Tracking juvenile sturgeon in the wild: Miniature tag effects assessment in a laboratory study on Siberian sturgeon (Acipenserbaerii)

• Published in: Fisheries Research
• Main Authors: Carrera Garcia, Erika, Kordek, J., Gesset, Charline, Jacobs, Louis, Acolas, Marie-Laure
• Other Authors: Ecosystèmes aquatiques et changements globaux (UR EABX), Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2017
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Acipenser baerii; Siberian sturgeon
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02604855; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2016.10.017

International audience tAcoustic telemetry is commonly used to study movements of fish within their natural environment.Telemetry studies on sturgeons have focused mainly on large individuals; research on juveniles is scarceand tagging-effect studies on young-of-the-year are needed considering the species threatened statusand their poorly known freshwater ecology. To study the feasibility of acoustic tagging in juveniles, a trialon Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) was carried out. The purpose of our study was to assess the effectsof intraperitoneal acoustic tagging on survival, growth, swimming behavior and tag retention in young-of-the-year sturgeons. Fifty fish were tagged with dummy-acoustic transmitters (1.07 × 0.54 × 0.31 cm,0.28 g) and compared to 55 control individuals that were handled and anesthetized but not tagged. Fishranged between 14 and 19.1 cm in total length (TL) and the tag burden for implanted fish was 1.3–2.6%body weight. Fish growth was estimated 15 and 30 days after tagging. Swimming behavior was assessed at2, 7, 12, 21 and 26 days post-tagging using video tracking. All fish were also tagged with Radio FrequencyIdentification microtags (RFID microtags) to allow individual recognition during the trial. After one monthof rearing, survival and tag retention rate of dummy-tagged fish were both 98%. Tag implantation hadno effect on length or weight either 15 or 30 days after tagging. Specific growth rate was influencedpositively by fish initial weight 15 days after tagging but this influence disappeared by day 30. Understress, swimming performance was influenced by tagging: during stressful swim treatments, dummy-tagged fish moved greater distances and had higher swimming speeds at 12 days after tagging. Also,their swimming paths were straighter at 21 days after tagging compared to the pre-stress behavior. RFIDmicrotag loss probability was 22.6% for control and 46.9% for dummy-tagged fish; RFID microtag loss wasinfluenced by surgeon on dummy-tagged fish. These results suggest that loss ...