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Persistence of identifiable remains of white sturgeon juveniles in digestive tracts of northern pikeminnow

California Fish and Game
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Abstract

Juvenile white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, have not been commonly identified as prey items in digestive tracts of fishes collected in the wild. In particular, the diet of northern pikeminnow, Ptychocheilus oregonensis, an abundant Pacific Northwest freshwater predator which has been widely studied, has not included juvenile white sturgeon. To aid in interpreting these results and help in planning future feeding studies, we determined the persistence of identifiable remains of white sturgeon juveniles in this predator's digestive tract. Northern pikeminnow (mean total length = 476 mm), were force-fed meals of 2 or 3 juvenile white sturgeon (mean total length = 91 mm). After digestive periods of 4, 8, 16, 24, 28, and 32h at a water temperature of about 17 ??C, fish were sacrificed, digestive tracts removed, and contents examined. Our results indicate that juvenile white sturgeon would be readily discernable in digestive tracts of northern pikeminnow at least a day after feeding, with scutes remaining undigested and identifiable for 28 h.

Suggested Citation

Gadomski, D., Frost, C., 2004, Persistence of identifiable remains of white sturgeon juveniles in digestive tracts of northern pikeminnow: California Fish and Game, v. 90, no. 2, p. 85-90.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Persistence of identifiable remains of white sturgeon juveniles in digestive tracts of northern pikeminnow
Series title California Fish and Game
Volume 90
Issue 2
Year Published 2004
Language English
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title California Fish and Game
First page 85
Last page 90
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