Threats such as habitat loss, invasive species, and overexploitation cause species extinctions; however, stochastic processes can accelerate extinction rates as census sizes decline. Using molecular and ecological data, we explored the influence of these processes on the demography of a candidate species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act—the Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus...

The raw data from study of variation of D-loop mtDNA of white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus (Mol. Biol. Evol. 1993. 10: 326–341) was re-analyzed. Re-calculated nucleotide substitution rate (μ) was 0.782–0.939 × 10 substitutions/site/year/lineage, which was 1.4 times less than the estimate given in above-mentioned publication. The use of new μ has led to an increase in estimates of long-term ...

—Shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum, a U.S. endangered species, has experienced a fourfold increase in abundance in the Hudson River in the past three decades. The age structure and trends in year-class strength of yearlings were investigated to evaluate the underlying pattern of annual recruitment that accompanied population recovery. Annuli in pectoral spine sections were used to estim...

Abstract Sturgeon and paddlefishes (Acipenseriformes) are cultured worldwide for commercial conservation purposes. Over the past decade, we have learned many sturgeon culture programs experience spontaneous autopolyploidy, or generation of triploidy without management intervention. Spontaneous autopolyploidy has been shown to negatively impact physiology, reproductive development fertility stur...

The micropyle number in the ova of sturgeon species from the South Caspian Sea was investigated. The study was conducted on female broodfishes of three species of sturgeon (Persian sturgeon Acipenser persicus, Stetates sturgeon A. stellatus and great sturgeon Huso huso) included 44 Persian sturgeon, 13 stellate sturgeon and 8 great sturgeon specimens. Fifty eggs were randomly collected from eac...

The Caspian seal (Pusa caspica) has declined by more than 90% since 1900 and is listed as endangered by IUCN. We made the first quantitative assessment of Caspian seal by-catch mortality in fisheries in the north Caspian Sea by conducting semi-structured interviews in fishing communities along the coasts of Russia (Kalmykia, Dagestan), Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. We recorded a documented minim...

concentration levels of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pahs) consisting of naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorine, phenantherene, anthracene, fluor?anthene, pyrene, benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)p?yrene, dibenzo(a,h)ant?hracene, indeno(1,2,3-cd) pyrene and benzo(g,h,i)perylene were measured in water and sediment samples coll...

persian sturgeon (acipenser persicus) is a valuable fish caught in the caspian sea. in this study, effect of frying, the most common cooking methods on nutritional properties of the persian sturgeon fillet were investigated. the raw and fried samples were analyzed for amino acid composition, protein and fat content, in vitro digestibility and nutritional parameters. the results showed that the ...

The micropyle number in the ova of sturgeon species from the South Caspian Sea was investigated. The study was conducted on female broodfishes of three species of sturgeon (Persian sturgeon Acipenser persicus, Stetates sturgeon A. stellatus and great sturgeon Huso huso) included 44 Persian sturgeon, 13 stellate sturgeon and 8 great sturgeon specimens. Fifty eggs were randomly collected from eac...