Biology and population characteristics of the shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum LeSueur 1818 (Osteichthyes:Acipenseridae), in the Saint John River Estuary, New Brunswick, Canada

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (11) ◽  
pp. 2186-2210 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Dadswell
Keyword(s):  
Fresh Water ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Saline Water ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Fork Length ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Shortnose Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Brevirostrum ◽  
Length Relationship ◽  
Population Weight

During a 4-year study, 4178 shortnose sturgeon were captured and 2453 marked with numbered tags and released. For adults, Z was estimated as 0.12–0.15 and F was estimated as 0.01. The population weight–length relationship was log W = 3.21 (log FL) − 5.45, where W = weight in kilograms and FL = fork length in cm. The oldest female was 67 years; the oldest male was 32 years. Von Bertalanffy growth parameters L∞, W∞, and K were 127.0 cm, 24.8 kg, and 0.047 for females, and 108.7 cm, 13.9 kg, and 0.063 for males. Sex ratio of adults was 2:1 for females. Males spawned first about age 12 and probably at 2-year intervals thereafter; females spawned at 18 years and 3- to 5-year intervals thereafter. Fecundity was 27 000 – 208 000 eggs per female. Spawning occurs in freshwater, riverine sections of the upper estuary during May–June at 10–15 °C. Feeding occurred only during May to October in fresh water but continued all year in saline water. Juveniles ate mainly insects and crustaceans; adults ate small molluscs. Juveniles remained in fresh water until they attained 45 cm, then joined the regular annual migration of adults, which moved upstream in spring–summer and seaward in fall. Many ripening females migrated upstream in fall and overwintered in deep, freshwater sites adjacent to spawning grounds. The Seber-Jolly estimate of the adult (> 50 cm) population was 18 000 ± 30%.

scholarly journals Some population characteristics of Oxynoemacheilus angorae (Steindachner, 1897) from the Perşembe Plateau meandering streams in Ordu, Turkey

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-107
Author(s):  
Serdar Yedier ◽  
Derya Bostanci ◽  
Nazmi Polat
Keyword(s):  
Condition Factor ◽  
Fork Length ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Allometric Growth ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Meandering Streams ◽  
Black Sea Region ◽  
Total Length ◽  
Length Relationship ◽  
Average Condition

Abstract The aim of the current study was to determine the length-weight relationship (LWR) and length-length relationship (LLR) with condition factor (K) values for Oxynoemacheilus angorae from the Perşembe Plateau meandering streams in Ordu, Turkey. A total of 65 fish specimens, which were caught with electrofishing gear, were examined. Fish standard length (SL), fork length (FL), total length (TL), and body weight (W) were determined. There were no statistical differences between the measurements of male and female O. angorae specimens; therefore, the female and male specimens were evaluated together in the current study. The LWR equation and determination coefficient of O. angorae were W = 0.014 TL2.7359 (r2 = 0.9659). The 95% confidence interval of the b value for the O. angorae specimens from the Perşembe Plateau meandering streams was 2.7261 to 2.7435. In the present study, it was determined that O. angorae specimens showed negative allometric growth. Calculations of O. angorae TL-SL, TL-FL, and FL-SL relationship equations and determination coefficients were as follows: TL = 0.2091+1.1646 SL, (r2 = 0.986); TL = 0.1341+1.0301 FL (r2 = 0.9914); and FL = 0.0998+1.1261 SL, (r2 = 0.9868), respectively. A new maximum total length was recorded for O. angorae in this study. The average condition factor value of O. angorae was 0.9954. This value could have indicated that this species was encountering some problems in this habitat. The O. angorae parameters determined were the first data reported for the Perşembe Plateau meandering streams in Ordu, Turkey (Middle Black Sea Region).

The influence of salinity on Scirpus americanus tidal marshes in the St. Lawrence River estuary, Québec

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 920-927 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Deschênes ◽  
J.-B. Sérodes
Keyword(s):  
Fresh Water ◽  
Lower Limit ◽  
Brackish Water ◽  
Saline Water ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Considerable Effect ◽  
Tidal Marshes ◽  
Brackish Waters ◽  
Scirpus Americanus ◽  
St Lawrence River

The amount of sodium in the aboveground part of the stalks of Scirpus americanus taken at the peak of biomass is a good indicator of the amount of salinity in the waters flooding the tidal marshes of an estuary. In fresh water, the Na concentrations remain below 10 000 and then increase sharply up to 20 000 – 30 000 mg/kg in brackish waters. Even though this plant can grow under brackish conditions, salinity has a considerable effect on the percentage of submersion it can withstand. Consequently, in the presence of saline water, the lower limit of the vegetation regresses towards the shore. In the case of fresh water, Scirpus americanus occupies the lower part of marshes up to an average of 75% of submersion, while in brackish water it extends to about 35% and then disappears when waters are more saline.

scholarly journals FIRST VERIFIED RECORD FOR SHORTNOSE STURGEON, Acipenser brevirostrum LeSueur, 1818, IN MINAS BASIN, BAY OF FUNDY, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Dadswell ◽  
George Nau ◽  
Michael J.W. Stokesbury
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
New Record ◽  
Fork Length ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Bay Of Fundy ◽  
Shortnose Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Brevirostrum ◽  
The Past ◽  
Photographic Evidence ◽  
Fish Weir

A shortnose sturgeon was caught in fisherman Wayne Linkletter’s intertidal fish weir in Minas Basin near Economy, Nova Scotia, on June 29, 2013. It was an adult, 73.7 cm fork length and weighed ~4.5 kg. Fishers in Minas Basin relate that they have captured shortnose sturgeons in their weirs in the past decade (1 or 2 fish/y) but this is the first sighting verified by photographic evidence. In Canada shortnose sturgeons were previously known only from the Saint John River and Harbour. The new record extends the coastal range of the species by approximately 165 km and is a new addition to the fish fauna of Nova Scotia.

Shortnose sturgeon ( Acipenser brevirostrum ) of the Saco River Estuary: Assessment of a unique habitat

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-37
Author(s):  
C. T. Hodgdon ◽  
C. Tennenhouse ◽  
W. Y. Koh ◽  
J. Fox ◽  
J. A. Sulikowski
Keyword(s):  
River Estuary ◽  
Shortnose Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Brevirostrum

scholarly journals Understanding the basis of shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) partial migration in the Gulf of Maine

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 464-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew E. Altenritter ◽  
Gayle Barbin Zydlewski ◽  
Michael T. Kinnison ◽  
Joseph D. Zydlewski ◽  
Gail S. Wippelhauser
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Maine ◽  
Fork Length ◽  
Resource Limitation ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Shortnose Sturgeon ◽  
River Population ◽  
Acipenser Brevirostrum ◽  
Penobscot River ◽  
Major River ◽  
Kennebec River

Movement of shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) among major river systems in the Gulf of Maine is common and has implications for the management of this endangered species. Directed movements of 61 telemetered individuals monitored between 2010 and 2013 were associated with the river of tagging and individual characteristics. While a small proportion of fish tagged in the Kennebec River moved to the Penobscot River (5%), a much higher proportion of fish tagged in the Penobscot River moved to the Kennebec River (66%), during probable spawning windows. This suggests that Penobscot River fish derive from a migratory contingent within a larger Kennebec River population. Despite this connectivity, fish captured in the Penobscot River were larger (∼100 mm fork length) and had higher condition factors (median Fulton’s K: 0.76) than those captured in the Kennebec River (median Fulton’s K: 0.61). Increased abundance and resource limitation in the Kennebec River may be constraining growth and promoting migration to the Penobscot River by individuals with sufficient initial size and condition. Migrants could experience an adaptive reproductive advantage relative to nonmigratory individuals.

scholarly journals Development of Active Numerating Side-scan for a High-Density Overwintering Location for Endemic Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in the Saint John River, New Brunswick

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel N. Andrews ◽  
Antóin M. O’Sullivan ◽  
Jani Helminen ◽  
Daniel F. Arluison ◽  
Kurt M. Samways ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Fork Length ◽  
Mapping Method ◽  
Population Estimate ◽  
Shortnose Sturgeon ◽  
River Population ◽  
Side Scan Sonar ◽  
Acipenser Brevirostrum ◽  
Saint John

In 1979, the Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) population of the Saint John River, New Brunswick, was estimated at 18,000 ± 5400 individuals. More recently, an estimate of 4836 ± 69 individuals in 2005, and between 3852 and 5222 individuals in 2009 and 2011, was made based on a single Shortnose Sturgeon winter aggregation in the Kennebecasis Bay of the Saint John River, a location thought to contain a large proportion of the population. These data, in combination with the Saint John River serving as the sole spawning location for Shortnose Sturgeon in Canada prompted a species designation of “Special Concern” in 2015 under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). A three-decade span of scientific observations amplified by the traditional knowledge and concerns of local indigenous groups have pointed to a declining population. However, the endemic Shortnose Sturgeon population of the Saint John River has not been comprehensively assessed in recent years. To help update the population estimate, we tested a rapid, low-cost side-scan sonar mapping method coupled with supervised image classification to enumerate individual Sturgeon in a previously undescribed critical winter location in the Saint John River. We then conducted an underwater video camera survey of the area, in which we did not identify any fish species other than Shortnose Sturgeon. These data were then synchronized with four years of continuous acoustic tracking of 18 Shortnose Sturgeon to produce a population estimate in each of the five identified winter habitats and the Saint John River as a whole. Using a side-scan sonar, we identified > 12,000 Shortnose Sturgeon in a single key winter location and estimated the full river population as > 20,000 individuals > ~40 cm fork length. We conclude that the combined sonar/image processing method presented herein provides an effective and rapid assessment of large fish such as Sturgeon when occurring in winter aggregation. Our results also indicate that the Shortnose Sturgeon population of the Saint John River could be similar to the last survey estimate conducted in the late 1970s, but more comprehensive and regular surveys are needed to more accurately assess the state of the population.

Transmission and development of Capillospirura pseudoargumentosa (Appy and Dadswell, 1978) (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae)

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 848-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Appy ◽  
M. J. Dadswell
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Shortnose Sturgeon ◽  
Fourth Stage ◽  
Developmental Morphology ◽  
Gammarus Tigrinus ◽  
Acipenser Brevirostrum ◽  
Infective Larvae ◽  
The Third ◽  
Third Stage

The cystidicolid nematode, Capillospirura pseudoargumentosa (Appy and Dadswell, 1978) (Habronematoidea) moulted twice and developed to the infective third stage in Gammarus tigrinus and G. fasciatus (Amphipoda) but not in isopods, decapods, mysids or other amphipods. At 10–14 °C development to the third stage in G. tigrinus took between 28 and 40 days and at 21–25 °C, it took between 10 and 15 days. Infective larvae fed to shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum, moulted from the third to the fourth stage within 15 days. Moulting third- and fourth-stage larvae were found in naturally infected sturgeon collected in the Saint John River estuary, New Brunswick. The developmental morphology of C. pseudoargumentosa is compared with that of other cystidicolid nematodes.

Anadromous Sturgeons: Habitats, Threats, and Management

2007 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
The Other ◽  
Shortnose Sturgeon ◽  
Delaware River ◽  
Acipenser Brevirostrum ◽  
Feasibility Assessment ◽  
Length Relationship ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Secondary Study

<em>Abstract.</em>—As part of an assessment of available remote sensing technologies for monitoring shortnose sturgeon <em>Acipenser brevirostrum</em>, field evaluations of a split-beam hydroacoustic monitoring system were conducted on the Delaware River in December 2002. The survey area selected for evaluation of the system was a section of the river near Bordentown, New Jersey, where adult shortnose sturgeon are known to aggregate during the winter months. Hydroacoustic measurements were collected on eight adult shortnose sturgeon captured in gill nets on December 4–6, 2002 by passing over these netted fish with a 200-kHz split-beam hydroacoustic system sampling a downlooking 15° transducer. The netted sturgeon were recovered following the acoustic sampling, physically measured, and released. The primary objective of this comparison was to determine if shortnose sturgeon could be detected by a hydroacoustic system, given their backscattering characteristics and general close proximity to the bottom. A secondary study objective evaluated shortnose sturgeon acoustic attributes relative to those of other coexisting fish species to assess if sturgeon exhibited any unique characteristics that might be used to distinguish them. The 2002 feasibility assessment determined that shortnose sturgeon could be detected in close proximity to the bottom by a scientific split-beam hydroacoustic system sampling at a relatively narrow (0.2 ms) broadcast pulse width. A netted sturgeon resting directly on the bottom was resolved by the acoustic system. Acoustic measurements of a tungsten carbide sphere determined that the target could be detected to within 12 cm of the substrate. The eight netted sturgeon returned mean target strength (TS) estimates of –26.5 decibels (dB), well above –80 dB ambient background noise levels. Relative to white sucker <em>Catostomus commersonii</em>, the other captured fish species, shortnose sturgeon differed in two measured acoustic parameters, mean fish TS, and distance from the bottom. Shortnose sturgeon were observed to return greater mean TS values (increased acoustic backscatter) and to be generally more associated with the bottom than the other evaluated fish species. Given the limited data set, these observations are only qualitative in nature, but indicate that shortnose sturgeon can be detected using split-beam echo sounding systems and may exhibit some unique acoustic characteristics allowing their differentiation from other fish species. Comparisons of shortnose sturgeon mean TS and total length determined that the attributes were positively correlated. Sturgeon mean TS measured during the experiments was greater than predicted for fish of equivalent length by the empirical TS-length relationship published by Love (1977).

Anadromous Sturgeons: Habitats, Threats, and Management

2007 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Fork Length ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Shortnose Sturgeon ◽  
Atlantic Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Brevirostrum ◽  
Neuse River ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Gill Net ◽  
Ultrasonic Transmitter

Abstract. – Shortnose sturgeon <em>Acipenser brevirostrum</em> historically occurred in most major Atlantic Coast rivers from Saint Johns River, New Brunswick, Canada to St. John’s River, Florida. However, there are few records of shortnose sturgeon occurrences within North Carolina and none from the Neuse River. We conducted a 2-year intensive gill-net survey, following the National Marine Fisheries Service sampling protocol, and a reward program in order to determine their population status within the Neuse River. No shortnose sturgeon were observed, although 10 juvenile Atlantic sturgeon (506–992 mm fork length) were encountered. Habitat surveys of the lower Neuse River, where shortnose sturgeon would be expected to occur during summer, showed that bottom waters were severely hypoxic during June–September of 2001–2002. A juvenile Atlantic sturgeon tagged with an ultrasonic transmitter moved upstream of the unsuitable summer habitat and remained in a restricted area until late fall, when water quality improved due to increased flows and lower temperatures. We developed logistic regression models of watershed and river characteristics based on 36 Atlantic Coast rivers with a known presence or absence of shortnose sturgeon. Model predictions suggest that the Neuse River should contain a population of shortnose sturgeon based on the amount of physical habitat. We hypothesize that shortnose sturgeon have been extirpated from the Neuse River due to a lack of suitable summer habitat. Population recovery may be impossible until habitat quality can be improved.

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