Acipenser baerii
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The Siberian sturgeon (''Acipenser baerii'') is a species of sturgeon in the family Acipenseridae. It is most present in all of the major
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
n
river basins A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...
that drain northward into the
Kara Kara or KARA may refer to: Geography Localities * Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture * Kára, Hungary, a village * Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township * Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province * Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Da ...
, Laptev and East Siberian Seas, including the Ob,
Yenisei The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas: Ким суғ, ''Kim suğ''; Ket: Ӄук, ...
(which drains Lake Baikal via the
Angara River The Angara ( Buryat and mn, Ангар, ''Angar'',  "Cleft"; russian: Ангара́, ''Angará'') is a major river in Siberia, which traces a course through Russia's Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai. It drains out of Lake Baikal and is ...
)
Lena Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in ...
, and
Kolyma River The Kolyma ( rus, Колыма, p=kəlɨˈma; sah, Халыма, translit=Khalyma) is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Sakha Republic, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and Magadan Oblast of Russia. The Kolyma is fro ...
s. It is also found in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
and China in the Irtysh River and
Wong Shek Pier Wong Shek Pier () is a public pier on the shore of Long Harbour () in the north-east of Hong Kong's New Territories. It is situated in the Wong Shek () area of the Sai Kung Peninsula. Administratively it is in Tai Po District. The pier serves ...
, a major tributary of the Ob. The species epithet honors the German Russian biologist
Karl Ernst von Baer Karl Ernst Ritter von Baer Edler von Huthorn ( – ) was a Baltic German scientist and explorer. Baer was a naturalist, biologist, geologist, meteorologist, geographer, and is considered a, or the, founding father of embryology. He was ...
.


Taxonomy

The Siberian sturgeon has previously been divided into two subspecies. However, recent studies suggest they may be
monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
, forming continuous genetically connected populations throughout their vast range.Ruban, G.I. (1999). he Siberian Sturgeon ''Acipenser baerii'' Brandt (Structure and Ecology of the Species) Moscow. GEOS publishers. Pp. 235 (in Russian). The previous nominate
taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...
(''A. b. baerii'') accounts for 80% of all Siberian sturgeon and resides in the Ob River and its tributaries. This population migrates to mouth of the Ob during the winter due to seasonal oxygen deficiency, and swims thousands of kilometers upstream to
spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...
. Also previously considered a subspecies, ''A. b. baicalensis'', known as the Baikal sturgeon, is a lake population found primarily in the northern end of Lake Baikal, and migrates up the Selenga River to spawn. Once considered a third subspecies, "''A. b. stenorrhynchus''" resides in the eastern Siberian rivers and displays two life history patterns: a more abundant migratory one which swims considerable distances (sometimes thousands of kilometers) upstream from estuaries and deltas to spawn, and a nonmigratory form.


Description and population status

Siberian sturgeon usually weigh about 65 kg, with considerable variability between and within river basins. The maximum recorded weight was 210 kg. As with all other acipenserids, the Siberian sturgeon are long-lived (up to 60 years), and late to reach sexual maturity (males at 11–24 years, females at 20–28 years). They spawn in strong current
main stem In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow.. A ...
river channels over stone or gravel substrates. The Siberian sturgeon feeds on a variety of benthic organisms, such as crustaceans and chironomid larvae. The species had been in steep decline in its natural range due to
habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
,
degradation Degradation may refer to: Science * Degradation (geology), lowering of a fluvial surface by erosion * Degradation (telecommunications), of an electronic signal * Biodegradation of organic substances by living organisms * Environmental degradatio ...
, and
poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
. Up to 40% of the Siberian sturgeon spawning habitat has been made inaccessible by
damming A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...
. High levels of
pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
in certain places have led to significant negative impacts on the reproductive development of
gonads A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a mixed gland that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. The male gonad, the testicle, produces sper ...
.Akimova, N.V. and Ruban, G.I. 2001. Reproductive System Condition and the Reason for Decreased Abundance of Siberian Sturgeon ''Acipenser baerii'' in the Ob’ River. Journal of Ichthyology 41(2): 177-181.


Aquaculture

While wild catches have been generally declining, the Siberian sturgeon is increasingly farmed both for meat and to produce
caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the te ...
from its
roe Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked in ...
. Because the Lena population of ''A. baerii'' completes its lifecycle in fresh water and sexually matures relatively early, it is the most common original broodstock for captive-bred specimens. The main producer of Siberian sturgeon caviar is
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, while the largest meat producers are Russia and China.Jesús Matallanas, FIGIS Species Fact Sheets. Species Identification and Data Programme - SIDP. In: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department nline Rome. Updated . ited 18 June 2010 http://www.fao.org/fishery/culturedspecies/Acipenser_baerii/en


References


External links

* G. I. Ruban, Siberian Sturgeon ''Acipenser baerii'' Brandt (Species Structure and Ecology) (GEOS, Moscow, 1999) n Russian
CITES Siberian sturgeon (''A. baerii'')

FAO fact page on ''A. baerii'' aquaculture
{{Taxonbar, from=Q756771 Acipenser Fish of Asia Freshwater fish of the Arctic Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Johann Friedrich von Brandt Fish described in 1869