Kootenai River White Sturgeon Investigations and Experimental Culture, 1992 Annual Report.

Apperson, Kimberly A.; Wakkinen, Virginia

doi:10.2172/10119399

Cited by 4 publications

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“…Fish sampling.-White sturgeon data are available for periodic but substantial sampling from 1977 through 2001 with setlines, angling, and gill nets (Andrusak 1980;Partridge 1983;Apperson andAnders 1990, 1991;Apperson 1992;Apperson and Wakkinen 1993;Marcuson 1994;Marcuson et al 1995;Paragamian et al 1995Paragamian et al , 1997Paragamian et al , 1999 2001a; RLL 1999). Similar gear was used in all sample periods although the effort allocated to each varied.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status, Population Dynamics, and Future Prospects of the Endangered Kootenai River White Sturgeon Population with and without Hatchery Intervention

2005

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Synthesis of sampling data from 1977 through 2001, including extensive mark-recapture data, provided a comprehensive and current picture of the status, population dynamics, and future prospects of the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus. Natural recruitment was inconsistent in the 1960s, and with the additional impact of Libby Dam since the 1970s, the wild population now consists of an aging cohort of large, old fish. Jolly-Seber population estimates have declined from approximately 7,000 white sturgeon in the late 1970s to 760 fish in 2000. At the current mortality rate of 9% per year, fewer than 500 adults will remain by 2005 and fewer than 50 by 2030. At current growth and maturity rates, hatchery fish being released since 1992 should begin recruiting to the adult population around 2020. Population projections describe a significant bottleneck in spawner numbers as the wild population declines but hatchery fish have not yet matured. Only 113-203 wild females are projected to contribute to hatchery broodstock over the expected life span of the current population. With current levels of hatchery production, the population is projected to stabilize at about 3,000 adults-although numbers predicted by these population simulations are extremely sensitive to estimates of survival rate. The next generation is expected to be produced primarily from hatchery spawning of wild adults. Habitat restoration measures to improve survival and rearing conditions for the wild component are critical to recovery efforts in the long term; however, recovery measures should also include a balanced consideration of the short-term and long-term risks faced by the white sturgeon population. Use of increasing numbers of broodstock in the hatchery will reduce risks of genetic founder effects. Increasing numbers of juveniles produced per family in the hatchery will provide a hedge for uncertainty in broodstock availability as the population declines.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Status, Population Dynamics, and Future Prospects of the Endangered Kootenai River White Sturgeon Population with and without Hatchery Intervention

2005

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“…Following construction of Libby Dam in the Montana segment of the Kootenai River in 1974 (Figure 1), built in part to tame recurrent downstream flooding, there has been only limited (if any) recruitment of white sturgeon, although adults older than 25 years persist in declining numbers (Partridge, 1983;Apperson and Anders, 1991;Duke et al, 1999;Anders et al, 2002). Mark-recapture studies estimated only about 1,500 adults and 87 juveniles in the mid-1990s (Paragamian et al, 1996).…”

Section: E Kootenai River Idaho/british Columbiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Libby Dam changed the annual hydrograph markedly, with a pronounced decrease in discharge in the spring when white sturgeon make spawning runs into the lower Kootenai River. High flows in the spring during predam years, averaging about 1840 m 3 /sec, were reduced to below 850 m 3 /sec (Apperson and Anders, 1991; Libby Dam stores spring runoff for release primarily in winter, when hydropower generation is needed). High spring flows are important for spawning and recruitment of many sturgeon populations worldwide and in the Columbia River basin (Alekperov, 1969;Kholoshko, 1972;Votinov and Kas'yanov, 1979;Parsley, 1991;Parsley and Beckman, 1994;Auer, 1996;Nilo et al, 1997).…”

Section: E Kootenai River Idaho/british Columbiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This has been demonstrated by stocking juveniles in a program of conservation aquaculture (Ireland et al, 2002). To temporarily sustain the declining population, a conservation hatchery program was implemented in 1988 (Apperson and Anders, 1991). Egg viability from induced spawning was demonstrated and artificial propagation has produced abundant white sturgeon fry composed of many discrete families (unique pairings, to maintain genetic diversity).…”

Section: E Kootenai River Idaho/british Columbiamentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Riparian Habitat Hypothesis for Successful Reproduction of White Sturgeon

Coutant

2004

Reviews in Fisheries Science

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White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) has recruitment failure or severe interannual variability in much of its range. Exceptions are Columbia River below Bonneville Dam, Snake River below Hells Canyon Dam, lower Fraser River, and Sacramento River. Since rivers were impounded or flows regulated, once-continuous populations now isolated by natural barriers or dams often have not reproduced successfully, despite successful spawning events. Research has not adequately explained recruitment failures or why certain populations are successful. This paper proposes that submerged riparian habitat during seasonal high water is needed for early development. Where recruitment is successful, channels are complex and floodable riparian vegetation or rocky substrate is abundant. There, spawning occurs in turbulent zones upstream (1-5 km) of seasonally submerged riparian habitat, eggs can disperse into inundated habitat and adhere to newly wetted surfaces for incubation, yolk-sac larvae can move to riparian crevices for prefeeding development, feeding larvae have food-rich flooded habitat for early growth, and larvae can transition to juveniles as water recedes to permanent channels. Such habitat is lacking where recruitment is low and present only in high-flow years where recruitment is sporadic. These observations suggest that management should rehabilitate riparian zones and provide high river flows during spawning to stimulate natural recruitment.

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Recovery plan for Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

et al. 1999

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Summary The white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) of the Kootenai River was listed as endangered on September 6, 1994 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. This transboundary population, residing in Kootenay Lake and Kootenay River in Canada, and the Kootenai River in the US, has been in general decline since the mid‐1960's. There has been very little recruitment to this population in the last 20 years. This population became isolated from other white sturgeon populations of the Columbia River basin during the last ice age of approximately 10,000 years ago. The population adapted to the pre‐development conditions of the Kootenai system, with a high spring freshet and extensive side channel and low‐lying delta marshlands. Modification of the Kootenai River by human activities, such as industrial developments, floodplain dyking, and dam construction has changed the hydrograph of the Kootenai River, altering sturgeon spawning, incubation and rearing habitats and reducing overall biological productivity. A Kootenai River white sturgeon draft recovery plan was prepared by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with other agencies in the US and Canada. The plan was peer reviewed and there was a parallel public consultation process, where public commentary was invited from both sides of the international border. The short‐term recovery objectives of the recovery plan are to prevent extinction and re‐establish successful natural recruitment. The identified long‐term objectives are the re‐establishment of a self sustaining population and the restoration of productive habitat, in order to downlist to threatened status and subsequently delist this population when recovery is well established. Specific actions needed for recovery include spring flow augmentation during the reproduction period; a conservation aquaculture program to prevent near‐term extinction; habitat restoration, and research and monitoring programs to evaluate recovery progress.

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Kootenai River White Sturgeon Investigations and Experimental Culture, 1992 Annual Report.

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Status, Population Dynamics, and Future Prospects of the Endangered Kootenai River White Sturgeon Population with and without Hatchery Intervention

Status, Population Dynamics, and Future Prospects of the Endangered Kootenai River White Sturgeon Population with and without Hatchery Intervention

A Riparian Habitat Hypothesis for Successful Reproduction of White Sturgeon

Recovery plan for Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

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