Spatial Drift Dynamics of Shovelnose Sturgeon and Pallid Sturgeon Prelarvae in the Transition Zone of Ft. Peck Reservoir
Volume 16, No. 4, 2010 • Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society (AFS) - Presentation Abstract[pdfjs-viewer url=”http://www.intermountainjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/IJS-2010-v16-n4-Abstract-AFS-Ranney-Guy-Braaten-Fuller-Webb-Kapperman-Gardner-pp94.pdf” viewer_width=644px viewer_height=700px fullscreen=false download=false print=true openfile=false]
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Authors
Ranney, Steven H., Webb, Molly, Guy, Christopher S., Braaten, Patrick J., Fuller, David B., Kappenman, Kevin M., Gardner, William M.
Keywords
Montana State University, Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Scaphirhynchus, Montana, pallid sturgeon, shovelnose sturgeon, sturgeons, Fort Peck, Fort Peck Fisheries Office, J Braaten Geological Survey Columbia Environmental Research Center Fort Peck Project Office Fort Peck Montana, Kappenman USDI Fish Wildlife Service Bozeman Fish Technology Center, Christopher S Guy Geological Survey Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit Montana State University PO Box, William M Gardner Montana Fish Wildlife Parks Lewistown Area Resource Office, Fort Peck Project Office, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, sturgeon, prelarvae, pallid, shovelnose, ft peck, sturgeon prelarvae, ft peck reservoir, pallid sturgeon prelarvae, transition zone headwaters, percent zerovelocity area, prelarvae nets deployed, prelarvae recaptured thalweg, fort peck montana, sturgeon prelarvae nets, sturgeon prelarvae nets deployed, fort peck montana 59223
Scientific Disciplines
Abstract Text
Habitats in reservoir headwaters may cause high mortality of sturgeon prelarvae. Short inter-reservoir reaches export drifting prelarvae from hatch locations into reservoirs. However, flooded vegetation could entrain prelarvae. We used 2 day post hatch (dph) shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) and 1-dph pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) to determine the spatial dynamics of drifting prelarvae.We released 220,000 2-dph shovelnose sturgeon 4 km upstream of Ft. Peck Reservoir and 135,000 1-dph pallid sturgeon 2.5 km upstream of the reservoir the following day. We recaptured shovelnose sturgeon prelarvae with nets deployed along three transects of the transition zone and within the headwaters of the reservoir.We sampled 5148.2 m3 of water and recaptured 323 prelarval shovelnose sturgeon for a recapture rate of 0.14 percent. Fifty-nine percent of recaptured prelarvae were recaptured from the thalweg, 12 percent from the flooded vegetation-main channel interface, 9 percent from the channel border, and 19 percent from the zero-velocity area of Ft. Peck Reservoir. We recaptured pallid sturgeon prelarvae with nets deployed along one transect of the transition zone and within the headwaters of the reservoir. We sampled 6608.5 m3 of water and recaptured 397 pallid sturgeon prelarvae for a recapture rate of 0.29 percent. Twenty one percent of prelarvae were recaptured within the thalweg, 0.25 percent were recaptured along the channel margins, and 79 percent from the zero-velocity area of Ft. Peck Reservoir. Although recapture rates were low, the majority of prelarvae were captured in the thalweg and transported to the headwaters of Ft. Peck Reservoir. The drift dynamics observed in this study provide a springboard for further research.