Status of the Pallid Sturgeon:Scaphirhynchus albus

Abstract

Information presented concerning the pallid sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus albus, was compiled from published and unpublished papers, from personal communications with numerous biologists, and from the results of a survey of 45 agencies and individuals. Pallid sturgeon occur in the Missouri River and the lower half of the Mississippi River and certain of their tributaries. Of the 250 pallids that were reported, approximately 76% were collected from the Missouri River in Montana and the Dakotas. Because of the rarity of this species, information on its life history is limited. Regression equations were developed for the length‐weight relationships of pallids from two Missouri River reservoirs. The apparent rarity of the pallid sturgeon and the lack of knowledge concerning it has prompted 9 of the 13 states within its range to classify it as either threatened or endangered or to give it some other special recognition. The Endangered Species Committee of the American Fisheries Society has also classified it as threatened throughout its range. Additional information is needed on its habitat requirements if it is to be protected from habitat destruction or modification.

Population size of pallid sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus albus (Forbes & Richardson, 1905), in the lower Missouri River near Kansas City, Missouri, USA

“…Capture probabilities have the potential to vary through space and time and on the Missouri River may be influenced by physical and environmental conditions. Prior to this study there were uncertainties whether differences in catch rates of pallid sturgeon among reaches of the Missouri River were reflective of population sizes or an artifact of capture probabilities (Kallemeyn, 1983). Our estimates of capture (p) and recapture (c) probabilities were similar to those reported by Steffensen et al (2012) except that our capture probability of wild pallid sturgeon was approx.…”

Habitat Use by Middle Mississippi River Pallid Sturgeon

“…Bailey and Cross (1954) characterized the pallid sturgeon as ''nowhere common.'' Pallid sturgeon numbers have since decline markedly (Kallemeyn 1983;Carlson et al 1985;Dryer and Sandvol 1993), resulting in the species being federally listed as endangered in 1990. Management of pallid sturgeon populations has been hindered by the lack of scientific information about their life history and habitat requirements (Kallemeyn 1983).…”

“…Pallid sturgeon numbers have since decline markedly (Kallemeyn 1983;Carlson et al 1985;Dryer and Sandvol 1993), resulting in the species being federally listed as endangered in 1990. Management of pallid sturgeon populations has been hindered by the lack of scientific information about their life history and habitat requirements (Kallemeyn 1983). This lack of biological information was identified by the Pallid Sturgeon Recovery Plan (Dryer and Sandvol 1993), and the scientific investigation of the life history and habitat needs of all life stages of the species was included in plan's objectives (Dryer and Sandvol 1993).…”

Missouri River Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon) effects analysis—Integrative report 2016

“…Early descriptions suggest pallid sturgeon were never common in their natural geographic range (Forbes and Richardson, 1905;Bailey, 1954). Information is limited, however, because commercial harvest records from the period did not discriminate among sturgeon species, and the habitats frequented by pallid sturgeon (deep, swift, and turbid waters) made sampling for them more difficult than for other native species, including the shovelnose sturgeon (Funk and Robinson, 1974;Kallemeyn, 1983). Only fisherman targeting sturgeon for caviar were likely to find the pallid sturgeon because shovelnose sturgeon were in higher abundance, particularly in areas of low turbidity.…”