Retention and Stress Effects of Visible Implant Tags When Marking Western Silvery Minnow and Its Application to Other Cyprinids (Family Cyprinidae)

Abstract

Visible implant tags are commonly used in fisheries research to mark individuals or batches of fish as part of movement and mark–recapture studies. To be effective, these tags generally need to have high retention rates and little impact on the behavior or physiology of the marked individuals. We tested the retention rates of both visible implant elastomer (VIE) and visible implant alphanumeric (VIA) tags in 80–139-mm Western Silvery Minnow Hybognathus argyritis over a 104-d period. We also measured plasma cortisol and lactate to determine the impact of tagging on stress levels. We found that VIE tags had 100% retention and did not cause a significant increase in plasma cortisol levels, though plasma lactate levels were elevated in VIE treatment groups. Overall, VIE tags were found to be suitable for marking Western Silvery Minnow and similar species. Visible implant alphanumeric tags had 36% retention over 104 d and did not cause significant increases in plasma cortisol, though plasma lactate was elevated in the treatment group with both VIE and VIA tags. Given the high retention rates and low stress effects, VIE tags appear to be more beneficial for use with Western Silvery Minnow and similar-sized cyprinids.

Received April 16, 2015; accepted July 29, 2015

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Funding for this project was provided by a grant from the Alberta Conservation Association, Fisheries and Oceans Canada Species at Risk Fund, and a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant to M.P. This work was conducted under an approved animal care permit (AUP001001), and sampling was conducted under an approved Species at Risk Permit (SARA C&A 13-008) and Alberta Fish Research License (13-2408 FR). We thank Jessie Edgington of the University of Alberta, Aquatics Facility, for providing care for the fish for the duration of the study. Terry Clayton and Douglas Watkinson provided expert advice on the biology and ecology of Western Silvery Minnow. Marie Veillard assisted with field collections, and accommodations were provided by Alberta Parks. Keith Tierney, Greg Goss, and John Chang provided laboratory space for storage and analysis of samples. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for suggestions which considerably improved the manuscript.