L.G. Beckman

Spawning and Rearing Habitat Use by White Sturgeons in the Columbia River Downstream from McNary Dam

Abstract Spawning and rearing habitats used by white sturgeons Acipenser transmontanus were described from water temperature, depth, and velocity measurements and substrate types present at sites where eggs, larvae, young-of-the-year, and juveniles (ages 1–7) were collected. Spawning and egg incubation occurred in the swiftest water available (mean water column velocity, 0.8–2.8 m/s), which was within 8 km downstream from each of the four main-stem Columbia River dams in our study area. Substrates where spawning occurred were mainly cobble, boulder, and bedrock. Yolk-sac larvae were transported by the river currents from spawning areas into deeper areas with lower water velocities and finer substrates. Young-of-the-year white sturgeons were found at depths of 9–57 m, at mean water column velocities of 0.6 m/s and less, and over substrates of hard clay, mud and silt, sand, gravel, and cobble. Juvenile fish were found at depths of 2–58 m, at mean water column velocities of 1.2 m/s and less, and over substra...

White Sturgeon Spawning and Rearing Habitat in the Lower Columbia River

Abstract Estimates of spawning habitat for white sturgeons Acipenser transmontanus in the tailraces of the four dams on the lower 470 km of the Columbia River were obtained by using the Physical Habitat Simulation System of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Instream Flow Incremental Methodology to identify areas with suitable water depths, water velocities, and substrates. Rearing habitat throughout the lower Columbia River was assessed by using a geographic information system to identify areas with suitable water depths and substrates. The lowering of spring and summer river discharges from hydropower system operation reduces the availability of spawning habitat for white sturgeons. The four dam tailraces in the study area differ in the amount and quality of spawning habitat available at various discharges; the differences are due to channel morphology. The three impoundments and the free-flowing Columbia River downstream from Bonneville Dam provide extensive areas that are physically suitable for rea...

First Record of Predation on White Sturgeon Eggs by Sympatric Fishes

Abstract We report the occurrence of white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus eggs in guts of four species of fish from the Columbia River. Three of the species—northern squawfish Ptychocheilus oregonensis, largescale sucker Catostomus macrocheilus, and prickly sentpin Cottus asper—are native to the river and one, common carp Cvprinus carpio, is exotic.