Movement of Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, in a natural reach of the Ottawa River

Abstract

A radio-telemetry project was conducted on four Lake Sturgeon in a natural reach of the Ottawa River, Canada. The objective was to ascertain the extent of their movement within a natural river reach. Lake Sturgeon displayed high fidelity to a basin and did not move extensive distances. Maximum distance traveled between tracking locations was 10 km and mean home range was 1528 ha. Mean distance moved did not significantly differ between seasons. Mean water depth in which Lake Sturgeon were located was 3.5 m. Lake Sturgeon were not located within 52 km of the upstream dam.