Spatio-temporal distribution of Green Sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) and White Sturgeon (A. transmontanus) in the San Francisco Estuary and Sacramento River, California

2020 ◽  
Vol 103 (5) ◽  
pp. 577-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily A. Miller ◽  
Gabriel P. Singer ◽  
Matthew L. Peterson ◽  
Eric D. Chapman ◽  
Myfanwy E. Johnston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
San Francisco Estuary ◽  
Sacramento River ◽  
White Sturgeon ◽  
Green Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Medirostris ◽  
Spatio Temporal

scholarly journals Confirmed Observation: A North American Green Sturgeon Acipenser medirostris Recorded in the Stanislaus River, California

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 624-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse T. Anderson ◽  
Gregg Schumer ◽  
Paul J. Anders ◽  
Kyle Horvath ◽  
Joseph E. Merz
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
North American ◽  
San Francisco Estuary ◽  
White Sturgeon ◽  
Green Sturgeon ◽  
Distinct Population ◽  
Acipenser Medirostris ◽  
San Joaquin River ◽  
Distinct Population Segment ◽  
Population Segment

AbstractTwo sturgeon species are native to the San Francisco Estuary watershed in California: White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus and North American Green Sturgeon Acipenser medirostris. The San Francisco Estuary has two main tributaries, the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Recent studies have shown that the San Joaquin River is used by Green and White Sturgeon and that at least a small number of White Sturgeon spawn there when environmental conditions allow. However, records of Green Sturgeon in the San Joaquin River and its tributaries are rare and limited to information from angler report cards. In 2006, the National Marine Fisheries Service listed the southern distinct population segment of North American Green Sturgeon as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Federally designated critical habitat for the southern distinct population segment of Green Sturgeon does not extend upstream of the San Joaquin River's confluence with the Stanislaus River. We recently confirmed an adult Green Sturgeon holding in a deep pool near Knights Ferry, California in the Stanislaus River. We observed and recorded the fish using a GoPro® video camera and used environmental deoxyribonucleic acid sampling techniques to confirm species identification. This paper provides the first confirmed record of Green Sturgeon in any tributary of the San Joaquin River, which is beyond the designated critical habitat area. Future well-designed research focused on the San Joaquin River and its tributaries is expected to improve our understanding regarding the importance of these rivers for the various life stages of North American Green Sturgeon.

White Sturgeon Spawning in the San Joaquin River, California, and Effects of Water Management

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary J. Jackson ◽  
Joshua J. Gruber ◽  
Joel P. Van Eenennaam
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
San Francisco Estuary ◽  
Sacramento River ◽  
White Sturgeon ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Successful Management ◽  
Pulse Flow ◽  
San Joaquin River ◽  
The World

Abstract Inadequate recruitment is a hallmark of declining sturgeon populations throughout the world. Efforts to understand and address the processes that regulate recruitment are of foremost importance for successful management and recovery. Fish biologists previously only knew San Francisco Estuary white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) to spawn in the Sacramento River, California. We assessed potential white sturgeon spawning locations by deploying artificial substrate samplers during late winter and spring of 2011 and 2012 from river kilometers 115.2 to 145.3 of the San Joaquin River. Collections of fertilized eggs, coupled with hydrology data, confirm that white sturgeon spawned within one and four sites in the San Joaquin River during wet (2011; n = 23) and dry (2012; n = 65) water-year conditions. Small pulse flow augmentations intended to benefit juvenile salmonids appear to have triggered white sturgeon spawning within this system. Understanding the effects of water management on spawning and subsequent recruitment is necessary to increase white sturgeon recruitment to the San Francisco Estuary.

Migration of green sturgeon, Acipenser medirostris, in the Sacramento River

2008 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph C. Heublein ◽  
John T. Kelly ◽  
Carlos E. Crocker ◽  
A. Peter Klimley ◽  
Steven T. Lindley
Keyword(s):  
Sacramento River ◽  
Green Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Medirostris

Early Life History of Fishes in the San Francisco Estuary and Watershed

2004 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha ◽  
San Francisco Estuary ◽  
Sacramento River ◽  
Yolo Bypass ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
Native Fishes ◽  
Rotary Screw

<em>Abstract.</em>—We examined assemblage patterns of early life stages of fishes for two major tributaries of the upper San Francisco Estuary: (1) Sacramento River channel, and (2) Yolo Bypass, the river’s seasonal floodplain. Over four hydrologically diverse years (1999–2002), we collected 15 species in Yolo Bypass egg and larval samples, 18 species in Yolo Bypass rotary screw trap samples, and 10 species in Sacramento River egg and larval samples. Fishes captured included federally listed species (delta smelt <em>Hypomesus transpacificus </em>and splittail <em>Pogonichthys macrolepidotus</em>) and several game species (American shad <em>Alosa sapidissima</em>, striped bass <em>Morone saxatilis</em>, crappie <em>Pomoxis </em>spp., and Chinook salmon <em>Oncorhynchus tshawytscha</em>). As in other regions of the estuary, alien fish comprised a large portion of the individuals collected in Yolo Bypass (40–93% for egg and larval net samples; 84–98% for rotary screw trap samples) and Sacramento River (80–99% for egg and larval net samples). Overall ranks of species abundances were significantly correlated for Yolo Bypass and Sacramento River, suggesting that each assemblage was controlled by similar major environmental factors. However, species diversity and richness were higher in Yolo Bypass, likely because of a wider variety of habitat types and greater hydrologic variation in the floodplain. In both landscapes, we found evidence that timing of occurrence of native fishes was earlier than aliens, consistent with their life history and our data on adult migration patterns. We hypothesize that Yolo Bypass favors native fishes because the inundation of seasonal floodplain typically occurs early in the calendar year, providing access to vast areas of spawning and rearing habitat with an enhanced food web. Conclusions from this analysis have implications for the management of aquatic biodiversity of tributaries to the San Francisco Estuary and perhaps to other lowland rivers.

Biology, Management, and Protection of North American Sturgeon

2002 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Incubation Temperature ◽  
Larval Survival ◽  
Sampling Time ◽  
White Sturgeon ◽  
Green Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Medirostris ◽  
Relative Growth ◽  
Klamath River ◽  
Length Relationship

<em>Abstract.</em>—Gametes of green sturgeon <em>Acipenser medirostris</em> (caught in the Klamath River, California) and farm-reared white sturgeon <em>A. transmontanus</em> were obtained using hormonal induction of ovulation and spermiation. The offspring of one female in each species were reared in the laboratory, to compare their development and growth. Green and white sturgeon embryos had similar rates of development and hatched after 169 h and 176 h, respectively, at incubation temperature 15.7 ± 0.2°C. Embryos of both species exhibited similar holoblastic development and passed through 36 stages characteristic of acipenserids. Green sturgeon fertilization and hatching rates were 41.2% and 28.0%, compared with 95.4% and 82.1% for the white sturgeon. Larval survival to 45 d (metamorphosis) was 93.3% in green and 92.1% in white sturgeon. Newly hatched green sturgeon (length 13.7 ± 0.4 mm, mean ± SD) were larger and less pigmented, compared with white sturgeon. They had large ovoid yolk sacs and did not exhibit pelagic behavior that was observed in white sturgeon. The onset of exogenous feeding in green sturgeon occurred at age 10–15 d and length 24.0 ± 0.5 mm, and metamorphosis was completed at age 45 d and length 74.4 ± 5.9 mm (rearing temperature 18.5 ± 0.2°C). Weight and length of green sturgeon larvae and juveniles were considerably greater than in white sturgeon at each sampling time, but the relative growth rate and weight-length relationship were similar in both species. This suggests an effect of larger egg size and maternal yolk supply on the growth of green sturgeon. We conclude that green sturgeon differs from the white sturgeon in their reproductive strategy and, potentially, reproductive habitat.

Tissue Contaminant Burdens in San Francisco Estuary White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus): Implications for Population Recovery

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deke T. Gundersen ◽  
Steven C. Zeug ◽  
Robert B. Bringolf ◽  
Joseph Merz ◽  
Zachary Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
San Francisco Estuary ◽  
White Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Transmontanus ◽  
Population Recovery

Mesozooplankton of the lower San Francisco Estuary: spatio-temporal patterns, ENSO effects and the prevalence of non-indigenous species

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (9) ◽  
pp. 1358-1377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Bollens ◽  
Joanne K. Breckenridge ◽  
Rian C. Vanden Hooff ◽  
Jeffery R. Cordell
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Temporal Patterns ◽  
San Francisco Estuary ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Non Indigenous Species

scholarly journals An Evaluation of Three Fish Surveys in the San Francisco Estuary, 1995–2015

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Secchi Depth ◽  
Specific Conductance ◽  
San Francisco Estuary ◽  
Fish Populations ◽  
Midwater Trawl ◽  
Important Region ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Species Specific

Resource managers rely on long-term monitoring surveys conducted in the San Francisco Estuary to evaluate the status and trends of resident fish populations in this important region. These surveys are potentially confounded because of the incomplete detection of individuals and species, the magnitude of which is often related to the same factors that affect fish populations. We used multistate occupancy estimators to evaluate the distribution, abundance, and detection probability of four fish species collected during 1995–2015 with three long-term surveys. Detection probabilities varied positively with fish abundance and negatively with Secchi depth. Detection varied among species and was greatest for the 20-mm Survey and least for the midwater trawl used for the midwater trawl used in the San Francisco Bay Study. Incomplete detection resulted in underestimates of occupancy and abundance across species and surveys and were greatest for the Bay Study. However, trends in occupancy and abundance of the study period appeared to be unbiased. Fish occupancy and abundance were generally related to salinity or specific conductance, day-of-the year, and water temperature, but the nature of the relations varied among surveys and species. There also was strong spatial and temporal dependence in species-specific occupancy and abundance that changed through time and were unrelated to the covariates considered. Our results suggest that managers consider incorporating methods for estimating detection and adjusting data to ensure data quality. Additionally, the strong spatio-temporal patterns in the monitoring data suggest that existing protocols may need to be modified to ensure that data and inferences reflect system-wide changes rather than changes at a specific set of non-randomly selected locations.

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