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Vallazza, J., B. Knights, M. Dewey, S. Zigler, R. Kennedy, P. Rust and D. Betz (1998). Seasonal habitat use and movements of lake sturgeon in the Upper Mississippi River. Pages 47 in M. Knutson, ed. Proceedings of the Mississippi River Research Consortium, La Crosse, Wisconsin (USA), Mississippi River Research Consortium.

In the early 1900's, lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens populations precipitously declined in the Upper Mississippi River resulting in a 96% decline in harvest. Despite harvest restrictions, lake sturgeon are still considered uncommon or rare in the Upper Mississippi River and are listed as endangered or a species of concern by four of five states bordering the Upper Mississippi River. Recovery of lake sturgeon populations in the Upper Mississippi River may be hindered due to system modifications, including the construction of low-head dams in the 1930's to accommodate commercial navigation. Moreover, recent proposals to further modify the Upper Mississippi River to accommodate increased commercial navigation has raised concern for remaining lake sturgeon populations. We are conducting a biotelemetry study to identify and describe inportant seasonal habitats of lake sturgeon in the Upper Mississippi River and to determine the effects of commercial navigation on lake sturgeon movements and habitat use. We tagged 23 lake sturgeon in the Upper Mississippi River with radio and ultrasonic transmitters during summer and fall, 1997. Twelve fish were tagged in the East Channel in Navigation Pool 10 near Prairie du Chien, WI and 11 fish were tagged in Polander Lake, an off-channel area in Navigation Pool 5A near Winona, MN. We attempted to obtain weekly locations and habitat use data on all fish, recording a total of 376 locations. Many lake sturgeon have moved considerable distances in 1997. Five fish tagged in Pool 10 moved up the Wisconsin River about 120 km to Prairie du Sac, five fish remained in Pool 10, and one fish moved 40 km upstream into Pool 9. One tagged lake sturgeon was harvested in the Wisconsin River by an angler in early September. Six fish tagged in Pool 5A remained in that pool and five fish moved up to 62 km to downstream pools. Preliminary analyses of data indicated that habitat use by lake sturgeon was similar between summer and fall. For fish tagged in Pool 10, 97% of the locations in the Mississippi River occurred in channel habitats, and 3 percent in off-channel habitats. In contrast, 57% of the locations of fish tagged in Pool 5A occurred in off-channel habitats. Mean depth and current velocity at fish locations in the Upper Mississippi River were 5.0 m and 22 cm/s, respectively. About 60% of fish locations occurred over sand, and 25% occurred over silt. We plan to continue tracking these tagged lake sturgeon until November 1998.