"Lake Sturgeon Spawning Beds on the St. Lawrence River Near Waddington and Massena, NY"

Two pairs of artificial lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) spawning beds were built in the St. Lawrence River near Waddington and Massena, NY during 2007 and 2012, respectively.  Each bed is approximately 900 m²; 0.3 m thick; and consists of 5-10 cm diameter crushed stone.  Eight to 10 large boulders were deployed just downstream of each bed to serve as velocity refugia.  The depth of water at each location varies from 9 to 12 m and current velocities range from 0.80 to 1.5 m/s.  Substrate material was installed in locations absent of zebra mussel and filamentous algae. Every spawning season since 2008, hundreds of sturgeon have been consistently observed with underwater video cameras at the Waddington beds.  Distinct peaks in sturgeon abundance generally occurred the first week of June each year when water temperatures approached 16°C.  Egg trap and larval drift net collections subsequently confirmed successful reproduction on the beds.  Future plans are to continue to monitor the beds at both locations for sturgeon use, monitor the substrate for sedimentation/siltation, algal growth and zebra mussel colonization.  Knowledge gained from these efforts can provide a blueprint for future lake sturgeon spawning beds.