Download or read book Kootenai River White Sturgeon Conservation Aquaculture Program 1990 2007 written by United States. Bonneville Power Administration and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This report provides an overview of the first 17 years of the Kootenai River white sturgeon Conservation Aquaculture Program. The report includes a description of the problems that contributed to the decline of Kootenai sturgeon, objectives of the hatchery program, a history of program development, hatchery facilities, aquaculture operations and methods, production numbers, and monitoring and evaluation results."--Program overview.

Download or read book Kootenai River White Sturgeon Conservation Aquaculture Program 1990 2005 written by United States. Bonneville Power Administration and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Kootenai River White Sturgeon Conservation Aquaculture Program written by Paul J. Anders and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 13 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho proposed an experimental hatchery program to address the decline of the white sturgeon population in the Kootenai River. Since its inception in 1990, the Kootenai River White Sturgeon Conservation Aquaculture Program has continued to meet its objective of reducing the threat of extinction by providing annual year classes from native broodstock, representing inherent genetic variability in its broodstock and progeny groups, and minimizing the introduction or transmission of pathogens or disease to the wild (source) population. By the late 1990s it became clear that non-hatchery efforts to restore recruitment were failing to counteract the extinction threat. This trend continues to the present (2008). In 2004 updated demographic analysis suggested that as few as 500 adults remained in the population, and triggered increased hatchery production for demographic and genetic conservation. In 2005, a report was prepared describing endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon population trends and causal factors of decline along with program history, protocols, and accomplishments during its first 15 years of operation (KTOI 2006). Subsequent data analysis revealed newly reduced survival rates based on lower recapture frequencies of earlier life stages and release groups of smaller fish. Embryos and free-embryos (yolks-sac larvae) released during several years in the early 2000s have provided no evidence for post-release survival to date. Review of these analyses warranted an updated report to recommend and delineate 2008 operational changes for the program. This report includes a brief program history for perspective, a summary of postrelease survival analyses of early life stages released from the Kootenai Hatchery (Justice and Pyper 2007), and recommends program operational changes for 2008. This report does not address hatchery operations beyond 2008 because the Program is currently involved in Step 1 of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's 3- Step Hatchery Master Planning process. Recommendations regarding Program facility and operational changes beyond 2008 will be reported in future Master Planning documents."--Program overview.

Download or read book Kootenai River White Sturgeon Conservation Aquaculture Project written by United States. Bonneville Power Administration and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Kootenai River White Sturgeon Recovery Implementation Plan and Schedule 2005 2010 Technical Report 2004 2005 written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kootenai River white sturgeon have been declining for at least 50 years and extinction of the wild population is now imminent (Paragamian et al. 2005). Only 630 adults were estimated to remain in 2002 from a population ten times that size just 20 years ago. Significant recruitment of young sturgeon has not been observed since the early 1970s and consistent annual recruitment has not been seen since the 1950s. The remaining wild population consists of a cohort of large, old fish that is declining by about 9% per year as fish die naturally and are not replaced. At this rate, the wild population will disappear around the year 2040. Numbers have already reached critical low levels where genetic and demographic risks are acute. The Kootenai River White Sturgeon Recovery Team was convened in 1994, provided a draft Recovery Plan in 1996 and the first complete Recovery Plan for Kootenai River white sturgeon in 1999 (USFWS 1996, 1999). The Plan outlined a four part strategy for recovery, including: (1) measures to restore natural recruitment, (2) use of conservation aquaculture to prevent extinction, (3) monitoring survival and recovery, and (4) updating and revising recovery plan criteria and objectives as new information becomes available. Sturgeon recovery efforts are occurring against a backdrop of a broader ecosystem protection and restoration program for the Kootenai River ecosystem. With abundance halving time of approximately 8 years, the Kootenai River white sturgeon population is rapidly dwindling, leaving managers little time to act. Decades of study consistently indicate that recruitment failure occurs between embryo and larval stages. This assertion is based on four key observations. First, almost no recruitment has occurred during the last 30 years. Second, thousands of naturally produced white sturgeon embryos, most viable, have been collected over the past decade, resulting from an estimated 9 to 20 spawning events each year. Third, Kootenai River white sturgeon spawning has been documented during most years from 1990 through 2005. Finally, no larvae and very few wild juveniles have been collected during recent decades despite years of intensive sampling. Concurrently, post-release hatchery reared juveniles (as young as 9 months of age at release) consistently exhibit successful growth and survival (Ireland et al. 2002). Recruitment has failed, in part because fish are currently spawning at sites where or when conditions appear unsuitable for successful incubation and early rearing. Research to date suggests that recruitment failure is caused by egg or larval suffocation, predation and/or other mortality factors associated with these early life stages. A variety of interrelated factors have clearly contributed to the decline of Kootenai white sturgeon; various hypotheses for recruitment failure are not mutually exclusive. Anders et al. (2002) suggested that Kootenai River white sturgeon recruitment failure is likely the result of additive mortality from: (1) increased predation efficiencies due to low turbidity, velocity, and an relative increase in predatory fishes, (2) a reduced number of eggs produced by a dwindling spawning population, and (3) spawning in habitat lacking interstitial space (embryo suffocation). Quite simply, the combined egg and embryo mortality from all biotic and abiotic factors kills more eggs and embryos than the dwindling wild population is currently capable of producing. Thus, natural recruitment failure appears to be caused by some combination of habitat and stock limitation, by the mechanisms mentioned above. Although past research has helped narrow the range of possible causes of natural recruitment failure, the relative significance of each potential impact remains uncertain because multiple ecological, biological, and physical habitat changes occurred simultaneously. This makes it difficult to choose among competing hypotheses and difficult to know where exactly to focus recovery efforts for maximum benefit. In an ideal world, specific recovery measures would be identified and implemented based on a series of complementary research investigations to definitively identify the proximate causes and specific mechanisms of recruitment failure. The acute status of Kootenai sturgeon and current inability to compartmentalize the complex ecosystem do not afford the luxury of time for exhaustive research studies on every potential mechanism of recruitment failure. Mechanistic studies cannot replace the need for experimental evaluations of implemented adaptive management experiments.

Download or read book Kootenai River Native Fish Conservation Aquaculture Program written by Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Kootenai River Native Fish Conservation Aquaculture Program written by Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Regulatory Options for the Commercial Rearing of Lake Sturgeon written by Wisconsin. Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Lake Roosevelt White Sturgeon Recovery Project written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report summarizes catch data collected from white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus in Lake Roosevelt during limited setlining and gill netting activities in the fall of 2003, and documents progress toward development of a U.S. white sturgeon conservation aquaculture program for Lake Roosevelt. From 27-30 October, 42 overnight small mesh gill net sets were made between Marcus and Northport, WA for a total catch of 15 juvenile white sturgeon (275-488 mm FL). All sturgeon captured were of Canadian hatchery origin. These fish had been previously released as sub-yearlings into the Canadian portion (Keenleyside Reach) of the Transboundary Reach of the Columbia River during 2002 and 2003. Most sturgeon (n=14) were caught in the most upstream area sampled (Northport) in low velocity eddy areas. Five fish exhibited pectoral fin deformities (curled or stunted). Growth rates were less than for juvenile sturgeon captured in the Keenleyside Reach but condition factor was similar. Condition factor was also similar to that observed in juvenile sturgeon (ages 1-8) captured in the unimpounded Columbia River below Bonneville Dam between 1987-92. From 10-14 November, 28 overnight setline sets were made in the Roosevelt Reach between the confluence of the Spokane River and Marcus Island for a total catch of 17 white sturgeon (94-213 cm FL). Catch was greatest in the most upstream areas sampled, a distribution similar to that observed during a WDFW setline survey in Lake Roosevelt in 1998. The mean W{sub r} index of 110% for fish captured this year was higher than the mean W{sub r} of 91% for fish captured in 1998. Excellent fish condition hindered surgical examination of gonads as lipid deposits made the ventral body wall very thick and difficult to penetrate with available otoscope specula. Acoustic tags (Vemco model V16 coded pingers, 69 kHz, 48-month life expectancy) were internally applied to 15 fish for subsequent telemetry investigations of seasonal and reproductively motivated movements. In August 2003, three Vemco VR2 fixed station acoustic receivers, supplied by the UCWSRI Transboundary Telemetry Project, were deployed in the vicinities of Kettle Falls Bridge, Marcus Island, and Northport, WA. Data downloaded from these receivers through December 2003 confirmed the findings of a previous telemetry study that the Marcus area is an important overwintering habitat for white sturgeon. On 18 February 2004, juvenile white sturgeon (n=2,000) were transported from Kootenay Sturgeon Hatchery in British Columbia to WDFW Columbia Basin Hatchery (CBH) in Moses Lake, WA. Fish were reared at CBH to approximately 30 g and individually outfitted with PIT tags and scute marked. On 11 May 2004, fish were released into Lake Roosevelt in the vicinities of Kettle Falls Bridge, North Gorge, and Northport.

Download or read book Use of Polysomic Genetic Markers to Address Critical Uncertainties in White Sturgeon Biology and Management written by Andrea Marie Schreier and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The application of genetic markers to investigate evolutionary and ecological questions about white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, has been limited due to the species' highly duplicated nuclear genome. Here, polysomic microsatellite markers were used to 1) examine the ancestral level of genome duplication in white sturgeon, 2) examine genetic diversity and patterns of population structure within and among drainages across the species' range, and 3) provide genetic monitoring for a conservation aquaculture program sustaining an endangered white sturgeon population. In the first chapter, we followed the inheritance of eight microsatellite markers in 15 families of white sturgeon from a commercial caviar farm to determine whether white sturgeon (~250 chromosomes) should be classified as tetraploid or octoploid. The eight microsatellite loci were detected predominantly in four or eight copies, with one locus observed in>8 copies. Numbers of alleles per locus, patterns of allele transmission, and inference of gene copy number in parents suggested that white sturgeon should be considered ancient octoploids. The discovery of dodecaploid parents and their decaploid offspring in the farm population, confirmed by flow cytometry analysis, indicated that some aspect of sturgeon aquaculture was inducing spontaneous autopolyploidy in white sturgeon. Next, microsatellite markers were applied to examine white sturgeon population structure across the species' range. Population assignment testing was used to determine the origin of white sturgeon sampled in non-natal estuaries, or those not containing a spawning population, to evaluate marine dispersal behavior. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River system was found to contain a single white sturgeon population while the Fraser River exhibited a hierarchical pattern of population structure. Strong levels of genetic divergence were detected above and below a natural barrier, Hells Gate, and fine-scale population substructure was identified above Hells Gate. Population structure in the Columbia River drainage (including the mainstem Columbia and Snake Rivers) was complex and suggested a pattern of isolation by distance. Net downstream gene flow also may have contributed to this pattern, with individuals migrating downstream through impoundments and over barriers with little upstream movement possible. There was no support for the current practice of managing each impounded reach on the Columbia or Snake rivers as a separate population. Lack of population structure within historically continuous river habitat found across the species' range suggested spawning site fidelity in white sturgeon may occur on a regional scale, with local gene flow among geographically proximate spawning sites. Population assignment of samples collected from non-natal estuaries indicated that all populations with ocean access make marine migrations, and individuals did not necessarily originate from the nearest spawning population. Finally, microsatellites were used to conduct genetic monitoring of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho's conservation aquaculture program (CAP) for the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon population. Continuous recruitment failure in this population has left it entirely dependent on the CAP for reproduction. A genetic profile database of wild broodstock used in the CAP was created to monitor hatchery-induced genetic changes in the Kootenai River population. Broodstock genotypes also were used to evaluate the accuracy of parentage assignment in the Kootenai River population, as hatchery managers soon will depend on this analysis to prevent inbreeding when most sexually mature adults available for captive breeding will be derived from hatchery production. Numbers of alleles and numbers of alleles per individual per locus were calculated to monitor the amount of wild type genetic diversity captured in broodstock utilized by the CAP. Parentage analysis with 18 microsatellite markers was validated in known hatchery families from the 2010 year class. Genetic diversity in the Kootenai River population was very low relative to other populations examined, likely due to founder effects and genetic drift after isolation from the mainstem Columbia c. 10,000 YBP. In less than one sturgeon generation, 96% of Kootenai River genetic diversity has been captured in broodstock that contributed offspring that survived to release in the Kootenai River and further propagation will likely preserve additional genetic variation. The 18 microsatellite panel improved parentage assignment accuracy and allowed a greater number of assignments relative to the previous panel used for parentage analysis, suggesting that this technique may become a useful tool in the management of this vulnerable population.

Download or read book Status of White Sturgeon in the Kootenai River written by Patrick Graham and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Kootenai River White Sturgeon Investigations and Experimental Culture written by Kimberly A. Apperson and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Kootenai River White Sturgeon Investigations and Experimental Culture 1990 1991 Annual Report written by and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Setline and angling techniques were used to sample 56 white sturgeon Acioenser transmontanus from the Kootenai River in 1991. Of those sampled, nine were recaptures from previous years of this study. A total of 382 white sturgeon were captured from March 1989 through October 1991. Fork lengths of white sturgeon in the sample ranged from 88-274 cm. Our data indicated there was a complete lack of recruitment of juveniles into the population. The youngest fish sampled was of the 1977 year class. The population was estimated at 880 individuals with a 95% confidence interval of 638 to 1,211. Annual mortality of white sturgeon since 1982 is 3.74%. Approximately 80% of the population was more than 20 years old and was reproductively mature. Surgical examination of 309 white sturgeon since 1989 indicated that approximately 7% of the female white sturgeon and 30% of the male white sturgeon are reproductive each year. The ratio of males to females was estimated at 1:l. White sturgeon sampled and released with and without surgical examination were recaptured at equal rates. An ongoing sonic telemetry study has documented long distance movements by adults. White sturgeon regularly move across the British Columbia - Idaho border. White sturgeon seek out deep holes in the river or migrate to Kootenay Lake during late fall, During spring and early summer of both 1990 and 1991 reproductively mature white sturgeon moved from 15 to 110 km upriver and congregated within 10 km downriver from Bonners Ferry in areas of elevated water velocity. This behavior coincided with increasing discharge and water temperatures. Developing white sturgeon eggs were recovered from the river near Bonners Ferry on July 3, 1991. Contamination of eggs by organochloride compounds were less in recent samples from the Kootenai River than in a single sample collected in 1982. White sturgeon eggs from the Kootenai River fish contained approximately one tenth the organochloride compounds of white sturgeon eggs from the lower Columbia River.

Download or read book Kootenai River White Sturgeon Spawning and Recruitment Evaluation written by Pete Rust and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Memorandum of Agreement Between the Department of Energy Bonneville Power Administration and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho for the Kootenai River Native Fish Conservation Program White Sturgeon and Burbot Hatchery Facilities written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Kootenai River White Sturgeon Investigations and Experimental Culture 1989 1990 Annual Report written by and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Setline and angling techniques were used to sample 332 sturgeon from the river between Kootenai Falls and Kootenay Lake during 1989 and 1990. Sturgeon were found in Montana within 4 km of Kootenai Falls and downstream from Bonners Ferry, Idaho to Kootenay Lake, British Columbia. Our data indicate there is a complete lack of recruitment of juveniles into the population. The youngest fish sampled was of the 1977 year class, and the population is estimated at 880 individuals with 95% confidence intervals of 638 to 1,211. Culture of one pair of sturgeon in 1990 was of limited success. Less than 5% of eggs hatched with 50% initial mortality of fry. The contribution of contaminants found in eggs (aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, and organochlorides) toward this poor survival is unknown. Handling problems with the eggs at the time of spawning complicated our results. An ongoing sonic telemetry study has revealed definite long distance movements. Sturgeon regularly move across the British Columbia-Idaho border and seek out deep holes or migrate to Kootenay Lake during late fall. Seasonal differences in use of depth and velocity parameters were found between sexes and among seasons. No relationships were found between sturgeon movement and month, water temperature, flow, and flow change. However, multiple regression analysis indicated that up to 30% of the variance in individual sturgeon movement was explained by the combination of the four variables.