Author Archives: Kimberly Chojnacki

Rain, Rain and More Rain

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Kimberly Chojnacki

The 7-day precipitation forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued on May 27 showed local rainfall potential of approximately 5 inches for portions of north Missouri (figure 1).  Unfortunately, this forecast was relatively accurate and heavy rainfall swelled … Continue reading →

Posted in Flooding |

Pallid Sturgeon MIA

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Kimberly Chojnacki

 When reproductive pallid sturgeon go missing during spring spawning season CSRP biologists become quickly concerned as every day at large means a decrease in the probability of relocation prior to spawning.  Because reproductive pallid sturgeon have been observed to move … Continue reading →

Posted in Tracking |

Across The River And Into The Trees

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Kimberly Chojnacki

These weren’t just the last words of General Jackson in the Hemingway novel.  On Friday, April 12th, biologists located PLS11-004, a reproductive, female pallid sturgeon during her upstream migration, presumably to spawn.  In the morning PLS11-004 was observed crossing the … Continue reading →

Posted in chute |

The Gang of Eight

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Kimberly Chojnacki

While we are far from Washington, DC, we have our own form of the bipartisan Gang of Eight; eight reproductive pallid sturgeon, fitted with radio telemetry tags, and ready to spawn this spring.  Four of these individual are currently located … Continue reading →

Posted in Reproductive Female |

The Other Sturgeon Species

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Kimberly Chojnacki

Pallid sturgeon and their close relatives, the shovelnose sturgeon, are not the only sturgeon in the Missouri River. USGS and state research biologists sampling for pallid sturgeon in the Missouri River occasionally collect specimens of the “other” sturgeon species, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized |

On the Right Path

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Kimberly Chojnacki

“We have a boy, code 52, on his way to Intake Dam.  We’ve tracked him all day through bends and side channels.  He is a couple of miles away from the Dam.  Can you spare a crew to track him … Continue reading →

Posted in Tracking, Yellowstone River |

Headed North

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Kimberly Chojnacki

With telemetered female pallid sturgeon done spawning in the Lower Missouri River, the USGS tracking crews from Missouri packed up their equipment at the beginning of June and headed north to Montana and the Yellowstone River.  It was a two … Continue reading →

Posted in Tracking, Yellowstone River |

How to Drink From a Fire Hose

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Kimberly Chojnacki

Since 2009, larval sampling efforts have focused on capturing newly hatched and drifting larvae immediately downstream of a suspected pallid sturgeon spawning site (see previous posts “Searching for a needle in a haystack” and “Panning for biological gold”).  In 2012 … Continue reading →

Posted in Larval Sampling, Uncategorized |

Old Faithful???

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Kimberly Chojnacki

Perhaps one of the most interesting fish in the CRSP’s portfolio is male pallid sturgeon PLS08-006.  This individual was originally implanted with a telemetry device in the spring of 2008 and has since been located on 93 occasions between river … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized |

River Sweep May 21 – 29, 2012

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Kimberly Chojnacki

With spawning season coming to an end, Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project (CSRP) researchers are beginning to focus more on extensive tracking efforts and less on tracking individuals to their spawning sites.  We have defined a “river sweep” as an attempt … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized |