Pat Braaten, PhD

Free embryos of wild pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus were released in the Missouri River and captured at downstream sites through a 180-km reach of the river to examine ontogenetic drift and dispersal processes. Free embryos drifted primarily in the fastest portion of the river channel, and initial drift velocities for all age groups (mean = 0.66–0.70 m s−1) were only slightly...

Intensive management of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers has resulted in dramatic changes to the river systems and their biota. These changes have been implicated in the decline of the pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus), which has been listed as a United States federal endangered species. The sympatric shovelnose sturgeon (S. platorynchus) is more common and widespread but has...

Juvenile pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus raised in hatcheries and stocked in the wild are used to augment critically imperiled populations of this federally endangered species in the United States. For pallid sturgeon in recovery priority management area 2 (RPMA 2) of the Missouri River and lower Yellowstone River where natural recruitment has not occurred for decades, restoration...

Large warmwater rivers are complex ecosystems and often contain numerous species and habitats. We loosely define a large river as having a drainage area greater than 50,000 km2 and a stream order great than six. Further, these rivers typically have mean discharges greater than 1,500 m3/s. Channel patterns are highly variable among and within large rivers, generally forming a meandering...

The drift dynamics of larval shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus (1, 2, 6, and 10 d posthatch [dph]) and pallid sturgeon S. albus (1, 2, 5, 9, 11, and 17 dph) were examined in a natural side channel of the Missouri River to quantify the vertical drift location of larvae in the water column, determine the drift velocity of larvae relative to water velocity, and simulate the...

Intensive management of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers has resulted in dramatic physical changes to these rivers. These changes have been implicated as causative agents in the decline of pallid sturgeon. The pallid sturgeon, federally listed as endangered, is endemic to the turbid waters of the Missouri River and the Lower Mississippi River. The sympatric shovelnose sturgeon...