27-634: The Panther River is a major tributary of the Red Deer River in Western Alberta . The river flows into the Red Deer River near Alberta Highway 40 . 51°39′17″N 115°19′09″W / 51.6548°N 115.3192°W / 51.6548; -115.3192 Red Deer River The Red Deer River is a river in Alberta and a small portion of Saskatchewan , Canada. It is a major tributary of
54-435: A fusiform body structure, and as a result are well adapted predatory fishes and are capable of swimming into fast currents with minimal drag on their bodies. They may be distinguished from walleyes by the distinctly spotted dorsal fin , by the lack of a white splotch on the caudal fin , by the rough skin over their gills, and by their generally more brassy color, or darker (almost black) color in some regions. The typical sauger
81-501: A larger sauger's. Smaller saugers generally feed on benthic invertebrates, mayfly larvae, and catfish during spring and summer. Midsized and large saugers feed mainly on fish from spring to autumn, but their diets alter during summer. Midsized and large saugers feed predominantly on mayfly larvae but only during summer. Freshwater drum Aplodinotus grunniens and gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum are predominant food sources for saugers of all sizes during autumn. Fish accounted for over 99% of
108-881: A sauger's diet during autumn. Saugers also prey on shiners during spring and summer, but they do not account for a significant part of their diet. Shiners are absent from a sauger's diet in autumn probably due to their availability. Saugers are more likely to be found in large rivers with deep pools (depths greater than 0.6 m). They encounter a variety of habitats because of their migratory tendencies. They are usually found in natural rivers because they have more abundant pools and their flows have not been altered by dams or diversions. They are still common in impounded river systems. Diversions and dams affect habitat and spawning areas of saugers. They are usually found in areas with high turbidity, low channel slope, low stream velocity, and deep water. Saugers tend to select pools with sand and silt substrates, and habitat features that provide cover from
135-739: Is 300 to 400 g (11 to 14 oz) in weight. Saugers are widely distributed; their historical range consisted of the eastern U.S. west of the Appalachian Mountains , mostly southern, central, and western U.S., and north into southern Canada. Sauger distribution and range has decreased from historical ranges because of degraded and fragmented habitat conditions. Sauger distribution within their home range varies by time of year because they are migratory. Saugers are more typical in rivers, whereas walleyes are more common in lakes and reservoirs. In many parts of their range, saugers are sympatric with walleyes. Hybridization between saugers and walleyes
162-455: Is February, with an average of 8.6 mm (0.34 in) of precipitation, while the wettest is June, with an average of 68.9 mm (2.71 in). Sauger The sauger ( Sander canadensis ) is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae that resembles its close relative, the walleye . The species is a member of the largest vertebrate order, the Perciformes . It
189-425: Is a large cause of mortality for juvenile saugers. Saugers feed on a variety of invertebrates and small fishes depending on the time of year and size of the sauger. Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus and freshwater drum Aplodinotus grunniens are midsize (300–379 mm) and large (>379 mm) saugers' main food source during spring. The diet of a small sauger (200–299 mm) is slightly different from
216-479: Is not unknown; the hybrids, referred to as saugeyes , exhibit traits of both species. Being intermediate in appearance between the two species, saugeyes are sometimes difficult to differentiate, but they generally carry the dark blotches characteristic of the sauger. Saugers, however, are usually smaller and better tolerate waters of higher turbidity than walleyes. Saugers require warmer summer water temperatures of 20–28 °C (68–82 °F). Their need for warm water
243-487: Is the most migratory percid species in North America. Saugers have two dorsal fins; the first is spiny and the posterior dorsal fin is soft-rayed. Their paired fins are in the thoracic position and their caudal fin is truncated, which means squared off at the corners, a characteristic of the family Percidae. Another physical characteristic of saugers is their ctenoid scales , which are common in advanced fishes. Saugers have
270-642: Is the water source for the City of Red Deer and the surrounding area. Pipelines cross under the river and there have been leaks disrupting access to potable water. Increased water flow of the Red Deer River system during heavy rainfall in June 2008 eroded supporting soil, freely exposing a section of Pembina Pipeline Corporation's Cremona crude oil pipeline to the Red Deer River currents. About 75 to 125 barrels (11,900 to 19,900 L; 2,600 to 4,400 imp gal; 3,200 to 5,200 US gal) of crude oil flowed upstream from
297-604: Is thought to affect the northern and western boundaries of their range. Saugers generally move upstream to spawn during March to May, depending on where they are. They move downstream to their home locations from April–July after their spawning period is over. Saugers have been known to travel between 10 and 600 km from their home to spawning locations downstream. Habitats at spawning sites are less complex and diverse than home locations. Females prefer rocky substrate and pools to deposit their eggs. As females increase in length, egg quality and fecundity increase, but egg production
SECTION 10
#1732854814381324-526: Is thought to decline after age 6. Sexual maturity is reached between 2 and 5 years old. Other measures of sexual maturity are related to size. A sauger is considered to be an adult when it reaches 250 to 300 millimetres (9.8 to 11.8 in). Upon hatching, larval saugers drift downstream before developing feeding tendencies and horizontal maneuverability. Juvenile saugers tend to develop in diversion canals and backwaters until autumn, when they migrate upstream to their winter habitat. Residing in diversion canals
351-544: The Cree language . "Red deer" was an alternative name for elk , referring to a closely related Eurasian species . Communities located along the Red Deer River include Sundre , Red Deer , Drumheller , and Empress , The city of Brooks , as well as Dinosaur Provincial Park , are also located in the Red Deer River Basin. A glacial flood about 18,000 years ago eroded out a portion of this basin and apparently all or most of
378-465: The French language . Saugers face many conservation issues because of migratory barriers , habitat loss , entrainment in irrigation canals, and overexploitation . Dams and diversion canals prevent spawning in upstream habitats. Altering flows in rivers affect turbidity , formation of pools, and temperature, all of which are important for the timing and success of spawning saugers. Long migrations are
405-494: The South Saskatchewan River and is part of the larger Saskatchewan / Nelson system that empties into Hudson Bay . The river has a total length of 724 km (450 mi) and a drainage area of 45,100 km (17,400 sq mi). Its mean discharge is 70 m /s (2,500 cu ft/s). The river is named for the translation of a native term for the river, wâwâskêsiw sîpiy, which means "elk river" in
432-578: The 4a plant hardiness zone . Summers are typically warm and rainy with cool nights. Winters are typically long, cold, and very dry. Empress is located in the steppe region known as Palliser's Triangle and experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk ). Winters are long, cold and dry, while summers are short, but with average daytime highs that are warm to hot, though nighttime lows are cool. Spring and autumn are quite short, essentially transition periods between winter and summer. Wide diurnal temperature ranges are regular, due to
459-965: The Alberta/Saskatchewan border, which it crosses at Empress . It flows for 16 km (9.9 mi) through Saskatchewan before it merges into the South Saskatchewan River . The waters of Ewing Lake, Little Fish Lake also flow into the Red Deer River. Sport fish include: walleye , northern pike , sauger , lake whitefish , yellow perch , burbot , lake sturgeon , mountain whitefish , goldeye , brown trout , bull trout , rainbow trout , brook trout , and cutthroat trout . Other fish include: emerald shiner , river shiner , spottail shiner , flathead chub , longnose dace , quillback (quillback carpsucker), longnose sucker , white sucker , shorthead redhorse , silver redhorse , perch , spoonhead sculpin , lake chub , northern pearl dace , northern redbelly dace , finescale dace , fathead minnow and brook stickleback . The Red Deer River
486-532: The Red Deer River. Red Deer has a humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfb ), with something of a semi-arid influence due to the city's location within Palliser's Triangle . The highest temperature ever recorded in Red Deer was 37.2 °C (99.0 °F) on 8 July 1906, 2 July 1924, and 28 & 29 June 1937. The lowest recorded temperature was −50.6 °C (−59.1 °F) on 17 December 1924. The city lies in
513-418: The aridity and moderately high elevation. Low humidity is prevalent throughout the year. Annual precipitation is very low, with an average of 311.6 mm (12.27 in), and is heavily concentrated in the warmer months. On average, the coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of −12 °C (10 °F), while the warmest is July, with a mean temperature of 19.8 °C (67.6 °F). The driest month
540-750: The break point under a Red Deer River channel, leaving an oily sheen on Gleniffer Reservoir and 6,800 kg (15,000 lb) of oil-soaked debris. The remediation was not completed until 2011. Heavy rains in early June 2012 caused a similar but larger leak on a Plains Midstream Canada 46-year-old pipeline on a Red Deer River tributary, Jackson Creek , Alberta ( 51°52′19″N 114°36′23″W / 51.87194°N 114.60639°W / 51.87194; -114.60639 ( Jackson Creek ) ) near Gleniffer Lake and Dickson Dam , which spilled approximately 1,000 and 3,000 barrels (160,000 and 480,000 L; 35,000 and 105,000 imp gal; 42,000 and 126,000 US gal) of light sour crude oil into
567-420: The city of Red Deer , where it turns east, and then south before Stettler . It flows south with its valley protected by provincial and regional parks such as Tolman Badlands Heritage Rangeland , Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park , Dry Island Corridor and Midland Provincial Park . At Drumheller it has a south-east direction, and while it flows through Dinosaur Provincial Park it turns east and flows to
SECTION 20
#1732854814381594-474: The main reason why saugers struggle in dammed or diverted river systems. Low water levels in periods of drought are the most detrimental to sauger populations because it strands eggs during spawning and prevents larval saugers from reaching their downstream locations. High death rates that occur during spawning are related to degraded and fragmented river systems. Mortality rates in autumn are related to exploitation by fishermen. Sauger are critically imperiled in
621-622: The region were displaced. The river originates on the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies , in the Sawback Range near the Skoki Valley inside Banff National Park , and then flows east through the mountains and foothills region. It turns north-east before Sundre and flows to an artificial reservoir named Gleniffer Lake , created in 1983 by the Dickson Dam and keeps this heading to
648-401: The river current. They tend to avoid runs and riffles. They are most commonly found in pools that are at least 1.5 m deep. They can also be found in shallower pools, but in lesser numbers. No differences in habitat preference between males and females has been observed. The number of saugers observed increases with mean summer water temperature, maximum water depth, and alkalinity. Alongside
675-709: The scenic badlands bearing the dinosaur and other Cretaceous fossils. Joseph Tyrrell discovered a huge coal seam here in 1883, besides large dinosaur skeletons. In June 2013, Alberta, Canada, experienced heavy rainfall that triggered catastrophic flooding throughout much of the southern half of the province along the Bow , Elbow , Highwood , Oldman , and Red Deer rivers and tributaries. Twenty-four municipalities declared local states of emergency as water levels rose and numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police stated four people may have drowned near High River . Over 100,000 people in
702-664: The state of New York , with a small population still remaining in Lake Champlain . Sauger were extirpated from Lake Erie at some point after a population crash in the 1950s, as well as from Lake Ontario . Populations in the Allegheny River are prevented from reaching New York by the Kinzua Dam , which has led to the initiation of a sauger stocking program in the upper Allegheny River. As of 2022, fishing for sauger in New York
729-546: The walleye, the sauger forms the North American clade within the genus Sander , and the sauger is thought to have first speciated into its modern form about 7.3 million years ago. The sauger was first formally described as Lucioperca canadensis in 1834 by British naturalists and explorers Edward Griffith (1790–1858) and Charles Hamilton Smith (1776–1859) based on the work of French naturalist and anatomist Georges Cuvier (1769–1832) which Griffith translated from
#380619