South Dakota Project
Vulnerability of age-0 pallid sturgeon to fish predation: Assessing the influence of body size and water turbidity
September 2007 - January 2010
Personnel
Participating Agencies
- Corps of Engineers
Stocking of age-0 pallid sturgeon has been proposed as a way to alleviate high fish densities at hatcheries and potentially enhance stocking success in the wild. However, vulnerability of age-0 pallid sturgeon to fish predation is not known, thus hindering management decisions about when, where, and at what size age-0 pallid sturgeon should be stocked. Determining the relative vulnerability of different sized age-0 pallids to fish predation would help restoration efforts tailor stocking strategies that maximize survival. The external morphology of sturgeons (i.e., bony scutes) likely plays a defensive role against predation that increases in effectiveness with body size. Turbidity can also influence fish predation and varies considerably across the upper Missouri River. Ontogenetic diet shifts are important events in the early life history of many fishes that can subsequently determine recruitment success. Adult pallid sturgeon are known to be piscivorous, but the size and age at which juveniles switch from feeding on macroinvertebrates to fishes is unknown. Currently, pallid sturgeon biologists hypothesize that this diet shift occurs at age three to five with an associated increase in mortality of 25% and this mortality rate is used to set minimum stocking levels (Kapuscinski 2002; UBPSWG-Stocking Committee 2004). No data currently exists to support this hypothesis. Shovelnose sturgeon feed primarily on macro-invertebrates, but fish are also occasionally found in their diet, making this species a potential competitor with juvenile pallid sturgeons. The objectives of this study are to: 1) quantify predation vulnerability of age-0 pallid sturgeon as influenced by body size, water turbidity and predator composition and 2) estimate and compare trophic position of pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon using stable isotope analysis.
Research Publications | Publication Date |
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Andvik, R. T., J. A. VanDeHey, M. J. Fincel, W. E. French, K. N. Bertrand, S. R. Chipps, R. A. Klumb, and B. D. S. Graeb. 2010. Application of non-lethal stable isotope analysis to assess feeding patterns of juvenile pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus alubs: a comparison of tissue types and sample preservation methods. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 1-5. | Download | Publisher Website | September 2010 |
French, W. E., B. D. S. Graeb, S. R. Chipps, K. N. Bertrand, T. M. Selch, and R. A. Klumb. 2010. Vulnerability of age-0 pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus to fish predation. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 26:6-10. | Download | January 2010 |
Presentations | Presentation Date |
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French, W., B. Graeb, S. Chipps, and R. Klumb. 2009. Prey selection and vulnerability to predation in juvenile pallid sturgeon. Poster Presentation at the 139th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, Nashville, Tennessee. | August 2009 |
French, W., B. Graeb, K. Bertrand, S. Chipps, and R. Klumb. December 2, 2009. Isotope analysis of sturgeon diets. 70th Annual Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Springfield, Illinois. | December 2009 |
French, W., B. D. S. Graeb, S. R. Chipps, and R. A. Klumb. February 3, 2009. Vulnerability of age-0 pallid sturgeon to predation. Annual Meeting, Minnesota-Wisconsin-Ontario Chapters, American Fisheries Society, Duluth, Minnesota. | February 2009 |
French, W., B. D. S. Graeb, S. R. Chipps, and R. A. Klumb. 2009. Prey selection by juvenile pallid sturgeon Scaphirhyncus albus. Annual Meeting, Dakota Chapter, American Fisheries Society, Bismarck, North Dakota. | February 2009 |
Andvik, R. T., B. J. Galster, J. A. Van De Hey, M. J. Fincel, S. R. Chipps, and B. D. S. Graeb. 2009. Non-lethal stable isotope analysis of the endangered pallid sturgeon. Annual Meeting, Dakota Chapter, American Fisheries Society, Bismarck, North Dakota. | February 2009 |
Theses and Dissertations | Publication Date |
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French, William. 2010. Ontogenetic patterns in prey selectivity and vulnerability to predation of juvenile pallid sturgeon. M.S. thesis, South Dakota State University, 149 pp. | December 2010 |