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particularly critical in areas where the drift may carry the embryos into reservoirs ar lakes where <br />they may be preyed upon by planktivorous fishes (Braaten et al. 2008). <br />Larvae: <br />At about the time that sturgeon develop fin rays they also transition to exogenous feeding <br />(Snyder 1999; Snyder 2002) and this defines the transition from the embryo stage to the larval <br />stage. At this critical juncture larval pallid sturgeon enter into competition with other fish larvae <br />for available food resource. During this transition, larval pallid sturgeon also become able to <br />move actively to habitats to avoid the current and to feed. Pallid sturgeon are considered larvae <br />until they lose their fin folds, develop a complete set of caudal fin rays and reach approximately <br />200mm. <br />Juveniles: <br />Pallid sturgeon are considered juveniles until their gonads develop. Age 1 fish consume <br />primarily macroinvertebrates while older juvenile pallid sturgeon switch to consuming fish <br />(Gerrity et al. 2005; Gerrity et al. 2006). Throughout their range benthic minnows such as <br />sturgeon chubs, sicklefin chubs and other Macrhybopsis spp. are the favored prey of pallid <br />sturgeon (Gerrity et al. 2006; Hoover et al. 2007; Wanner et al. 2007b). <br />Adults: <br />Pallid sturgeon are considered adults when they become sexually mature. Pallid sturgeon <br />require a long time to become reproductive members of the population. Males may mature at <br />about age 10 but females may not become sexually mature until they reach age 15 (Keenlyne and <br />Jenkins 1993). In addition, females may only spawn every 3 or 4 years (Bajer and Wildhaber <br />2007; DeLonay et al. 2007b; DeLonay et al. 2007c; Wildhaber and Bryan 2006; Wildhaber et al. <br />2007; Wildhaber et al. 2005). This compounds the difficulty of locating spawning habitat,