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

这项与赫斯基能源有限公司合作的提案涉及对影响北萨斯喀彻温河极度濒危的湖泊鲟鱼(Acipenser Fulvescens)种群的风险因素的管理。最初的目标是在2016年春季发生漏油事件后，更好地为产卵和繁殖栖息地补救工作提供信息。Engage资助的研究(2018年)报告称，北萨斯喀彻温河下游有丰富的产卵栖息地，但没有检测到产卵活动或产卵产品。异常温暖的春天可能是导致产卵条件不佳的原因之一；水温超过了湖泊鲟鱼卵泡发育和卵孵化的阈值。极端水温是一个持续不断的问题，可能会伴随着未来的气候变化情景。为了更好地评估产卵和可用栖息地之间的联系，研究将重点放在种群内的生殖能力上。由于延长了多年的发育周期，湖泊鲟鱼断断续续地产卵，雄性和雌性的发育周期不同。通常情况下，需要进行侵入性手术来区分性别和生殖阶段。超声波检查带来了一种新的、非侵入性的方法：采用无线手持超声兽医扫描仪，以确定野外湖鲟鱼的性别和繁殖能力。这将允许量化萨斯喀彻温河水系对产卵栖息地的可变需求。本研究具有重要的保护价值。它可以使渔业管理人员跟踪雄性和雌性产卵者之间的比例投资和同步化程度，允许未来对产卵强度进行预测，并协助满足河流径流需求。对于赫斯基和在类似生态系统中工作的行业来说，生殖能力将预示着河流活动的风险，并有助于量化环境扰动的已实现影响。对于萨斯喀彻温省理工学院来说，这项以保护为基础的研究使人们意识到萨斯喀彻温河北部的湖鲟鱼的濒危状态，该湖鲟鱼紧挨着我们阿尔伯特王子的家园，并允许学生和教职员工培养应用、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.