White Sturgeon Restoration and Enhancement
in the Columbia and Snake Rivers Upstream
from Bonneville Dam

The Problem

The goal of this work is to provide information to aid state, federal, and tribal managers in efforts to protect and restore the white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in the Columbia River Basin.

White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus).

Construction and operation of dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers for hydroelectricity, navigation, and irrigation have adversely affected white sturgeon populations. We are conducting work in collaboration with the Oregon and Washington Departments of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission to determine how populations are affected and by what mechanisms. This project is funded by the Bonneville Power Administration.

Objectives

Our current objective is to provide state, federal, and tribal fisheries managers in the Columbia River Basin with data concerning the quantity and suitability of habitat for white sturgeon spawning and juvenile rearing, factors affecting survival and growth of young white sturgeon, and how environmental conditions may influence movements and behavior of sub-adult and adult white sturgeon. This information will aid conservation and management of white sturgeon.

Methodology

Bottom trawl survey for juvenile white sturgeon.

We conduct annual bottom trawl surveys for young of the year (YOY) white sturgeon in Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day reservoirs of the lower Columbia River to provide annual estimates of YOY relative abundance. The information collected during these surveys has been used to examine the biology and habitat use of YOY white sturgeon and also to determine how climatic and hydrologic conditions affect white sturgeon year-class strength in these reservoirs. We identified spawning areas by sampling for white sturgeon eggs using artificial substrates. Eggs and yolk-sac larvae have also been collected in plankton nets and 3-m wide beam trawl nets. White sturgeon eggs collected in the field were assigned developmental stages in the laboratory, and spawning dates were estimated. We have examined habitat use and movements of sub-adult and adult white sturgeon in areas of the Columbia River using radio and acoustic telemetry. Laboratory studies have been conducted to study early life stages of white sturgeon and aid efforts to understand white sturgeon recruitment dynamics in the Columbia River Basin.

Highlights and Key Findings

• Quantified habitat suitable for spawning and rearing of white sturgeon in the Columbia and the Snake rivers in relation to yearly flows and temperatures.

• Developed habitat maps and flow-habitat models for the Columbia River up to McNary Dam.

Map on left: White sturgeon suitable spawning habitat under present impounded conditions. Map on right: White sturgeon suitable spawning habitat under natural river conditions.

• Described the effects of proposed reservoir water level manipulations on productivity of white sturgeon.

• Yearly age-0 white sturgeon indexing (trawling) in Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day reservoirs is used to explore environmental influences on recruitment.

• Examined movements and behavior of pre-spawn and spawning white sturgeon in The Dalles Reservoir in relation to dam operations using radio and acoustic telemetry.

Tracking a tagged fish.

Radio-tagging a white sturgeon.

• Examined seasonal habitat use and movements of sub-adult and adult white sturgeon in a free-flowing and impounded reach of the Columbia River.

• Determined that white sturgeon larvae are susceptible to gas bubble trauma using laboratory experiments.

• Found that hydropeaking at The Dalles Dam displaces white sturgeon eggs and larvae from incubation areas.

• Assessed the effects of water temperature on the development of white sturgeon eggs.

• Described the food habits of first-feeding larvae and age-0 white sturgeon.

• Using laboratory experiments, determined that higher turbidity levels decrease vulnerability of white sturgeon larvae to predation by sculpins.

• Also in the laboratory, found that white sturgeon juveniles were highly vulnerable to predation by northern pikeminnow and channel catfish, but rarely eaten by walleye.

These data have aided fishery management agencies in understanding white sturgeon population dynamics in the Columbia River Basin, and thus have helped in formulating strategies for operating the federal Columbia River power system. Results on how dam operations may affect sturgeon movements and spawning and rearing habitats will allow managers to select environmental parameters favorable to this species. Because white sturgeon populations in some reservoirs are severely depleted with little survival to young-of-the-year, our research will help in understanding factors affecting sturgeon recruitment, such as predation.

White sturgeon larvae and juveniles.

Where Are We Headed In 2003

During 2003, we plan to complete ongoing laboratory experiments and finalize reports and manuscripts from previous field and laboratory studies.

We will analyze and write-up results of studies that used radio and acoustic telemetry to examine habitat uses and movements of white sturgeon.

We will also write manuscripts describing laboratory studies looking at the effects of temperature on the development of white sturgeon eggs, and examining the effects of turbidity and size on vulnerability of age-0 white sturgeon to predation.

White sturgeon. Photo by Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.

Sampling for juvenile white sturgeon with bottom trawls in Bonneville, The Dalles, and John Day reservoirs will be continued in the Fall of 2003, and this information will be used to determine the level of reproduction of white sturgeon in the lower Columbia River during this year.

Project Contact

Michael J. Parsley
Dena M. Gadomski
U.S. Geological Survey
Western Fisheries Research Center
Columbia River Research Laboratory
5501-A Cook-Underwood Rd.
Cook, WA 98605-9717

Email: mike_parsley@usgs.gov
          dena_gadomski@usgs.gov
Phone: 509-538-2299
Fax: 509-538-2843

Publications