. Shallow areas of dense vegetation constitute nursery and spawning habitat.

Biology

Maximum known age of spotted gar is 18 years, and onset of maturity is 4 years. Spotted gar are spring spawners. The species is sexually dimorphic. Primarily a piscivorous ambush predator, spotted gar also consume crayfishes and aquatic insects. They are well adapted to heavily vegetated ecosystems of low dissolved oxygen concentrations as they are able to breathe air.

Population Sizes and Trends

Fewer than 55 specimens have been collected in Canada; therefore, it is not possible to identify population sizes and trends.

Limiting Factors and Threats

Loss of quiet, vegetated, shallow habitats as a result of human activities such as dredging, filling and harbour improvements threaten this species within its Canadian range.

Special Significance of the Species

Spotted gar’s high relative abundance and predatory potential in quiet, shallow, vegetated habitats in the southern United States suggest it is a key component of the food web in these systems.

Existing Protection or Other Status Designations

Spotted gar populations in Rondeau Provincial Park and Point Pelee National Park are partially protected by their location in these public parks. This species is also one of eight fish species addressed under the ecosystem-based Sydenham River Recovery plan. It is currently listed as Threatened on Schedule 1 of the Canadian Species at Risk Act.

COSEWIC History

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) was created in 1977 as a result of a recommendation at the Federal-Provincial Wildlife Conference held in 1976. It arose from the need for a single, official, scientifically sound, national listing of wildlife species at risk. In 1978, COSEWIC designated its first species and produced its first list of Canadian species at risk. Species designated at meetings of the full committee are added to the list. On June 5, 2003, the Species at Risk Act (SARA) was proclaimed. SARA establishes COSEWIC as an advisory body ensuring that species will continue to be assessed under a rigorous and independent scientific process.

COSEWIC Mandate

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assesses the national status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, or other designatable units that are considered to be at risk in Canada. Designations are made on native species for the following taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, arthropods, molluscs, vascular plants, mosses, and lichens.

COSEWIC Membership

COSEWIC comprises members from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal agencies (Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Federal Biodiversity Information Partnership, chaired by the Canadian Museum of Nature), three non-government members and the co-chairs of the species specialist and the Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge subcommittees. The Committee meets to consider status reports on candidate species.

Definitions (November 2004)

Wildlife Species
A species, subspecies, variety, or geographically or genetically distinct population of animal, plant or other organism, other than a bacterium or virus, that is wild by nature and it is either native to Canada or has extended its range into Canada without human intervention and has been present in Canada for at least 50 years.

Extinct (X)
A wildlife species that no longer exists.

Extirpated (XT)
A wildlife species no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but occurring elsewhere.

Endangered (E)
A wildlife species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.

Threatened (T)
A wildlife species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed.

Special Concern (SC)*
A wildlife species that may become a threatened or an endangered species because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.

Not at Risk (NAR)**
A wildlife species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk of extinction given the current circumstances.

Data Deficient (DD)***
A wildlife species for which there is inadequate information to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction.

* Formerly described as “Vulnerable” from 1990 to 1999, or “Rare” prior to 1990.
** Formerly described as “Not In Any Category”, or “No Designation Required.”
*** Formerly described as “Indeterminate” from 1994 to 1999 or “ISIBD” (insufficient scientific information on which to base a designation) prior to 1994.

The Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, provides full administrative and financial support to the COSEWIC Secretariat.

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