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<oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd">
  <dc:contributor>M.L. Rugg</dc:contributor>
  <dc:contributor>M.A. Pegg</dc:contributor>
  <dc:contributor>Reynaldo Patino</dc:contributor>
  <dc:contributor>J.J. Hammen</dc:contributor>
  <dc:creator>M. J. Hamel</dc:creator>
  <dc:date>2015</dc:date>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;We assessed reproductive status, fecundity, egg size, and spawning dynamics of shovelnose sturgeon&amp;nbsp;&lt;i&gt;Scaphirhynchus platorynchus&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;in the lower Platte River. Shovelnose sturgeon were captured throughout each year during 2011 and 2012 using a multi-gear approach designed to collect a variety of fish of varying sizes and ages. Fish were collected monthly for a laboratory assessment of reproductive condition. Female shovelnose sturgeon reached fork length at 50% maturity (&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;FL&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;50&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;span&gt;) at 547&amp;nbsp;mm and at a minimum length of 449&amp;nbsp;mm. The average female spawning cycle was 3&amp;ndash;5&amp;nbsp;years. Mean egg count for adult females was 16&amp;nbsp;098&amp;nbsp;&amp;plusmn;&amp;nbsp;1103 (SE), and mean egg size was 2.401&amp;nbsp;&amp;plusmn;&amp;nbsp;0.051 (SE) mm. Total fecundity was positively correlated with length (&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;r&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;=&amp;nbsp;0.728; P&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;lt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;0.001), mass (&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;r&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;=&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;0.896; P&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;lt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;0.001), and age (&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;r&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;=&amp;nbsp;0.396; P&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;=&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;0.029). However, fish size and age did not correlate to egg size (P&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;0.05). Male shovelnose sturgeon reached&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;FL&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sub&gt;50&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;at 579&amp;nbsp;mm and at a minimum length of 453&amp;nbsp;mm. The average male spawning cycle was 1&amp;ndash;2&amp;nbsp;years. Reproductively viable male and female sturgeon occurred during the spring (March&amp;ndash;May) and autumn (September&amp;ndash;October) in both years, indicating spring and potential autumn spawning events. Shovelnose sturgeon in the lower Platte River are maturing at a shorter length and younger age compared to populations elsewhere. Although it is unknown if the change is plastic or evolutionary, unfavorable environmental conditions or over-harvest may lead to hastened declines compared to other systems.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
  <dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
  <dc:identifier>10.1111/jai.12785</dc:identifier>
  <dc:language>en</dc:language>
  <dc:publisher>Wiley-Blackwell</dc:publisher>
  <dc:title>Reproductive traits of shovelnose sturgeon &lt;i&gt;Scaphirhynchus platorynchus&lt;/i&gt; (Rafinesque, 1820) in the lower Platte River, Nebraska</dc:title>
  <dc:type>article</dc:type>
</oai_dc:dc>