Pallid sturgeon populations occupy some 4,500 miles of river in the Missouri and Mississippi river basins and have been subjected to a broad range of changes during the last century.  Populations in the Missouri and middle Mississippi rivers are imperiled and characterized by either complete recruitment failure or very low levels that limit population growth (bottleneck), while those in the lower Mississippi River are more stable.  Where populations are declining, the recruitment bottleneck likely occurs at some point between spawning and when free embryos settle from the drift and begin feeding.  Understanding the mechanisms related to early-life survival and identifying the actions necessary for removing impediments to recruitment is paramount in establishing self-sustaining populations range-wide.  This symposium will provide a forum to discuss hypotheses related to poor survival or recruitment of populations, management actions that seek to improve habitat conditions for spawning or early-life history stages, and other information that can be used to improve the effectiveness of restorative efforts (e.g., genetics, contaminants, habitat, energetics, etc.) for pallid sturgeon populations.  Objectives of this symposium include discussion of factors that influence reproductive success or the survival of early life stages, evaluating the effectiveness (potential or observed) of management actions or restoration efforts, and the influence of metapopulation dynamics and genetics on population viability.