Monthly Archives: June 2011

Path of least resistance?

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Emily Pherigo

  USGS hydrologists and biologists joined with biologists from Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks to radio track pallid sturgeon as they navigated the Yellowstone River during late May and Early June.  Following one fish over the course of a day … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat mapping, Uncategorized, Yellowstone River | Tagged |

Yellowstone pathways

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Emily Pherigo

Over the past couple of weeks, biologists from the USGS and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks have been tracking pallid sturgeon in the Yellowstone River while USGS hydrologists map their habitats.  This pallid sturgeon population has access to the Missouri … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat mapping, Uncategorized, Yellowstone River | Tagged , , |

A Missouri River delicacy

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Emily Pherigo

Fairy shrimp are small crustaceans only distantly related to lobsters, crabs, and the shrimp we commonly find on our dinner tables.  Most species are rather small, seldom larger than an inch in length.  Adapted to temporary habitats, fairy shrimp eggs … Continue reading →

Posted in Flooding, Larval Sampling, Uncategorized | Tagged , |

Day old sturgeon caught in Lower Missouri River

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Emily Pherigo

Biologists sampled a suspected pallid sturgeon spawning site approximately 4 miles up the James River from its confluence with the Missouri River in South Dakota on May 12 and 13.  Two days of sampling resulted in the collection of 84 larval paddlefish, … Continue reading →

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Searching for a needle in a haystack

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Emily Pherigo

Female pallid sturgeon with eggs are very rare on the Lower Missouri River.  When one spawns she will release as few as 8,000 to 20,000 eggs over a 12 to 36 hour period.  Those eggs are released in swift water … Continue reading →

Posted in Larval Sampling | Tagged , |

Sometimes it takes two

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Emily Pherigo

During high water events, one tracking boat can’t effectively search many parts of the Missouri River for tagged fish.  Using two boats spaced equally across the width of the river tracking downstream in parallel, or tandem tracking, is done when water levels rise, … Continue reading →

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Can you hear me now?

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Emily Pherigo

Tracking fish using acoustic telemetry in the Missouri River is never easy.  Even with good conditions on the Big Muddy we are working at the edge of what technology allows.  The acoustic telemetry tags that we implant inside pallid sturgeon are … Continue reading →

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Rising Water

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Emily Pherigo

The Corps of Engineers has predicted that flooding on the upper part of the Lower Missouri River this coming week is going to be historic.  As the projected 150,000 cfs release from Gavins Point Dam propagates downstream, it will add … Continue reading →

Posted in Flooding, Uncategorized, Yellowstone River | Tagged , |