Population viability analysis and potential of its application to Danube sturgeons

Abstract

Sturgeon species in the Danube River basin have experienced severe decline. Besides overexploitation, habitat loss, and pollution, they are further endangered by lack of efficient policy and management, as well as by serious lack of knowledge about their life history. Although population viability analysis (PVA) could represent an extremely valuable tool to cope with these problems, it has not so far been applied to Danube populations. This paper represents an assessment of different PVA methods and models developed for sturgeon species. It analyzes their results, main advantages, drawbacks, and problems, and discusses the possibility of applying PVA to sturgeon populations in the Danube River basin.