Watch “The Wondrous Lives of Pacific Lamprey” by Ben Clemens

We had our first Watershed Group virtual presentation on September 22nd, and Ben Clemens, the Statewide Lamprey Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, presented on:

The Wondrous Lives of Pacific Lamprey – A Story of Complexity, Diversity, & Adaptability

You can watch a recording of his video here:

Pacific Lamprey is a descendant of an ancient group of fishes that arose in the fossil record ~400 million years ago. Their biology and life history is an example of complexity, diversity, and adaptability. However, the number of this species has decreased significantly from the early 1900s as a result of river impoundment and multiple other limiting factors and threats in both the ocean and freshwaters. Native Americans use Pacific Lamprey for food, medicine, and multiple other uses, and the species also supplies myriad benefits to freshwater ecosystems.