Biologist Rob Elliott, Green Bay FRO, holds a juvenile lake sturgeon from Green Bay waters of Lake Michigan. - FWS photo

Green Bay FRO Fishery biologist Rob Elliott contributed as a co-author to several papers presented at the recent Great Lakes Lake Sturgeon Coordination meeting, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, November 29-30. 

This meeting brought together over 120 lake sturgeon researchers, biologists, and enthusiasts from 40 different sate, tribal/first nation, federal, and provincial governments, universities, and private and other NGOs.   

Lead organizers for the meeting were Jim Boase – Alpena FRO, Henry Quinlan – Ashland FRO, Betsy Trometer – Lower Lakes FRO and Elliott – Green Bay FRO. 

Elliott has been coordinating with a number of university and natural resource agency people on numerous projects over the past several years, and this meeting provided an excellent venue to share results from some of these efforts.  Contributed presentations he was involved with included:

Abundance and mortality of early-life stages of lake sturgeon in the Peshtigo River, Wisconsin, authored by David Caroffino (Purdue University), Trent Sutton (Purdue University), Robert Elliott (USFWS Green Bay), Edward Baker (Michigan DNR), and Michael Donofrio (WDNR).

Determination of lake sturgeon habitat availability in northern Lake Michigan tributaries: applications to the restoration process, authored by Dan Daugherty (Purdue University), Trent Sutton (Purdue University) and Robert Elliott (USFWS Green Bay),

Genetic assignment of open water stocks to rivers of origin and comparative analyses of recruitment in lake sturgeon, authored by Kristin Bott (Michigan State University), Kim T Scribner (MSU), Robert F Elliot (USFWS Green Bay), Ashok Ragavendran (MSU), Guilherme Rosa (MSU) and Amy Welsh (SUNY),

Development of Lake Sturgeon Genetic Stocking Guidelines, authored by Amy Welsh (State University of New York at Oswego), Rob Elliott (USFWS Green Bay), Chuck Krueger (Great lakes Fishery Commission), Henry Quinlan (USFWS Ashland) and Bernie May (University of California - Davis),

Historical distribution of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the Lake Michigan Basin, authored by Philip Cochran (Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota), Robert Elliott (USFWS Green Bay), Kevin Olson (SMU) and Terrance Martin (Illinois State Museum),

PIT tag technology, usage, compatibility, and data exchange, authored by Henry Quinlan (USFWS Ashland), Robert Elliott (USFWS Green Bay), Jim Boase (USFWS Alpena),

and 3 papers describing lake sturgeon reintroduction efforts using streamside rearing on several Lake Michigan rivers, authored by Ed Baker (Michigan DNR), Brad Eggold (Wisconsin DNR), Mark White (Riveredge Nature Center), and Marty Holtgren (Little River Band of Ottawa Indians).

Further details of these presentations will be available in the proceedings of this meeting that will be posted on the Great Lakes Lake Sturgeon Web Page later this year (http://www.fws.gov/midwest/sturgeon/index.htm).  Contact: Rob Elliott, USFWS, Green Bay FRO, robert_elliott@fws.gov.