Missouri scientists eavesdrop on an ancient river giant to prevent its extinction

Missouri scientists eavesdrop on an ancient river giant to prevent its extinction

Source: St. Louis Public Radio

5/15/2022

Credit: Courtesy / Missouri Department of Conservation

Lake sturgeon are ancient creatures that have survived cataclysmic events over millions of years. But scientists worry they might not survive us.

Sarah Peper was getting ready for church last month when she got an unexpected phone call from a colleague alerting her of a rare event: Lake sturgeon were spawning along the banks of the Mississippi River near St. Louis.

“I dropped what I was doing and got over there as fast as I could,” said Peper, a fisheries biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Just a few hundred feet from the towering Melvin Locks and Price Dam in West Alton, five endangered lake sturgeon congregated in the shallows, thrashing their tails against the current and releasing peppercorn-size eggs.