Where Are You When I'm Not Looking: Insights into Pallid Sturgeon Behavior and Habitat Use from Surgically Implanted Data Storage Tags

The Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project (CSRP) is a collaborative, multidisciplinary research project developed to examine the behavior and ecology of the pallid sturgeon on the Lower Missouri River.  The study relies heavily on telemetry to infer patterns of behavior and habitat use of adult sturgeon.  With over 800 miles of river to track, and dozens of telemetry-tagged sturgeon, research vessels cannot be everywhere, continuously monitoring every tagged sturgeon.  Dangerous night-time conditions, extreme flow events, and winter ice frequently limit our ability to access riverine habitats, relocate tagged sturgeon, and record sturgeon behavior.   Each pallid sturgeon tagged with a telemetry transmitter is also surgically implanted with a data storage tag (DST) that continuously records temperature and depth, as pressure, at 15-30 minute intervals across all seasons.  Data recorded by the DSTs, combined with comprehensive, minimally-invasive reproductive evaluations, frequent recaptures of individuals, and environmental data collected from remotely deployed data loggers, provide important insight into pallid sturgeon feeding, migration, and spawning behavior, even when biologists can’t be actively monitoring their movements.  Data shown in this presentation highlights the utility of DSTs in assessing habitat use, seasonal activity, diurnal patterns, tributary use, migratory pathway selection, and the timing and success of spawning.