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Study site on the Upper Black River, Cheboygan County, Michigan. The circle indicates radio frequency identification (RFID) antennas at the highway FO5 Bridge (0.5 km from Black Lake). The triangle indicates locations of the RFID antennas at the downstream-most portion beginning of the spawning area (7 km from Black Lake). The square indicates the location of the RFID antenna at Kleber Dam (11 km from Black Lake)
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Intra-annual reproductive investments may not be predictive of male reproductive success because of the effects of intra- and intersexual interactions on sperm depletion. For long-lived iteroparous fish species such as lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), reproductive effort may affect lifetime reproductive success. Radio frequency identification...
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Quantifying effects of individual attributes and population demographic characteristics that affect inter-and intrasexual interactions and adult reproductive success, and the spatial and temporal contexts in which they are expressed is important to effective species management. Multi-year individual-based analyses using genetically determined paren...
Extra-group paternity, in which offspring are sired by a male outside the breeding group, may alter the distribution of reproductive success in a population, thus affecting the opportunity for sexual selection. Both inter- and intraspecific studies have focused largely on mating systems in which females choose their social mates, and less is known...
Citations
... An adult female may even mature as many as 500 000-1000 000 eggs in preparation for spawning (Scott and Crossman 1998;Peterson et al. 2007), which requires significant investment in advance of the spawn. Males also require a substantial investment within a spawning season (Larson et al. 2020), and males spawn more frequently than females (every 1-2 years for males and every 2-7 years for females; Forsythe et al. 2012) and require large amounts of sperm due to the broadcast spawning method of fertilization (Marshall and Bolton 2007). High investment in gamete development relative to somatic tissue, particularly when the individual first matures, may lead to differential deposition of elements in calcified structures related to sexual maturity status. ...
... The use of PIT tags was implemented in 2001 and >95% of the adult spawning population of approximately 1200 adults (Pledger et al. 2013) has been tagged. PIT tags allow captured individuals to be scanned and identified, allowing confirmation of sex, reproductive frequency, and sexual maturity status based on past survey documentation (see Larson et al. 2020 for description). In total, this dataset consisted of 79 rays (30 males and 49 females). ...
Characterizing inter- and intra-population levels of variability in age at sexual maturation for long-lived fishes provides insight into year-class strength and recruitment dynamics, allowing for more effective management practices. Here we analyzed the ontogenetic chronology of pectoral fin ray annuli trace elemental concentration profiles as well as changes in annuli growth in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) to determine onset of sexual maturity (OSM). Elemental concentrations and growth-zone width were used to build a random forest classification model to discriminate year-specific signatures to before or after OSM from 98 individual fin rays from both sexes across multiple populations and watersheds. The model demonstrated an overall accuracy of 98.8%. Ba was the most important variable related to OSM discrimination success followed by zone width, Pb, Mn, Mg, Zn, Cu, and Sr. Fin ray elemental concentrations began to increase at approximately age 24 (±4.7 years) in females and 15 (±3.1 years) in males while zone width decreased. This study implies that new applications for fin ray microchemistry are possible and could benefit future fisheries management strategies specifically by adding nonlethal or less invasive sampling techniques for evaluating OSM in sturgeon.
... For example, within a population, reproductive success can vary as a function of the distribution and abundance of potential mates (Emlen & Oring, 1977) and the availability and location of essential resources (e.g., food and spawning locations; Hernaman & Munday, 2007;Verner & Willson, 1966). The distribution and abundance of each sex can vary over time and space (Shuster & Wade, 2003) due to differences in the timing of arrival to breeding sites between males and females (Kokita & Nakazono, 1998;Seamons et al., 2004) or due to differences in interannual breeding periodicity (Forsythe et al., 2012;Larson et al., 2020). Accordingly, temporal and spatial variation in adult sex ratio and abundance can influence the number of mates (e.g., for females, Allee effects associated with density-dependent mating success and probabilities of gamete fertilization). ...
... Accordingly, broadcast spawning species may exhibit a variety of spawning behaviors (e.g., modifying arrival time at spawning sites), as observed in nest spawning species (e.g., steelhead trout; Oncorhynchus mykiss ;Seamons et al., 2004) to acquire high-quality spawning locations. Resource expenditures by males, for example, based on the duration of occupancy of spawning areas and the number of intersexual interactions, have also been tied to male reproductive success in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens; Larson et al., 2020). ...
... Sex ratios can vary by year and among spawning locations within a population (Auer, 1999). In addition, the size and composition of spawning aggregations can vary within a spawning season, as different individuals enter and leave spawning areas in response to different water temperatures and discharge regimes (Dammerman et al., 2019;Forsythe et al., 2012), mate availability (Larson et al., 2020), and the arrival of additional potential mates. Lake sturgeon do not provide postovulatory parental care (Bruch & Binkowski, 2002), contributing in part to high mortality in early life stages (e.g., survival rates from eggs to age 0 juvenile stage <0.1%; ...
Quantifying effects of individual attributes and population demographic characteristics that affect inter-and intrasexual interactions and adult reproductive success, and the spatial and temporal contexts in which they are expressed is important to effective species management. Multi-year individual-based analyses using genetically determined parentage allowed the examination of variables associated with the reproductive success of male and female lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the well-studied population in Black Lake, Michigan, USA. Spawning lake sturgeon (a total of 599 individuals where many were captured more than once based on 1024 total captures) and larvae (N = 3436) were genotyped during each of seven consecutive years (2001-2007). Factors associated with individual reproductive success differed between sexes and varied among spawning groups within a year and among years depending on spawning date (higher reproductive success earlier in the season for females) and spawning locations (higher reproductive success in upstream spawning zones for females). Female reproductive success increased nonlinearly with increasing body size. Male reproductive success increased with increasing residence time in spawning areas and, to a modest degree, with increasing body size in a nonlinear fashion. Fixed effects of repeatability in spawn timing and location across years led to consistently higher or lower reproductive success for females. Results identified factors, including time spent at spawning areas by males and intersexual encounters and mate number, that contributed to higher interindividual variance in reproductive success and affected population levels of recruitment, the degree of subpopulation genetic structure (lack of isolation by time), and effective population size.
... BRSRF staff annually survey lake sturgeon larvae as they disperse, or drift, downstream from the spawning grounds ( Fig. 1) in the UBR (Auer and Baker, 2002;Crossman et al., 2014;Crossman et al., 2011;Larson et al., 2020;Smith and Baker, 2005;Smith and King, 2005). Dispersing larvae are used for hatchery propagation rather than offspring reared from direct gamete takes because a far larger number of adults contribute to dispersing larvae than can be realized based on direct gametes takes. ...
Assessment of population sex ratios allows managers to forecast recruitment dynamics and loss of genetic diversity in natural populations and is important when the focal population is in low abundance and subject to demographic stochasticity. If levels of natural or artificial selection differ for males and females and levels of mortality likewise vary, lower levels of population recruitment, loss of genetic diversity, and genetic drift can occur. Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) are a species of conservation concern, where restoration efforts increasingly rely on hatchery supplementation. Raising larvae to the juvenile stage can increase survival during important early life stages; however, knowledge is lacking concerning effects of artificial rearing environments on differential sex-specific survival before release. We genetically determined the sex of 1459 age-0 lake sturgeon from three cohorts (2016 through 2018) using PCR assays of the ALLWSex2 acipenserid sexing marker. Sexed individuals represented three groups: (1) wild-captured dispersing larvae that died during hatchery rearing, (2) wild-captured dispersing larvae that survived hatchery rearing to release, and (3) wild-captured, wild-raised age-0 individuals. Sex ratios of wild-captured larvae (dead + live) were nearly 50:50 in all years surveyed. We observed slight, but non-significant, directionality in sex ratios in the live and dead hatchery-reared larvae and in wild-captured age-0 individuals. Genetic sexing methods allow for analyses during prolonged pre-reproductive periods and associated variable environmental and demographic circumstances, in situations where physical determination of sex is not possible.
... Because unique individuals cannot be identified on DIDSON footage, ideally fish should migrate actively and unidirectionally past the DIDSON. However, multiple species of fishes that migrate in rivers display behaviors that involve multiple upstream and downstream movements over a single migratory season (Naughton et al. 2006;Frank et al. 2009;Holbrook et al. 2009;Larson et al. 2020;Izzo et al. 2021). These behaviors violate any assumption of unidirectional migration that might be used to estimate abundance and could lead to overestimates. ...
... Spawning interval can vary by population (Auer 1999;Bruch et al. 2001;Smith and Baker 2005), and few studies report what proportion of the overall population participates in the spawning run each year. In the Upper Black River, estimates have suggested that between 20% and 35% of the total population spawns in each year (Larson et al. 2020). While we do not have data on the spawning periodicity of females in the Winooski River, it is important to note that tagged male lake sturgeon often migrated to spawn in back-to-back years (Izzo et al. 2021), and a large percentage of tagged males that were initially tagged in the Winooski River participated in the spawning run in 2018 (94%) and 2019 (89%). ...
... Only two females were tagged by VFWD prior to this study due to difficulty in capturing females, and neither female entered the Winooski River for the spawning run during the three years studied. The multi-run behavior of lake sturgeon has only been documented in the Winooski River (Izzo et al. 2021) and the Upper Black River, Michigan (Larson et al. 2020), with both studies focusing on the behavior of male lake sturgeon. Females were also observed making multiple runs in the Upper Black River, though to a much lesser extent than males (D. ...
Estimating abundance of migrating fishes is challenging. While sonars can be deployed continuously, improper assumptions about unidirectional migration and complete spatial coverage can lead to inaccurate estimates. To address these challenges, we present a framework for combining fixed-location count data from a dual-frequency identification sonar (DIDSON) with movement data from acoustic telemetry to estimate spawning run abundance of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). Acoustic telemetry data were used to estimate the probability of observing a lake sturgeon on the DIDSON and to determine the probability that a lake sturgeon passing the DIDSON site had passed the site previously during the season. Combining probabilities with DIDSON counts, using a Bayesian integrated model, we estimated the following abundances: 99 (42–215 credible interval, CI) in 2017, 131 (82–248 CI) in 2018, and 92 (47–184 CI) in 2019. Adding movement data generated better inferences on count data by incorporating fish behavior (e.g., multiple migrations in a single season) and its uncertainty into abundance estimates. This framework can be applied to count and movement data to estimate abundance of spawning runs of other migratory fishes in riverine systems.
... For example, Colborne et al. (2020) and Kessel et al. (2018) used acoustic telemetry to document multiple migratory behaviors of lake sturgeon in the Huron-Erie Corridor, which comprises Lake St. Clair and Detroit and St. Clair rivers. Similarly, Larson et al. (2020) used PIT tag antennas to document multiple migratory events by male lake sturgeon in a single season in Michigan's Upper Black River. ...
Information regarding site occupancy of fish that migrate long distances during nonspawning periods together with estimates of recruitment trends for individual populations can be informative for management, especially when individuals from different spawning populations intermix and are sampled or harvested together. Tendencies for individuals from different populations to preferentially occupy specific regions increases vulnerability to anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Using mixed stock analysis (MSA), we estimated population-specific occupancy of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in open-water and nearshore regions of Lake Michigan across a hierarchy of spatial scales. Open-water mixture composition differed between Lake Michigan’s eastern and western basins. Significant heterogeneity in habitat occupancy was also observed at microgeographic scales throughout open-water regions of Green Bay, indicating nonrandom occupancy to regions proximal to natal streams. Estimates of relative recruitment levels determined from MSA extensions indicated increasing recruitment trends for spawning populations associated with Wisconsin tributaries (Oconto–Peshtigo, Fox, and Menominee rivers). Our lake sturgeon results demonstrate the utility of genetic data for informing management efforts for spatially structured, highly migratory species. Similar analyses could prove beneficial for species with similar characteristics.
... spawning site in deeper water before making subsequent attempts to spawn (Bruch and Binkowski, 2002;Peterson et al., 2007). Lake sturgeon of either sex leaving the spawning tributary entirely before returning for a second (or more) spawning run has not been widely observed, with the exception of the population that spawns in the Upper Black River, Michigan (Larson et al., 2020). Male lake sturgeon in the Upper Black River make between one and four full river migrations during a single spawning season. ...
... Notably, the Upper Black River has been restricted to only 11 rkm by a dam, so lake sturgeon in this system also traverse short distances between the spawning site and their foraging habitat in Black Lake, Michigan. While many of the short rivers that lake sturgeon spawn in have been shortened by the construction of dams (Auer, 1996a;Daugherty et al., 2009;Larson et al., 2020), it is important to note that lake sturgeon in the Winooski River historically only had access to 17 km of riverine habitat. The Winooski One Dam was built on a natural fall line that previously restricted lake sturgeon migration to the lower portion of the river (Moreau and Parrish, 1994), and the dam operates run-of-river (Nyqvist et al., 2017). ...
... With lake sturgeon abundances in Lake Champlain still reduced from historic levels (MacKenzie, 2016) and multiple suitable holding areas farther downstream, it is unlikely that males left the river due to high density or poor conditions in holding areas. Remaining on the spawning site can increase reproductive success of male lake sturgeon by allowing for more exposure to spawning females (Larson et al., 2020); however, fish do not feed on the spawning sites so adults may gain some energetic advantage by minimizing time holding in the river (Auer, 1996b). From our study, it is unclear if returning to Lake Champlain during the spawning season could offer energetic advantages to spawning males. ...
Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) can migrate long distances to spawn, but many populations currently spawn in systems where the length of accessible riverine migratory habitat has been greatly reduced by dam construction. With the increased prevalence of shortened rivers, focusing on migratory dynamics in short rivers (<30 km) is beneficial to understanding the migratory needs of lake sturgeon populations. Here we document male lake sturgeon movements during the spawning period in the Winooski River, Vermont, USA; a river with only 17 km to the first natural upstream barrier. Male lake sturgeon were acoustically tagged (n = 25, 1215-1470 mm TL) and tracked using five to nine stationary receivers from 2017 to 2019. River discharge, temperature, the lagged effect of temperature (3-day), and time of day were significant factors describing upstream movements of tagged fish. Migrating male lake sturgeon (n = 10 in 2017, n = 18 in 2018, and n = 17 in 2019) displayed general movement patterns during the spawning period that included a single run upstream to the spawning site (60%), upstream and downstream movements throughout the river during the season (20%), or multiple runs made up the entire length of the spawning tributary to the spawning site (20%). No multi-run males were observed during 2018 when discharge was less flashy (i.e., fewer steep increases and declines in discharge) than in 2017 and 2019. These results suggest that the prevalence of multi-run spawning behavior of male lake sturgeon is related to flow conditions.
... Lake sturgeon of either sex have not been widely observed to leave the spawning tributary entirely before returning for a second (or more) spawning run, with the exception of the population that spawns in the Upper Black River, Michigan. Male lake sturgeon in the Upper Black River make between one and four full river migrations during a single spawning season (Larson et al. 2020). Notably, the Upper Black River has been restricted to only 11 rkm by a dam, so lake sturgeon in this system also traverse very short distances between the spawning site and their foraging habitat in Black Lake, Michigan. ...
... With abundances in Lake Champlain still reduced from historic levels (MacKenzie 2016) and multiple suitable holding areas farther downstream from the spawning site, it is unlikely that males left the river due to high density or poor conditions in holding areas. Remaining on the spawning site can increase reproductive success of male lake sturgeon by allowing for more exposure to spawning females (Larson et al. 2020); however, fish do not feed on the spawning sites so adults may gain some energetic advantage by minimizing time holding in the river (Auer 1996b Across years males changed their behavioral patterns during the spawning run, suggesting that migration, and in particular multi-run migration, is a plastic behavior in My results indicate that the overall drivers of upstream migration in lake sturgeon that spawn in this short river are similar to patterns that have been documented in other systems. The top model to describe the probability of upstream movement for the tagged male lake sturgeon included discharge and temperature, which are commonly identified as key drivers in lake sturgeon migration and spawning (Auer 1996b;Rusak and Mosindy 1997;Bruch and Binkowski 2002;Lallaman et al. 2008;Forsythe et al. 2012). ...
... Selecting a location in the river with laminar flow can help minimize the back-and-forth milling behavior in fishes (Enzenhofer and Cronkite 2000). However, there is evidence, albeit limited, that individual lake sturgeon make multiple full-river migrations throughout a single spawning season (Larson et al. 2020), including in the Lake Champlain basin (Chapter 3). Lastly, ideally the beams should capture the entire width of the river channel; ...
Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in Lake Champlain were listed as endangered in 1972. Significant gaps exist in understanding lake sturgeon in the system as well as the methods needed to properly monitor and assess them. My research had three main goals: (1) investigate movements and habitat use of lake sturgeon in the Lake Champlain basin, (2) develop a method to estimate lake sturgeon abundance using sonar technology, and (3) test an alternative method for aging lake sturgeon.
One of the primary information gaps for lake sturgeon in Lake Champlain is an understanding of the movements and habitat use of multiple life stages. I used acoustic telemetry to describe seasonal movement patterns and distribution of adult and juvenile lake sturgeon and to quantify the spatial overlap between these life stages. We found that juvenile and adult home ranges overlapped in shallow (< 10 m) water in the summer and fall. During the winter, adults remained in shallow water and juveniles moved to deep-water (> 25 m) overwintering sites. These results identified important areas for lake sturgeon and indicated that there are seasonal differences in habitat use between life stages. I also used acoustic telemetry to describe adult lake sturgeon movement patterns during the spawning period and to investigate environmental drivers of these movements in the Winooski River. River discharge, temperature, the magnitude and direction of the change in temperature (3-day lag), and time of day were significant factors in describing upstream movements. Adult lake sturgeon displayed general movement patterns that included a single run upstream, upstream and downstream movements throughout the river, or multiple runs made up the entire length of the spawning tributary to the spawning site. An understanding of the movements during the spawning period was key in the method I developed to estimate lake sturgeon abundance.
To estimate abundance of lake sturgeon spawning in the Winooski River, I used acoustic telemetry data from adult lake sturgeon to estimate observation probability of the sonar and the probability that a lake sturgeon had been seen previously during the season. Using a Bayesian integrated model, I combined these parameters with counts from a dual-frequency identification sonar (DIDSON) to estimate abundances each year: 110 (47 – 229 CI) in 2017, 133 (79 – 242 CI) in 2018, and 99 (51 – 220 CI). The results of this work represent the first estimate of abundance for spawning lake sturgeon in a Lake Champlain tributary, and will be key to tracking progress towards lake sturgeon recovery moving forward.
Age data in long-lived species such as lake sturgeon can point to signs of successful recruitment and recovery. I investigated use of the second marginal pectoral fin ray as an alternative, less invasive method for estimating ages of lake sturgeon. The variability of age estimates among different readers and fin structures indicated that the second fin ray may provide some utility to age juvenile lake sturgeon but is not a viable substitute for estimating ages of adult lake sturgeon. These results provide valuable information to managers looking to gain essential age data while also decreasing the impact of handling endangered lake sturgeon.
... Adult lake sturgeon including individuals of known and unknown sex were collected during late April through late May 2020 from the Black River population in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan (detailed descriptions provided in Larson et al., 2020). All males and the majority of females could be accurately sexed by direct expression of gametes. ...
Demographic data including characterizations of population sex and age composition are of fundamental importance for effective management, especially for numerically depressed Great Lakes populations of imperiled species such as lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). The goal of this paper was to extend a recently reported Acipenserid-derived PCR-based genotyping test to determine sex of lake sturgeon. We demonstrate that the recently reported AllWSex2 primers amplified the female sex-specific region in lake sturgeon of known sex, consistent with a ZZ/ZW mode of inheritance. Sanger sequencing of female lake sturgeon PCR products matched published sequences from female sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), showing 100% query cover and 98% (63/64) identity. The ability to provide a rapid, cost-effective, and unambiguous determination of sex for lake sturgeon will allow managers to determine compositional estimates of sex ratios during any season, and for individuals at any age or size, which is of great utility for species characterized by delayed sexual maturity and lacking external sexual dimorphisms.
Long-lived iteroparous organisms vary resource expenditures toward migration and reproduction in response to individual physical factors and conspecific interactions, which can affect future reproductive timing and interval. Reproductive actions can lead to trade-offs associated with allocations to current vs. future reproduction, including longer reproductive interval, require additional study. The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between physical stream characteristics, individual behaviors, and breeding demographics and spawning periodicity in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). We used Radio Frequency Identification tags to monitor spawning migration by male (N = 1931) and female (N = 683) adults over seven consecutive years (2016 through 2022) in the Black River, Cheboygan Co., MI. We used ordinal regression models to quantify associations. Male spawning periodicity (1.60 ± 0.63 years; mean ± SE) decreased with increasing body size and intra-sex interactions and increased with increasing cumulative temperature, discharge, number of inter-sex interactions, and complete river migrations in a season. Female spawning periodicity (3.19 ± 0.05 years, mean ± SE) decreased with increasing upstream swimming time and inter-sex interactions. Results demonstrated spawning periodicity shortened as male lake sturgeon age, and future breeding opportunities decreased, while female periodicity may be more individualized and is more likely to be affected by resource acquisition.
Migratory fishes are renowned for their ability to home to natal streams for spawning. Learned olfactory cues play a critical role in natal homing of Pacific salmon and other fishes, but the underlying chemical signature of streams remains poorly understood after decades of study. The molecules that convey a stream‐specific odour must differ among sites but remain constant over time. Among leading odorant candidates are amino acids; however, little research has assessed the spatial and temporal variability of amino acid profiles in streams.
We report a comprehensive chemical study of dissolved amino acids as potential olfactory cues for homing by migratory fish. Specifically, we profiled amino acids in water from 23 streams in the upper Laurentian Great Lakes basin over 2 years. We investigated variation in amino acid profiles (1) among regions and rivers within a year, (2) between years and (3) among sites and across the seasons of migration and early life history within a stream.
Liquid‐chromatography tandem mass spectrometry revealed nanomolar concentrations for most of the 20 L‐amino acids measured, above the levels detectable by studied migratory fishes. Moreover, amino acid profiles were temporally stable between 2 years and across an annual season from adult spawning migration through offspring early‐life development within a stream. However, spatial differences in amino acid profiles were evident primarily over large geographic distances (among regions) but not among tributaries within regions or among sites within a stream.
Collectively, our results indicate dissolved amino acids may be consistent components of rivers' odorant profiles but suggest additional molecules are likely important for natal homing of migratory fishes to specific spawning sites. We suggest that future studies consider the combined importance of amino acids and molecules from other chemical classes. Understanding the chemical basis of olfactory‐guided natal homing is especially important as human activities could alter the odorant profiles of streams and thereby disrupt fish migrations and negatively impact population recruitment.
