Iowa Fish Atlas

Native: Yes

State Rank: S1

ITIS Code: 161081

National Rank:  N1

Global Rank: G1

Modeled By: Anna Loan-Wilsey

State Range:

The pallid sturgeon is listed as endangered (571 IAC 77.2(1) (2004)) in Iowa.  It is extremely rare and confined to the Missouri River (Harlan et al. 1987).  Overfishing, habitat destruction, and hybridization pressures have caused it to be listed as a nationally endangered species (Pflieger 1997).

Habitat Affinities:

The pallid sturgeon inhabits mainstream of large turbid rivers with swift current and substrates of firm sand or gravel (Cross and Collins 1995; Etnier and Starnes 1993; Pflieger 1997; Robison and Buchanan 1988). However, it is rare throughout most of its range (Douglas 1974; Etnier and Starnes 1993; Harlan et al. 1987; Pflieger 1997; Robison and Buchanan 1988; Smith 1979). The pallid sturgeon is common along sand bars and in deeply scoured trenches or tailwaters below wing dams and other structures which accelerate current flow (Harlan et al. 1987; Pflieger 1997).

Predictive Model(s):

Missouri River Model

The distribution is based upon existing collection records and professional review.

 ("pool" = 'O17')

Overall Prediction:

 ("pool" = 'O17')

Literature Cited:

Cross, F.B., and J.T. Collins.  1995.  Fishes in Kansas.  University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Public Education Series No. 14, Lawrence, Kansas.   315 pp.

Douglas, N.H.  1974.  Freshwater fishes of Louisiana.  Claitor’s Publishing Division, Sponsored by Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  443 pp.

Endangered and threatened plant and animal species.  2004.  Iowa Administrative Code 

571: 77.2(1).

Etnier, D.A., and W.E. Starnes.  1993.  The fishes of Tennessee.  University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee.  681 pp.

Harlan, J.R., E.B. Speaker, and J. Mayhew.  1987.  Iowa fish and fishing. Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa. 323pp.

Pflieger, W.L.  1997.  The fishes of Missouri.  Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, Missouri.  372 pp.

Robison, H.W., and T.M. Buchanan. 1988.  Fishes of Arkansas.  University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, Arkansas.  536 pp.

Smith, P.W.  1979.  The fishes of Illinois.  University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois.  314 pp.

Data Sources:

Howell, D.  2003.  NAI database.  Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des

Moines, Iowa.

Additional References:

Bailey, R.M., J.E. Fitch, E.S. Herald, E.A. Lachner, C.C. Lindsey, C.R. Robins, and W.B. Scott.  1970.  A list of common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada.  American Fisheries Society Special Publication No. 6. 149 pp.

Binkowski, F.P., and S.I. Doroshov, editors.  1985.  North American sturgeons: biology and aquaculture potential. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands. 163 pp.

Birstein, V.J., J.R. Waldman, and W.E. Bemis.  1997.  Sturgeon biodiversity and conservation.  Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston.  Reprinted from Environmental Biology of Fishes 48(1-4).

Bramblett, R.G.  1996.  Habitats and movements of pallid and shovelnose sturgeons in the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, Montana and North Dakota.  Ph.D. dissertation, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana.  242 pp.

Burton, K.  2000.  New hope for the pallid sturgeon.  Endangered Species Bulletin 25:4-5.

Carlson, D.M., and W.L. Pflieger.  1981.  Abundance and life history of the lake, pallid, and shovelnose sturgeons in Missouri.  D-J Project SE-1-6, Job No. 1.

Clay, W.M.  1975.  The fishes of Kentucky.  Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Frankfort, Kentucky.  416 pp.

Cross, F.B.  1967.  Handbook of fishes of Kansas.  University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Miscellaneous Publication  No. 45, Lawrence, Kansas.  357 pp.

Eddy, S., and J.C. Underhill.  1974.  Northern fishes; with special reference to the upper Mississippi Valley.  University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  414 pp.

Figg, D.E.  1993.  Missouri Department of Conservation wildlife diversity report, July 1992-June 1993.  75 pp.

Gelwicks, G.T.  1995.  Fish movement between the lower Missouri River and a managed floodplain wetland in Missouri.  Master’s thesis. University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. 190 pp.

Herkert, J.R., editor.  1992.  Endangered and threatened species of Illinois: status and distribution. Volume 2: Animals.  Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board.  142 pp.

Kallemeyn, L.  1981.  A status report on the pallid sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus albus.  Draft.

Keenlyne, K.D., E.M. Grossman, and L.G. Jenkins.  1992.  Fecundity of the pallid sturgeon.  Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 121:139-140.

Kelly, G., editor.  1986.  Animal habitat relations handbook.  Missouri Department of Conservation and U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Jefferson City, Missouri.  293 pp.

Krieger, J., P.A. Fuerst, and T.M. Cavender.  2000.  Phylogenetic relationships of the North American sturgeons (Order Acipenseriformes) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences.  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 16:64-72.

Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr.  1980.  Atlas of North American freshwater fishes.  North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina.  867 pp.

Matthews, W. J., and D.C. Heins, editors.  1987.  Community and evolutionary ecology of North American stream fishes.  University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. viii + 310 pp.

Page, L.M., and B.M. Burr.  1991.  A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico.  Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.

Pflieger, W.L.  1971.  A distributional study of Missouri fishes.  University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History  20(3):225-570.

Pflieger, W.L.  1989a.  Aquatic community classification system for Missouri.  Missouri Department of Conservation.  Jefferson City, Missouri.  Aquatic Series No. 19. 70 pp. plus Supplement.

Pflieger, W.L.  1989b.  The stream resources of Missouri.  D-J Project - F-1-R-28.  Study S-20.  Missouri Department of Conservation, Columbia, Missouri.  

Pflieger, W.L., and T.B. Grace.  1987.  Changes in the fish fauna of the lower Missouri River, 1940-1983.  Pages 166-81 in W. J. Matthews and D. C Heins, editors.  Community and Evolutionary Ecology of North American Stream Fishes. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma.

Phelps, S.R., and F.W. Allendorf.  1983.  Genetic identityof pallid and shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus and S. platorynchus).  Copeia 1983:696-700.

Phillips, G.L., W.D. Schmid, and J.C. Underhill.  1982.  Fishes of the Minnesota region.  University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  248 pp.

Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott.  1991.  Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada.  American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20, Bethesda, Maryland. 183 pp.

Thom, R.H., and J.H. Wilson.  1980.  The natural divisions of Missouri.  Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science  14:9-24.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).  1989.  Proposed rule to determine the pallid sturgeon to be an endangered species.  Federal Register 54:35901-35904.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).  1990.  Endangered and threatened species recovery program: report to Congress.  406 pp.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).  1993.  Pallid sturgeon recovery plan.  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bismark, North Dakota.  55 pp.

Watson, J.H., and P. A. Stewart.  1991.  Lower Yellowstone River pallid sturgeon study.  Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and U.S. Bureau of Reclaimation Grant Agreement No. 1-F6-60-01840. 30 pp.

Photo Credits:

Upper Left:       Photo courtesy of the Native Fish Conservancy, http://www.nativefish.org.

Upper Right:     Photo courtesy of Guy LaBranche, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, http://www.wlf.state.la.us.