Research tools to investigate movements, migrations, and life history of sturgeons (Acipenseridae), with an emphasis on marine-oriented populations.

Worldwide, sturgeons (Acipenseridae) are among the most endangered fishes due to habitat degradation, overfishing, and inherent life history characteristics (long life span, late maturation, and infrequent spawning). As most sturgeons are anadromous, a considerable portion of their life history occurs in estuarine and marine environments where they may encounter unique threats (e.g.

Testing the effectiveness of an international conservation agreement: marketplace forensics and CITES caviar trade regulation.

Background: The international wildlife trade is a key threat to biodiversity. Temporal genetic marketplace monitoring can determine if wildlife trade regulation efforts such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) are succeeding. Protected under CITES effective 1997, sturgeons and paddlefishes, the producers of black caviar, are flagship CITES species.

Applying genetic techniques to study remote shark fisheries in northeastern Madagascar.

Background And Aims: The shark fisheries of Madagascar remain largely unstudied. Remoteness makes fisheries monitoring challenging while the high value of shark fins combined with the extreme poverty in Madagascar creates intensive pressure on shark resources.

Materials And Methods: We use DNA barcoding and species-specific PCR assays to characterize shark fisheries in Antongil Bay in northeastern Madagascar.

Management and recovery options for Ural river beluga sturgeon.

Management of declining fisheries of anadromous species sometimes relies heavily on supplementation of populations with captive breeding, despite evidence that captive breeding can have negative consequences and may not address the root cause of decline. The beluga sturgeon (Huso huso), a species threatened by the market for black caviar and reductions in habitat quality, is managed through harvest control and hatchery supplementation, with an emphasis on the latter. We used yield per recruit and elasticity analyses to evaluate the population status and current levels of fishing and to identify the life-history stages that are the best targets for conservation of beluga of the Ural River.

Testing taxonomic boundaries and the limit of DNA barcoding in the Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii.

DNA barcoding efforts involving animals have focused on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (Cox1) gene. Some authors suggest that this marker might under-diagnose young species. Herein, we examine Cox1 and control region diversity in a sample of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii), a species with an extremely wide geographic distribution in the major rivers of Siberia and in Lake Baikal.

Gaining traction: retreading the wheels of marine conservation.

A number of international treaties address the conservation of marine resources. The declining state of the world's oceans suggests that these treaties are not succeeding and could use improvement. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is increasingly embracing the conservation of marine species.