Learning More About Arctic Grayling

Learning More About Arctic Grayling By Ken Monk Northern Lights Fly Fishers Chapter

In early August, a team consisting of volunteers from Trout Unlimited Canada and the Northern Lights Fly Fishers Chapter joined forces with volunteer biologists and researchers from MacEwan University in a research project aimed to learn more about Arctic grayling. The team traveled to Whitesand River, Yates River, and Little Rapids Creek as well as several other rivers in Northern Alberta. Some sites were only a few kilometers from Wood Buffalo National Park and the Northwest Territories and were only accessible by helicopter.

Arctic Grayling are fish species with high recreational and ecological value but are currently facing significant conservation challenges. As a result, they are designated as a Species of Special Concern in Alberta. Though currently considered a single species, deep genetic divisions have been described, called the Beringia and Nahanni lineages. While both lineages co-occur in Alberta, there is little research on variation in body shape or other observable characteristics (phenotypes) of grayling, and none directly comparing the Nahanni and Beringia lineages.

On this trip, the team photographed fish and collected DNA samples which will be used in a research project aimed at filling in some of this missing information about the Nahanni and Beringia lineages of Arctic Grayling.

Specifically, the goals of the research project include:

1. Collect photos and tissue samples from 400 Arctic Grayling in Alberta thereby establishing a database of phenotypic measures

2. Quantify differences in phenotypes between fish that have been genetically assigned to Beringia or Nahanni lineages

3. If differences in body shape are observed, discuss the need for describing a new species of grayling, and the resulting conservation and management implications.

The August trip was the second of three planned trips. A previous trip was taken to the Freeman River, and another will have teams headed to the Little Smoky River.

Special thanks to the Alberta Conservation Association for providing financial support for this project, MacEwan University for logistical support, and Alberta Environment and Parks for in-kind support.