Genetic Analysis of Klamath River Green Sturgeon (Acipensar medirostris)

摘要

West Coast populations of green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) was assessed.Isozyme analysis was not determined to be an adequate method for assessing stock structure in green sturgeon for the following reasons: (1) the complex nature of isozyme expression; (2) the relatively poor resolution of enzyme systems for the authors' samples; (3) the invasive nature of collecting tissue samples for isozyme analysis, which necessitates sacrificing the fish, precludes collection of samples from some rivers. The stomach contents of 23 green sturgeon collected from fish harvested in the Klamath River were analyzed. Only four stomachs contained identifiable food items, with the others containing food far too digested for identification, gravel, or no contents. Two stomachs contained the small gastropod, Olivella pyna, one stomach contained the carapace remains of a female Dungeness crab, Cancer magister, and one stomach contained the posterior portions of three ammocoetes, Lamperta tridentata. Preliminary analysis was conducted using mtDNA to assess the potential of using this technique for assessing the stock structure of green sturgeon.