Environmental Life History of Lake Sturgeon and Shovelnose Sturgeon in the Mississippi River

Several sturgeon populations in North America, including those in the Mississippi River basin, are at risk due to habitat degradation and overharvest.  In the Upper Mississippi River, Lake sturgeon are maintained by stocking, whereas shovelnose sturgeon are naturally reproducing and may be legally commercially harvested.  Sturgeons that inhabit the Upper Mississippi River may also potentially use other interconnected river reaches during a portion of their lifetimes. However, the relative importance of different river reaches as natal environments for shovelnose sturgeon present in the Upper Mississippi River is unknown, and knowledge of the frequency of sturgeon movement among these interconnected rivers is limited. Thus, we sought to reconstruct inter-river movement patterns of stocked lake sturgeon and wild shovelnose sturgeon and to determine natal environment of shovelnose sturgeon collected from the Upper Mississippi River using fin ray Sr:Ca. Overall, we documented that lake sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon captured in the Upper Mississippi River may move throughout these interconnected large rivers at various life stages. Thus, interjurisdictional cooperation will likely be needed to ensure the success of lake sturgeon reintroduction in the Upper Mississippi River.