Experimental assessment of predation risk for juvenile green sturgeon, Acipenser medirostris, by two predatory fishes

Abstract

Predation is a common cause of early life stage mortality in fishes, with reduced risk as individuals grow and become too large to be consumed by gape‐limited predatory fishes. Large‐bodied species, such as sturgeon, may reach this size‐refuge within the first year. However, there is limited understanding of what this size threshold is despite the value of this information for conservation management. We conducted laboratory‐based predation experiments on juvenile green sturgeon, Acipenser medirostris, to estimate vulnerability to predation during outmigration from their natal reaches in California to the Pacific Ocean. Two highly abundant and non‐native predatory fish species (largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, and striped bass, Morone saxatilis) were captured in the wild to be tested with developing juvenile green sturgeon from the UC Davis Green Sturgeon Broodstock Program. Experimental tanks, each containing five predators, received thirty prey for 24‐hr exposures. Between sturgeon prey trials, predators were exposed to alternative prey species to confirm predators were exhibiting normal feeding behaviors. In addition to green sturgeon mortality data, trials were video recorded and predatory behaviors were quantified. Overall, these predator species displayed much lower rates of predation on juvenile green sturgeon than alternate prey. Predation decreased with green sturgeon size, and predation risk diminished to zero once sturgeon reached a length threshold of roughly 20–22 cm total length, or between 38% and 58% of predator total length. Behavioral analyses showed low motivation to feed on green sturgeon, with both predators attempting predation less frequently as sturgeon grew. Results of this study imply that optimizing growth rates for larval and juvenile sturgeon would shorten the time in which they are vulnerable to predation. Future experiments should assess predation risk of juvenile green sturgeon by additional predator species common to the Sacramento‐San Joaquin watershed.