{"id":2981,"date":"2025-10-21T13:29:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T13:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/?p=2981"},"modified":"2025-10-21T13:29:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T13:29:37","slug":"ancient-fish-in-new-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/blog\/2025\/10\/21\/ancient-fish-in-new-waters\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Fish in New Waters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” custom_padding=”||39px|||”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]

Atlantic sturgeon are one of the oldest fish in the ocean and considered by some to be a living fossil. Dating back 120 million years their bony features and immense size give them the appearance of a modern day dinosaur. Unfortunately, these primitive fish were harvested to near extinction during the 19th and 20th centuries. Since the historic overfishing events, sturgeon populations have been slow to recover. It takes 20 years for these fish to reach sexual maturity and once they are mature, reproduction may occur as little as once every five years (White et al. 2024). The combination of these two traits makes recovery difficult. Furthermore, changing climatic conditions like photoperiod (number of hours of sun per day) and warming water temperature alter migration patterns and spawning habits (Nicoll et al. 2025). Anthropogenic factors have also contributed to recent sturgeon population decline. Currently, sturgeon are at serious risk of getting tangled in gillnets and are often caught up in shipping vessel propellers when passing through estuary rivers (White et al. 2024). Despite a fishing moratorium enacted in 1998, sturgeon populations in the Hudson River are slow to recover and it is uncertain whether populations can bounce back in a warming climate (Nicoll et al. 2025). In an attempt to bridge this knowledge gap, Ashley Nicoll and her team published a study investigating the effects of photoperiod and water temperature on migration timing in the Hudson River estuary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nicholl utilizes existing telemetry data from numerous ongoing projects in the Hudson River estuary. Receivers were set up in frequently used habitats to collect fine-scale movement patterns. Water temperature was collected from the New York Harbor entrance buoy as well as 30 random points along the continental shelf in order to fully quantify temperature changes in popular spawning grounds. Nicoll and her team compiled all of these data points as well as photoperiod and lunar phase in order to create a model of sturgeon migration patterns. To test the effects of changing water temperature on migration, local water temperature was manipulated while all other variables were held constant. The model then predicted the timing and number of fish to enter and leave the estuary in response to temperature change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The migratory model predicted changes to both arrival and departure of Atlantic sturgeon in response to changing environmental conditions. One of the largest predictors of arrival was photoperiod. Surprisingly, water temperature had the lowest influence on the arrival of sturgeon. The opposite was true of sturgeon departure. Water temperature was the largest predictor of sturgeon migration out of the estuary with photoperiod having little effect. Under the warmest climate model (+3\u2103), sturgeon are predicted to arrive and depart 57 days earlier than normal. Furthermore, the period of time that sturgeon will arrive and depart shrinks under warming conditions, meaning sturgeon are more likely to migrate in groups than they would in cooler waters.<\/span><\/p>\n

The results of the Nicoll paper outline both potential benefits and drawbacks for Atlantic sturgeon populations. The reliance on photoperiod mitigates some of the negative effects of warming water temperatures and can reduce the risk of bycatch by keeping sturgeon on a constant schedule and reducing migration overlap with peak fishing seasons. The downside of using photoperiod as a migratory trigger is the risk of exposure to suboptimal water temperatures. While the photoperiod stays relatively constant, water temperatures are changing and these fluctuations may cause sturgeon to migrate into water that is outside of their preferred temperature range. This can pose a significant risk to the ability of sturgeon to perform necessary functions. Nicoll states that sturgeon decrease cellular production in response to drastic temperature change in an attempt to suppress non-essential processes. This poses a serious risk to the ability of sturgeon to adjust to changing temperatures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the physiological risks climate change poses to sturgeon, new information about migratory and spawning behavior can be used to protect populations. Understanding sturgeon migration patterns allows researchers to communicate with fisheries and shipping companies when sturgeon are likely to be in the area and make adjustments to protect migration routes. Nicoll and her team suggest using rapid water temperature increases, a major predictor of bycatch mortality, to determine fishing schedule. Closing or reducing fishing activity during periods of warming water temperature will significantly decrease the amount of sturgeon caught up in gill nets and increase reproductive success of the population.\u00a0 Bridging the knowledge gap regarding sturgeon migratory patterns opens up numerous opportunities to better protect the species and conserve habitats essential to their survival.<\/span><\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Nicoll, A., Dunton, K., Ingram, E., Zacharias, J., Cerrato, R., Frisk, G. (2025) Investigating the plasticity of Atlantic sturgeon\u00a0 Acipenser oxyrinchus migration timing in a changing climate. <\/a><\/span>Marine Ecology Progress Series<\/span><\/i> 770:143-154 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. White, S., Breece, M., Fox, D., Kazyak, D., Higgs, A., Park, I., Busch, C., Lubinsky, B., Johnson, R., & Welsh, A. (2024). Spatiotemporal patterns in habitat use of natal and non-natal adult Atlantic sturgeon in two spawning rivers. <\/a><\/span>Animal Biotelemetry<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>12<\/span><\/i>(1), 9.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Atlantic sturgeon are one of the oldest fish in the ocean and considered by some to be a living fossil. Dating back 120 million years their bony features and immense size give them the appearance of a modern day dinosaur. Unfortunately, these primitive fish were harvested to near extinction during the 19th and 20th centuries. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":3021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mating"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/124"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2981"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3087,"href":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2981\/revisions\/3087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/animaltales.kenyoncip.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}