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Open-File Report 2014–1106

Prepared in cooperation with the Missouri River Recovery–Integrated Science Program, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Yankton, South Dakota

Ecological Requirements for Pallid Sturgeon Reproduction and Recruitment in the Missouri River—Annual Report 2011

By Aaron J. DeLonay, Robert B. Jacobson, Kimberly A. Chojnacki, Mandy L. Annis, Patrick J. Braaten, Caroline M. Elliott, David B. Fuller, Justin D. Haas, Tyler M. Haddix, Hallie L.A. Ladd, Brandon J. McElroy, Gerald E. Mestl, Diana M. Papoulias, Jason C. Rhoten, and Mark L. Wildhaber

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (10.7 MB)Abstract

The Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project is a multiyear, multiagency collaborative research framework developed to provide information to support pallid sturgeon recovery and Missouri River management decisions. The project strategy integrates field and laboratory studies of sturgeon reproductive ecology, early life history, habitat requirements, and physiology. The project scope of work is developed annually with cooperating research partners and in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri River Recovery—Integrated Science Program. The research consists of several interdependent and complementary tasks that engage multiple disciplines.

The research tasks in the 2011 scope of work emphasized understanding of reproductive migrations and spawning of adult sturgeon, and hatch and drift of larvae. These tasks were addressed in three hydrologically and geomorphologically distinct parts of the Missouri River Basin: the Lower Missouri River downstream from Gavins Point Dam, the Upper Missouri River downstream from Fort Peck Dam and including downstream reaches of the Milk River, and the Lower Yellowstone River. The research is designed to inform management decisions related to channel re-engineering, flow modification, and pallid sturgeon population augmentation on the Missouri River, and throughout the range of the species. Research and progress made through this project are reported to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers annually. This annual report details the research effort and progress made by the Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project during 2011.

First posted September 11, 2014

For additional information, contact:
Director, Columbia Environmental Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
4200 New Haven Road
Columbia, MO 65201
http://www.cerc.usgs.gov/

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Suggested citation:

DeLonay, A.J., Jacobson, R.B., Chojnacki, K.A., Annis, M.L., Braaten, P.J., Elliott, C.M., Fuller, D.B., Haas, J.D., Haddix, T.M., Ladd, H.L.A., McElroy, B.J., Mestl, G.E., Papoulias, D.M., Rhoten, J.C., and Wildhaber, M.L., 2014, Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Missouri River—Annual report 2011: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1106, 96 p., https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141106.

ISSN 2331-1258 (online)



Contents

Acknowledgments

Conversion Factors

Abstract

Introduction

Scope of Work

Hydroclimatic Conditions During 2011

Task 1—Movement, Habitat Use, and Reproductive Behavior of Shovelnose Sturgeon and Pallid Sturgeon in the Lower Missouri River

Task 2—Reproductive Ecology and Migrations of Pallid Sturgeon in the Yellowstone River

Task 3—Pilot Study to Assess Male Sturgeon Reproductive Biology and Indicators of Successful Spawning, Lower Missouri River

Task 4—Missouri River Pallid Sturgeon Population Assessment Program Synthesis towards Understanding Population Trends of Pallid Sturgeon and Other Targeted Species

Task 5—Examination of Pallid Sturgeon Use, Migrations, and Spawning in the Milk River and Missouri River below Fort Peck Dam

Summary and Conclusions

References Cited


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