Assessment of Lake Sturgeon Reproductive Capacity and Associated Habitat Requirements in the North Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan River Systems

该提案是与赫斯基能源有限公司合作的，涉及影响北萨斯喀彻温河极度濒危的鲟鱼（Acipenser fulvescens）种群的风险因素的管理。最初的目标是更好地为 2016 年春季漏油事件后的产卵和饲养栖息地修复工作提供信息。Engage 资助的研究 (2018) 报告称，北萨斯喀彻温河下游地区有丰富的产卵栖息地，但没有检测到产卵活动或产卵产品。异常温暖的春季可能导致产卵条件不佳；水温超过了鲟鱼卵泡发育和卵孵化的阈值。极端水温可能是未来气候变化情景中持续存在的一个问题。为了更好地评估产卵和可用栖息地之间的联系，该研究将重点关注种群内的繁殖能力。由于雄性和雌性的多年发育周期不同，湖鲟间歇性产卵。通常，需要侵入性手术来区分性别和生殖阶段。超声波检查引入了一种新的非侵入性方法：采用无线手持式超声波兽医扫描仪来确定鲟鱼湖的性别和繁殖能力。它将允许量化萨斯喀彻温河系统中产卵栖息地的可变需求。这项研究具有重要的保护价值。它可以让渔业管理者跟踪雄性和雌性产卵者之间的投资比例和同步程度，允许预测未来的产卵强度，并协助满足河内流量需求。对于哈士奇和在类似生态系统中工作的行业来说，繁殖能力将预示着河流内活动的风险，并有助于量化环境扰动的实际影响。对于萨斯喀彻温理工学院来说，这项以保护为基础的研究让人们认识到北萨斯喀彻温河中鲟鱼湖的濒危状况，该湖紧邻我们阿尔伯特亲王城的家乡社区，并允许学生和教师研究人员发展应用、技术、分析和公共推广技能。

This proposal, a collaboration with Husky Energy Ltd., concerns the management of risk factors affecting critically endangered Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) populations in the North Saskatchewan River. The initial objective was to better inform spawning and rearing habitat remediation efforts following an oil spill in spring 2016. Engage-funded research (2018) reported abundant spawning habitat in lower sections of the North Saskatchewan River, but did not detect spawning activity or spawn products. An unusually warm spring likely contributed to poor spawning conditions; water temperatures exceeded thresholds for Lake Sturgeon follicular development and egg incubation. Extreme water temperatures are an ongoing concern likely to accompany future climate change scenarios. To better evaluate links between spawning and available habitat, the research will focus on reproductive capacity within the population. Lake Sturgeon spawn intermittently due to an extended multi-year developmental cycle that differs for males and females. Typically, invasive procedures are required to distinguish between sexes and reproductive stages. Ultrasonography invites a new, non-invasive approach: adapting wireless handheld ultrasound vet scanners for the purpose of determining sex and reproductive capacity of Lake Sturgeon in the field. It would permit quantifying variable demand for spawning habitat in the Saskatchewan River system. This research has significant conservation value. It can allow fisheries managers to track proportionate investment and degree of synchrony among male and female spawners, permit future forecasts of spawning intensity, and assist in the delivery of instream flow needs. For Husky, and industries working in similar ecosystems, reproductive capacity would portend the risk of instream activities and help quantify the realized impacts of environmental perturbation. For Saskatchewan Polytechnic, this conservation-based research brings awareness to the endangered status of the Lake Sturgeon in the North Saskatchewan River, immediately adjacent to our home community of Prince Albert, and permits students & faculty researchers to develop applied, technological, analytical, and public outreach skills.