Claire E. Farrell, Jennifer Simard, Stan Louttit, F. Meg Southee, Liset Cruz-Font, Daniel P. Struthers, Jacob L. Seguin, Constance M. OConnor
{"title":"Occupancy, movement, and behaviour of namew (lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens) in an intact river in Canada","authors":"Claire E. Farrell, Jennifer Simard, Stan Louttit, F. Meg Southee, Liset Cruz-Font, Daniel P. Struthers, Jacob L. Seguin, Constance M. OConnor","doi":"10.3354/esr01325","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: Most sturgeon populations are imperilled and living in fragmented rivers. Here, we studied namew (lake sturgeon <i>Acipenser fulvescens</i>), fish important to Ililiwak (Moose Cree Peoples), in the North French River: a free-flowing, intact river in Kit Aski Nahnuun (the Moose Cree Homeland) in northern Ontario, Canada. This study was co-created alongside members of Moose Cree First Nation and used acoustic telemetry to passively track 20 tagged namew over 6 yr (2016-2022). Namew occupied the entire monitored river reach: about 45 km. Namew used 2 overwintering areas and occupied more overall river sections during spring and summer (out of 6 total seasons often used by Ililiwak). We did not detect namew moving upstream or downstream during freeze-up and winter. Generally, namew showed the greatest acceleration and travelled the longest distances during spring and summer, and they occupied shallower water during summer at lower water levels and deepest waters during freeze-up. We found an interaction between season and diurnal period, where namew occupied shallower depths and had higher acceleration at dawn and night relative to morning and afternoon in most seasons; dusk behaviour was variable among seasons. However, this pattern was absent in spring, when namew showed no diurnal pattern in acceleration and were in shallower water during morning and afternoon. Diurnal patterns were less pronounced, but detectable, during ice-affected seasons. This river provides year-round habitat for namew, and our data reveal distinct patterns of namew occupancy, movement, and behaviour in a free-flowing, intact river. Our work is an example of successfully co-creating research that addresses both scientific and community priorities.","PeriodicalId":48746,"journal":{"name":"Endangered Species Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Endangered Species Research","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01325","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACT: Most sturgeon populations are imperilled and living in fragmented rivers. Here, we studied namew (lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens), fish important to Ililiwak (Moose Cree Peoples), in the North French River: a free-flowing, intact river in Kit Aski Nahnuun (the Moose Cree Homeland) in northern Ontario, Canada. This study was co-created alongside members of Moose Cree First Nation and used acoustic telemetry to passively track 20 tagged namew over 6 yr (2016-2022). Namew occupied the entire monitored river reach: about 45 km. Namew used 2 overwintering areas and occupied more overall river sections during spring and summer (out of 6 total seasons often used by Ililiwak). We did not detect namew moving upstream or downstream during freeze-up and winter. Generally, namew showed the greatest acceleration and travelled the longest distances during spring and summer, and they occupied shallower water during summer at lower water levels and deepest waters during freeze-up. We found an interaction between season and diurnal period, where namew occupied shallower depths and had higher acceleration at dawn and night relative to morning and afternoon in most seasons; dusk behaviour was variable among seasons. However, this pattern was absent in spring, when namew showed no diurnal pattern in acceleration and were in shallower water during morning and afternoon. Diurnal patterns were less pronounced, but detectable, during ice-affected seasons. This river provides year-round habitat for namew, and our data reveal distinct patterns of namew occupancy, movement, and behaviour in a free-flowing, intact river. Our work is an example of successfully co-creating research that addresses both scientific and community priorities.
期刊介绍:
ESR is international and interdisciplinary. It covers all endangered forms of life on Earth, the threats faced by species and their habitats and the necessary steps that must be undertaken to ensure their conservation. ESR publishes high quality contributions reporting research on all species (and habitats) of conservation concern, whether they be classified as Near Threatened or Threatened (Endangered or Vulnerable) by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) or highlighted as part of national or regional conservation strategies. Submissions on all aspects of conservation science are welcome.