Resource selection by juvenile pallid sturgeonScaphirhynchus albus(Forbes and Richardson, 1905) in the channelized Missouri River, Nebraska, USA

Abstract

Habitat selection has been quantified for age-0 and adult pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus Bull. Illinois State Lab. Nat. Hist., 7, 1905, 37, but little is known regarding habitat use of the juvenile fish. The objective of this study was to quantify habitat use and selection of juvenile pallid sturgeon in the Missouri River, Nebraska, USA. Thirty-seven age-4 pallid sturgeon with transmitters were released in July of 2014, plus an additional 21 in September, with habitat monitored using biotelemetry. Age-1 and age-4 hatchery reared pallid sturgeon were found to avoid areas associated with the outside bend and thalweg habitats that were characterized by rapid water velocity (>1 ms−1), which accounted for 50% of the area in the channelized Missouri River. Age-1 pallid sturgeon selected an off-channel habitat and inside bend habitat while age-4 pallid sturgeon selected an off-channel and inside bend channel border habitat. Juvenile pallid sturgeon in unaltered rivers have been shown to associate with island tips and sand bars, habitat that is largely absent in the channelized Missouri River. This study indicates that juvenile pallid sturgeon in the Missouri River, Nebraska are selecting habitats with shallow water and slow water velocity, similar to those associated with island tips and sand bars in unaltered reaches.