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

Several states have instituted reintroduction programs for Lake Sturgeon. However, biologists lack an understanding of their migrations in southern rivers. Therefore, we partnered with the Missouri Department of Conservation to determine movement and identify the flow and temperature metrics influencing migrations of 100 Lake Sturgeon in the hydrologically altered Osage and the free-flowing Gasconade rivers. Distinct thermal regimes affected timing in each river with spring migrations beginning 17 days earlier and ending 29 days earlier on average in the Gasconade than the Osage. Spring upstream migrations were positively associated with daily discharge at warmer temperatures in the Osage and 1-day flow rise at cooler temperatures in the Gasconade. This research will be used by the Missouri Department of Conservation to predict movement of Lake Sturgeon in other tributaries and help to locate other river habitats to be conserved.