8094

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8094
• Author: Dryer, M. P. and A. J. Sandvol.
• Title: Recovery Plan for the Pallid Sturgeon ‎(
• USFW Year: 1993.
• Copyright Material: NO

Present Distribution and Abundance:
Pallid sturgeon remain one of the rarest fish of the Missouri and Mississippi
River basins. Carlson and Pflieger (1981) stated that pallid sturgeon are
rare, but widely distributed in the Missouri River and in the Mississippi
River downstream from the mouth of the Missouri River. Keenlyne (1989)
recently updated information on distribution of the pallid sturgeon. Keenlyne
reported pre-1980 catch records in the Mississippi River from its mouth
upstream to its confluence with the Missouri River,-a length of 1,857
kilometers (km) (1,154 miles (mi)); in the lower 56 km (35 mi) of the
Yazoo/Big Sunflower and St. Francis Rivers (tributaries to the Mississippi);
in the Missouri River from its mouth to-Fort Benton, Montana, a length of
3,323 km (2,065 mi); and in the lower 64 km (40 mi) of the Kansas River, the
lower 34 km (21 mi) of the Platte River, and the lower 322 km (200 mi) of the
Yellowstone River (tributaries to the Missouri River). The total length of
the species' range is approximately -5,656 km (3,515 mi) of river. States
within this range are Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa,
Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and
Louisiana.
Since 1980, reports of most frequent occurrence (Figure 3) are from the
Missouri River between the Marias River and Ft. Peck Reservoir in Montana;
between Ft. Peck Dam and Lake Sakakawea (near Williston, North Dakota); within
the lower 113 km (70 mi) of the Yellowstone River to downstream of Fallon,
Montana; in the headwaters of Lake Sharpe in South Dakota; and from the
Missouri River near the mouth of the Platte River near Plattsmouth, Nebraska.
Areas of most recent and frequent occurrence on the Mississippi River are near
Chester, Illinois; Caruthersville, Missouri; and in both the Mississippi and
Atchafalaya Rivers in Louisiana at the Old River Control where the Atchafalaya
diverges from the Mississippi River (Mark Dryer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, pers. comm.).
Larval sturgeon of any species rarely. have been collected from within the
range of pallid sturgeon. This may be due to low reproductive success or the
inability of standard sampling gear to capture larval sturgeon. Hesse and
Mestl (1993a) collected two sturgeon larvae from the Missouri River adjacent
to Nebraska between 1983 and 1991 (the species of sturgeon is not yet
distinguishable at larval stages). These larvae were among 147-,000 fish
larvae collected during filtration of 519,400 cubic meters of river water.
Gardner and Stewart (1982) collected no sturgeon larvae in 339 samples from
the Missouri River or in 77 samples from tributary streams where 3,124 and
5,526 fish larvae were collected, respectively.
Habitat Preference:
Forbes and Richardson (1905), Schmulbach et al. (1975), Kallemeyn (1983), and
Gilbraith et al. (1988) describe pallid sturgeon as being a fish well adapted
to life on the bottom in swift waters of large, turbid, free-flowing rivers.