Abstract
The swimming ground speed and swimming depths of beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) and stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus) were investigated using ultrasonic telemetry between 2011 and 2017 in the Lower Danube River (river kilometer (rkm) 0 Sulina-rkm 1075 Bazias). Acoustic telemetry receivers VR2W and V16TP tags (Vemco, Canada) were used to collect data about sturgeon migration behavior in the Lower Danube River between the Black Sea and the Iron Gate II dam. The tags, equipped with depth and temperature sensors, provided data about beluga and stellate sturgeon migration periods, swimming speeds, and depths. Twenty-three beluga sturgeon (184-245 cm TL) and twenty-one stellate sturgeon (92-135 cm TL) were ultrasonically tagged and passively tracked using hydrophone receivers installed in the river between rkm 71 and rkm 860. Three tagged beluga sturgeon returned after 2 and 5 years and two stellate sturgeon returned after 2 years since the time of their initial release in the river. This study provides, for the first time, further details concerning beluga sturgeon and stellate sturgeon migratory behavior patterns, traveled distances, swimming depths, and their swimming ground speeds during spawning migration.
Highlights
The Danube River is a European river that begins in Germany and flows southeast for 2850 km, flowing through 10 countries before draining into the Black Sea
2727 temperature and depth detections were recorded from 44 sturgeon specimens; 2279 detections were from beluga sturgeon and 448 records were from stellate sturgeon
The spring migration for beluga sturgeon occurs from February to May and for stellate sturgeon it begins in March and ends in May (Oţel, 2007)
Summary
The Danube River is a European river that begins in Germany and flows southeast for 2850 km, flowing through 10 countries before draining into the Black Sea. The Lower Danube River stretches from the Black Sea to Baziaș at river kilometer (rkm) 1075 and includes the first dam (Iron Gate II dam, which was completed in 1984) located at rkm 864 on the border between Romania and Serbia (Gâştescu, 1990). The Lower Danube River, a complex system of beaches and islands, where a significant number of fish species live, is where wild sturgeon still migrate upstream to spawn. There are 3 anadromous long-distance migratory sturgeon species in the Danube River, the beluga sturgeon (Huso huso), stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus), and Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii), and one freshwater species, the sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus).
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