Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Montana Fishery
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

This project will estimate spawning readiness of hatchery-reared and wild pallid sturgeon, identify spawning location(s), and habitat characteristics at spawning location(s). This information is central to the management of pallid sturgeon in the upper Missouri River given the current understanding of drift distance, anoxic conditions in transition zone above Ft. Peck Reservoir (Guy et al. 2015), and the high occurrence of atresia in pallid sturgeon as identified in a recent study. A better understanding of the factors outlined above will provide useful information for water-level management in the river and downstream reservoir.