Age-0 Shovelnose Sturgeon Prey Consumption in the Lower Missouri River

A lack of nutritious food during the first year of life is a hypothesized factor that may limit survival of endangered pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus in the lower Missouri River (LMOR). Unfortunately, information for age‐0 pallid sturgeon diets remains limited, but diet analyses for age‐0 Scap...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:River research and applications 2016-10, Vol.32 (8), p.1819-1823
Main Authors: Gosch, N. J. C., Miller, M. L., Gemeinhardt, T. R., Starks, T. A., Civiello, A. P., Long, J. M., Bonneau, J. L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acipenser
diet
Freshwater
Missouri River
pallid sturgeon
Scaphirhynchus
Scaphirhynchus albus
Scaphirhynchus platorynchus
shovelnose sturgeon
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Summary:A lack of nutritious food during the first year of life is a hypothesized factor that may limit survival of endangered pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus in the lower Missouri River (LMOR). Unfortunately, information for age‐0 pallid sturgeon diets remains limited, but diet analyses for age‐0 Scaphirhynchus spp. (sturgeon hereafter) have occurred. Little information, however, exists on age‐0 sturgeon diets in the LMOR; thus, our primary objective was to document age‐0 sturgeon diets in this system. We examined guts contents from 30 individuals, which were genetically identified as shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus, and three stomachs were empty. The remaining age‐0 shovelnose sturgeon consumed chironomid larvae almost exclusively (>98% of prey items consumed). Our results were similar to studies conducted in other systems, and it appears unlikely that a lack of nutritious food was a major factor affecting the individuals captured during this study. This effort provides important information to help guide ongoing adaptive management efforts in the LMOR. © 2016 The Authors. River Research and Applications published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ISSN:1535-1459
1535-1467
DOI:10.1002/rra.3003