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Spawning Habitat Selection and Egg Deposition by Reintroduced Lake Sturgeon in a Tributary to Cayuga Lake, NY

Received: 12 December 2023     Accepted: 5 January 2024     Published: 18 January 2024
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Abstract

In June 2017, we documented the first observed spawning event by a reintroduced population of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in Fall Creek, a tributary to Cayuga Lake, New York, USA. This is the first observed spawning encounter of adult Lake Sturgeon since the beginning of the multi-agency Lake Sturgeon restoration effort in Cayuga Lake initiated in 1995 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Lake Sturgeon egg deposition was found specifically on substrate mainly composed of gravel sized rocks with depths and flows that made up a unique microhabitat combination within the creek which is not typical of habitat identified in other Lake Sturgeon spawning habitat studies across the Great Lakes. An estimated 810,052 ± 24,386 eggs were deposited in the sampled area of Fall Creek. The identified, potentially productive spawning microhabitat type in Fall Creek is likely to be widespread in similar tributaries around Cayuga Lake as well as small tributaries to other Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario. Ongoing research is focused on the evaluation of the extent of Finger Lakes habitat similar to that identified in Fall Creek. This microhabitat evaluation of sturgeon spawning and the broad scale landscape knowledge of tributary habitats, should support subsequent management to restore Lake Sturgeon.

Published in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.eeb.20240901.12
Page(s) 9-13
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Lake Sturgeon, Spawning, Habitat Selection, Reintroduction, Egg Deposition

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Dittman, D., Chalupnicki, M., Randall, P., Zollweg-Horan, E. (2024). Spawning Habitat Selection and Egg Deposition by Reintroduced Lake Sturgeon in a Tributary to Cayuga Lake, NY. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 9(1), 9-13. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eeb.20240901.12

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    ACS Style

    Dittman, D.; Chalupnicki, M.; Randall, P.; Zollweg-Horan, E. Spawning Habitat Selection and Egg Deposition by Reintroduced Lake Sturgeon in a Tributary to Cayuga Lake, NY. Ecol. Evol. Biol. 2024, 9(1), 9-13. doi: 10.11648/j.eeb.20240901.12

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    AMA Style

    Dittman D, Chalupnicki M, Randall P, Zollweg-Horan E. Spawning Habitat Selection and Egg Deposition by Reintroduced Lake Sturgeon in a Tributary to Cayuga Lake, NY. Ecol Evol Biol. 2024;9(1):9-13. doi: 10.11648/j.eeb.20240901.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.eeb.20240901.12,
      author = {Dawn Dittman and Marc Chalupnicki and Phyllis Randall and Emily Zollweg-Horan},
      title = {Spawning Habitat Selection and Egg Deposition by Reintroduced Lake Sturgeon in a Tributary to Cayuga Lake, NY},
      journal = {Ecology and Evolutionary Biology},
      volume = {9},
      number = {1},
      pages = {9-13},
      doi = {10.11648/j.eeb.20240901.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eeb.20240901.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.eeb.20240901.12},
      abstract = {In June 2017, we documented the first observed spawning event by a reintroduced population of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in Fall Creek, a tributary to Cayuga Lake, New York, USA. This is the first observed spawning encounter of adult Lake Sturgeon since the beginning of the multi-agency Lake Sturgeon restoration effort in Cayuga Lake initiated in 1995 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Lake Sturgeon egg deposition was found specifically on substrate mainly composed of gravel sized rocks with depths and flows that made up a unique microhabitat combination within the creek which is not typical of habitat identified in other Lake Sturgeon spawning habitat studies across the Great Lakes. An estimated 810,052 ± 24,386 eggs were deposited in the sampled area of Fall Creek. The identified, potentially productive spawning microhabitat type in Fall Creek is likely to be widespread in similar tributaries around Cayuga Lake as well as small tributaries to other Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario. Ongoing research is focused on the evaluation of the extent of Finger Lakes habitat similar to that identified in Fall Creek. This microhabitat evaluation of sturgeon spawning and the broad scale landscape knowledge of tributary habitats, should support subsequent management to restore Lake Sturgeon.},
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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    AU  - Dawn Dittman
    AU  - Marc Chalupnicki
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    AB  - In June 2017, we documented the first observed spawning event by a reintroduced population of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in Fall Creek, a tributary to Cayuga Lake, New York, USA. This is the first observed spawning encounter of adult Lake Sturgeon since the beginning of the multi-agency Lake Sturgeon restoration effort in Cayuga Lake initiated in 1995 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Lake Sturgeon egg deposition was found specifically on substrate mainly composed of gravel sized rocks with depths and flows that made up a unique microhabitat combination within the creek which is not typical of habitat identified in other Lake Sturgeon spawning habitat studies across the Great Lakes. An estimated 810,052 ± 24,386 eggs were deposited in the sampled area of Fall Creek. The identified, potentially productive spawning microhabitat type in Fall Creek is likely to be widespread in similar tributaries around Cayuga Lake as well as small tributaries to other Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario. Ongoing research is focused on the evaluation of the extent of Finger Lakes habitat similar to that identified in Fall Creek. This microhabitat evaluation of sturgeon spawning and the broad scale landscape knowledge of tributary habitats, should support subsequent management to restore Lake Sturgeon.
    VL  - 9
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Author Information
  • United States Geological Survey, Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science, Cortland, USA

  • United States Geological Survey, Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science, Cortland, USA

  • United States Geological Survey, Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science, Cortland, USA

  • New York State Department of Environmental Conservation – Fisheries, Cortland, USA

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