Food Habits of Juvenile Pallid Sturgeon and Adult Shovelnose Sturgeon in the Missouri River Downstream of Fort Randall Dam, South Dakota

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg A. Wanner ◽  
Dane A. Shuman ◽  
David W. Willis
2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. French ◽  
Brian D. S. Graeb ◽  
Katie N. Bertrand ◽  
Steven R. Chipps ◽  
Robert A. Klumb

Abstract This study compared patterns of δ15N and δ13C enrichment of pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus and shovelnose sturgeon S. platorynchus in the Missouri River, United States, to infer their trophic position in a large river system. We examined enrichment and energy flow for pallid sturgeon in three segments of the Missouri River (Montana/North Dakota, Nebraska/South Dakota, and Nebraska/Iowa) and made comparisons between species in the two downstream segments (Nebraska/South Dakota and Nebraska/Iowa). Patterns in isotopic composition for pallid sturgeon were consistent with gut content analyses indicating an ontogenetic diet shift from invertebrates to fish prey at sizes of >500-mm fork length (FL) in all three segments of the Missouri River. Isotopic patterns revealed shovelnose sturgeon did not experience an ontogenetic shift in diet and used similar prey resources as small (<500-mm FL) pallid sturgeon in the two downstream segments. We found stable isotope analysis to be an effective tool for evaluating the trophic position of sturgeons within a large river food web.


2009 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 48-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Grohs ◽  
R. A. Klumb ◽  
S. R. Chipps ◽  
G. A. Wanner

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 877-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony P. Porreca ◽  
William D. Hintz ◽  
Gregory W. Whitledge ◽  
Neil P. Rude ◽  
Edward J. Heist ◽  
...  

We investigated the environmental life history of widely distributed threatened and endangered sturgeons in large rivers of the central United States that experience different regulatory regimes and management priorities. Using microchemistry techniques, our goal was to assess how to improve species conservation by dampening the incongruity that often occurs between management and species’ ecological requirements, particularly at large spatial scales. Pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus), shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus), and their hybrids were analyzed for88Sr and44Ca and related to a geographically relevant range of Sr:Ca values for the Missouri and Mississippi rivers to quantify large-scale environmental history. We found natal origin of 81% of all wild sturgeon collected was the lower Missouri River. Pallid and hybrid sturgeon used the middle and upper Mississippi rivers more frequently as they aged, whereas shovelnose sturgeon occupied the lower Missouri River more often throughout life. Our results highlight a mismatch between conservation boundaries and sturgeon river use. Managers should consider expanding current protections for pallid sturgeon to include the unprotected sections of the Mississippi River and that research and conservation actions consider the importance of Mississippi River habitats to Scaphirhynchus sturgeon throughout their life history. Our findings have implications for conserving wide-ranging riverine species at large spatial scales using the framework described here.


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