Marine Biologist James Sulikowski initiates Saco River Sturgeon Project
SWAG视频 assistant professor of marine sciences James Sulikowski, Ph.D., got a surprise when he took a television reporter out on the Saco River for a story on the research he is conducting on Atlantic sturgeon as part of program called the Saco River Sturgeon Project.
With the camera rolling, Dr. Sulikowski and his students pulled up a short-nosed sturgeon, an endangered species, the first on record found in the Saco River.
"It's crazy," said Sulikowski. "Nobody had any idea that we would catch a shortnose."
While the Atlantic sturgeon had seemingly disappeared for about 100 years, its more rare cousin had apparently never been seen in the Saco. At least not until researchers pulled one up June 16, 2009.
The Saco River Sturgeon Project is funded by the NOAA Species of Concern Conservation Program. The research will continue through December 2009. The findings from Sulikowski's research will provide state and federal agencies with important biological information about the Atlantic sturgeon's life history. Seven of his students are working on the project.
Recent sampling of the Saco River by Sulikowski and his students indicates that Atlantic sturgeon are now using the Saco River, but the extent is unknown. Acoustic receivers as well as gill nets have been placed within the river to capture data. Dell Computer has donated computers for the project.
In the United States, Atlantic sturgeon are divided into five distinct population segments (DPSs): Gulf of Maine, New York Bight, Chesapeake Bay, Carolina, and South Atlantic. Despite being intensely studied since the 1970s, many important aspects of Atlantic sturgeon life history are still unknown for many of the DPSs.
The lack of biological information has placed Atlantic sturgeon populations at risk of becoming endangered in two of the DPS units. This has led to their listing as a species of concern throughout their U.S. range. In the past, the Saco River was overlooked as a possible habitat to support Atlantic sturgeon, especially since past research failed to document the existence of this species within this watershed.