The pallid sturgeon, also known as the white sturgeon, is so–named because of its light coloring. It is one of the largest fishes found in the areas drained by the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Some adults weigh as much as 85 pounds (39 kilograms).
The fish’s snout is long, flattened, and shovel-shaped. Its toothless mouth is located far under the snout. In front of the mouth is a row of sensory barbels, fleshy feelers the fish uses to detect food on river bottoms. It feeds on fish, snails, and crayfish and other aquatic invertebrates.
Males reach sexual maturity at 7 to 9 years of age, females at 15 to 20 years of age. Biologists (people who study living organisms) know little about the fish’s reproductive habits. They do know that the sturgeon spawns (lays eggs) in June and July at the confluence, or junction, of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
Habitat and current distribution
The pallid sturgeon is found in the Missouri River and in the Mississippi River downstream from where the Missouri empties into it. The fish is also found in the lower portion of the Yellowstone River. Biologists do not know how many of these sturgeons currently exist.
Pallid sturgeons seem to prefer to inhabit the sandy or rocky bottoms of large, murky, free–flowing rivers. They have occasionally been found inhabiting sand flats or gravel bars in rivers, streams, lakes, and deep pools.
History and conservation measures
The sturgeon has declined in number because its habitat in both the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers has been drastically altered. Areas in both rivers have been dredged (deepened) to allow ships to navigate more easily.
Dikes (walls built along rivers to hold back water and prevent flooding) and weirs (fences placed in rivers to catch fish) have been constructed throughout the fish’s range. Other areas on these rivers have been enclosed in reservoirs or dams.
All of these modifications have blocked the ability of the sturgeon to swim throughout its range. They have also destroyed spawning areas and reduced the fish’s food supply.
In addition, portions of both rivers (especially the Mississippi) have high levels of pollution from industrial wastes and pesticide and fertilizer runoff from farms.
To prevent the extinction of this fish, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is developing a captive–breeding program. Officials are hoping to use this program to reintroduce pallid sturgeons into former areas of their habitat.
