Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Exogenous Feeding in the Early Life Stages of Sturgeon (Acipenseridae) (Review)

  • ICHTHYOLOGY
  • Published:
Inland Water Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Data on exogenous feeding in the early life stages of sturgeon in the wild and in aquaculture are analyzed. The data on food composition and feeding habits in sturgeon larvae at the stage of transition to exogenous feeding and some later in the wild are conflictive. Some data demonstrate that larvae, upon their transition to exogenous feeding, feed on zoobenthos; other data show that larvae at this stage of development feed on planktonic crustaceans and only in the fingerling period do sturgeons start feeding on benthic crustaceans and insect larvae. This contradiction has apparently resulted from different research conditions. As a whole, a high plasticity of the feeding pattern in the early life stages of sturgeons has been found. Under favorable conditions, sturgeon larvae, upon a transition to the external feeding stage and later stages, feed mainly on zoobenthos; the species composition of food and size of consumed organisms changes in the wake of larvae growth. Zooplankton is constrained food in the case of a deficit of available benthic forms. The predominance of zoobenthos in the feeding during the early life stages of sturgeon, including the transition to the external feeding stage, is connected with (a) the bigger calorie count when compared with zooplankton and (b) a higher accessibility for larvae at the stage of mixed feeding, depending on their morphology and sensory-system development, with a delay of olfactory when compared to gustatory, seismic sensorial, tactile, and electroreception systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Asgari, R., Rafiee, G., Eagderi, S., Noori, F., Agh, N., Poorbagher, H., and Gisbert, E., Ontogeny of the digestive enzyme activities in hatchery produced beluga (Huso huso), Aquaculture, 2013, nos. 416–417, p. 33.

  2. Askerov, M.K. and Mailyan, R.A., Biotechnical aspects of pond rearing of juvenile Kura sturgeons, in Biologicheskie osnovy osetrovodstva (Biological Bases of Sturgeon Breeding), Moscow: Nauka, 1983, p. 135.

  3. Babaei, S., Kenari, A., Nazari, R., and Gisbert, E., Developmental changes of digestive enzymes in Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) during larval ontogeny, Aquaculture, 2011, no. 318, p. 133.

  4. Baburina, E.A., Razvitie glaz u kruglorotykh i ryb v svyazi s ekologiei (Eye Development in Cyclostomes and Fish in Relation to Ecology), Moscow: Nauka, 1972.

  5. Bernini, F. and Nardi, P.A., Accrescimento di Acipenser naccarii Bp. Nel tratto pavese dei fiumi Po e Ticino, Boll. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 1990, vol. 8, p. C. 159.

  6. Bogdanova, L.C., Comparative characteristics of the transition to active feeding in larvae of different species and ecological forms of sturgeon, Tr. Tsentr. Nauchno-Issled. Inst. Osetr. Rybn. Khoz., 1967, vol. 1, p. 196.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Bogdanova, L.C., Comparison of the transition to active feeding of Russian and Siberian sturgeon larvae at different temperatures, Tr. Tsentr. Nauchno-Issled. Inst. Osetr. Rybn. Khoz., 1972, vol. 4, p. 217.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Buckley, J. and Kynard, B., Spawning and rearing of shortnose sturgeon from the connecticut river, Progr. Fish. Cult., 1981, vol. 43, p. 74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Buddington, R.K. and Doroshov, S.I., 1986. development of digestive secretions in white sturgeon juveniles (acipenser transmontanus), Comp. Biochem. Physiol., vol. 83A, p. C. 233.

  10. Chebanov, M.S. and Galich, E.V., Sturgeon Hatchery Manual, FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper, Ankara: FAO, 2013.

  11. Detlaf, T.A., Ginzburg, A.S., and Shmal’gauzen, O.I., Razvitie osetrovykh ryb (Development of Acipenseridae), Moscow: Nauka, 1981.

  12. Disler, N.N., Development of cutaneous sense organs of the lateral system of stellate sturgeon, Tr. Inst. Morfol. Zhivotn. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1949, no. 1, p. 333.

  13. Disler, N.N., Organy chuvstv sistemy bokovoi linii i ikh znachenie v povedenii ryb (Sense Organs of the Lateral Line System and Their Importance in the Behavior of Fish), Moscow: Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1960.

  14. Dragomirov, N.I., Osnovnye cherty vozrastnyh izmenenij v povedenii lichinok osetrovyh ryb (Main features of age-related changes in the behavior of sturgeon larvae), Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1953, no. 4, p. 725.

  15. Dragomirov, N.I., Lichinochnoe razvitie volgokaspijskogo osetra (Larval development of the Volga-Caspian sturgeon), Tr. Inst. Morfol. Zhivotn. im. A.N. Severtsova, 1957, no. 20, p. 187.

  16. Epshtein, B.M., Pitanie molodi osetrovyh ryb r. Kury (Feeding of juvenile sturgeons in the Kura River), in Tr. konf. po voprosam vosproizvodstva rybnykh zapasov r. Kury v svyazi so stroitel’stvom Mingechaurskogo gidrouzla (Tr. Proc. Conf. On Issues of Reproduction of Fish Stocks of the Kura River in Connection with the Construction of the Mingachevir Hydroelectric Complex), Baku: Akad. Nauk Azerb. SSR, 1954, p. 75.

  17. Gershanovich, A.D., Pegasov, V.A., and Shatunovskii, M.I., Ekologiya i fiziologiya molodi osetrovykh (Ecology and Physiology of Juvenile Sturgeons), Moscow: Agropromizdat, 1987.

  18. Gosch, N.J.C., Civiello, A.P., Gemeinhardt, T.R., et al., Is shovelnose sturgeon a valid diet surrogate for endangered pallid sturgeon during the first year of life?, J. Appl. Ichthyol., 2018, vol. 34, no. 1, p. 39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Kasumyan, A.O. and Kazhlaev, A.A., Formirovanie obonyatel’noj chuvstvitel’nosti v ontogeneze prohodnyh vidov osetrovyh ryb (Formation of olfactory sensitivity in ontogenesis of anadromous sturgeon species), in Vsesoyuz. Konf. “Fiziologiya morskikh zhivotnykh,” Tezisy dokladov (All-Union Conf. on Physiology of Marine Animals, Abstracts of Papers), Apatity, 1989, p. 18.

  20. Konstantinov, K.G., Biology of juvenile sturgeons of the lower Volga River, Tr. Sarat. Otd. Kasp. Fil. Vseros. Nauchno-Issled. Inst. Rybn. Khoz. Okeanogr., 1953, vol. 2, p. 28.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Krayushkina, L.S., Histological characteristics of the digestive system of Acipenser stellatus larvae at different stages of development, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1957, vol. 117, no. 3, p. 542.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Kynard, B. and Horgan, M., Ontogenetic behavior and migration of Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus, and shortnose sturgeon, A. brevirostrum, with notes on social behavior, Environ. Biol. Fishes, 2002a, vol. 63, p. 137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Kynard, B. and Horgan, M., Comparative ontogenetic behavior and migration of Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus, and shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum, with notes on social behavior, Environ. Biol. Fishes, 2002b, vol. 63, p. 137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Kynard, B., Zhuang, P., Zhang, T., and Zhang, L., Ontogenetic behavior and migration of Dabry’s sturgeon Acipenser dabryanus, from the Yangtze River, which notes on body color and development rate, Environ. Biol. Fishes, 2003, vol. 66, p. 27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Kynard, B., Pugh, D., Kieffer, M., and Parker, T., Spawning of shortnose sturgeon in an artificial stream: adult behavior and early life history, WSCS. Spec. Publ., 2012, no. 4, p. 165.

  26. Kynard, B., Parker, E., Kynard, B.E., and Horgan, M., Effect of velocity regime on ontogenetic dispersal and habitat use of Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus, Richardson 1836) early life stages: an artificial stream study, J. Appl. Ichthyol., 2014, vol. 30, p. 1160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Kynard, B., Hilton, E., Litvak, M., and Peterson, B., Life history and status of shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum Lesueur, 1818), J. Appl. Ichthyol., 2016, vol. 32, suppl. 1, p. 208. https://doi.org/10.1111/jai.13244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Lavrov, S.D., K voprosu o pitanii volzhskih ryb (On nutrition of the Volga fishes), Tr. O-va Estestvoispyt. Kazan. Univ., 1909, vol. 42, no. 1, p. 1.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Maitland, P.S., Le multiguide nature des poissons des lacs et des rivie`res d’Europe en couleurs, Bordas, 1987, p. 74.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Molodtsova, A.I., Feeding of young stellate sturgeons in the Volga River, in Osetrovoe khozyaistvo vodoemov SSSR (Sturgeon Farming in Water Bodies of the USSR), Astrakhan: Tipografiya Volga, 1984, p. 227.

  31. Molodtsova, A.I. and Smirnova, L.V., On the expediency of releasing hatchery beluga juveniles into the Volga River, in Osetrovoe khozyaistvo vodoemov SSSR (Sturgeon Farming in Water Bodies of the USSR), Astrakhan: Tipografiya Volga, 1984, p. 228.

  32. Muir, W.D., Emmett, R.L., and McConnell, R.J., Diet of juvenile and subadult white sturgeon in the lower Columbia River and its estuary, Calif. Fish Game, 1988, vol. 74, p. 49.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Ostaszewska, T., Kolman, R., Kamaszewski, M., et al., Morphological changes in digestive tract of Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus during organogenesis, Int. Aquat. Res., 2011, vol. 3, p. 101.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Parker, E. and Kynard, B., Latitudinal variation in ontogenetic behaviour of shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum Lesuer 1818: an artificial stream study, J. Appl. Ichthyol., 2014, vol. 30, p. 1115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Pavlov, D.S. and Sbikin, Yu.N., Some results of studying the behavior of juvenile sturgeon in the Volga-Caspian basin, in Morfologiya, ekologiya i povedenie osetrovykh (Morphology, Ecology, and Behavior of Acipenserids), Moscow: Nauka, 1989, p. 124.

  36. Pavlov, D.S., Sbikin, Yu.N., and Popova, I.K., The role of the sense organs in feeding juvenile sturgeons, Zool. Zh., 1970, vol. 49, no. 6, p. 872.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Piotrowska, I., Szczepkowska, B., Szczepkowski, M., and Kozowski, M., Assessment of the impact of the timing of first feeding with live and formulated feeds on the survival and growth of larvae Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus Mitchill) in recirculating systems, Fish. Aquat. Life, 2018, vol. 26, p. 111. https://doi.org/10.2478/aopf-2018-0012

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Polyaninova, A.A., Osobennosti intensivnosti potrebleniya pishchi zavodskoi molod’yu belugi v usloviyakh r. Volgi, in Osetrovoe khozyaistvo vodoemov SSSR (Sturgeon Farming in Water Bodies of the USSR), Astrakhan: Tipografiya Volga, 1984, p. 267.

  39. Rochard, E., Williot, P., Castelnaud, G., and Lepage, M., Elements de systematique et de biologie des populations sauvages d’esturgeons, Bordeaux: CEMAGREF, 1990, p. 475.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Schmalhausen, O.I., Narushenie razvitiya obonyatel’nogo organa u osetrovyh ryb pri opredelennyh usloviyah vyrashchivaniya (Disturbances in the development of the olfactory organ in sturgeons under certain growing conditions), Tr. Inst. Morfol. Zhivotn. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1962, no. 40, p. 188.

  41. Schmalhausen, O.I., Razvitie pishchevaritel’noi sistemy osetrovykh (Development of the digestive system of Sturgeons), in Morfo-ekologicheskie issledovaniya ryb Moscow: Nauka, 1968, p. 40.

  42. Snyder, D.E., Sescription and identification of shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon larvae, Am. Fish. Soc. Symp., 1988, vol. 5, p. 7.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Stygar, V.M., Pitanie i pishchevye otnosheniya molodi osetrovyh s drugimi rybami v nizhnem techenii r. Ural (Nutrition and nutritional relationships of juvenile sturgeons with other fishes in the lower reaches of the Ural River), Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Moscow: Vseros. Nauchno-Issled. Inst. Rybn. Khoz. Okeanogr., 1984.

  44. Svirenko, E.G., Respiration and nutrition of young sevrugi (Acipenser stellatus) in experiments (Breathing and feeding of young stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus) in experiments), Tr. Vsesoyuz. Gidrobiol. O-va, 1961, vol. 11, p. 253.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Tortonese, E., Acipenser naccarii Bonaparte, 1836, in The Freshwater Fishes of Europe, Wiesbaden: AULA, 1989, p. 285.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Xiong, T.S., Feeding habit of Dabrys sturgeon, in The Biology of Sturgeons in Changjiang and Their Artificial Propagation, Chengdu: Sichuan Sci. Tech. Publ. House, 1988, p. 228.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Zaikina, A.I., Povyshenie produktivnosti prudov osetrovodnykh zavodov (Increasing the Productivity of Sturgeon Breeding Ponds), Moscow: Pishch. Prom-st., 1975.

  48. Zeng, Q.Z., Resources of the Yangtze Valley, Beijing: China Ocean Press, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  49. Zheltenkova, M.V., Pitanie osetrovykh ryb yuzhnykh morei, (Feeding of sturgeon fish of the southern seas) Tr. Vseros. Nauchno-Issled. Inst. Rybn. Khoz. Okeanogr., 1964, vol. 54, p. 9.

    Google Scholar 

  50. Zhuang, P., Kynard, B., Zhang, L., Zhang, T., and Wenxuan, W., Comparative ontogenetic behavior and migration of kaluga Huso dauricus and Amur sturgeon, Acipenser schrenckii from the Amur River, Environ. Biol. Fishes, 2003, vol. 66, p. 37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Moscow, Russia

    G. I. Ruban

Authors
  1. G. I. Ruban
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. I. Ruban.

Ethics declarations

This work was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 18-04-00928, and partly by a program of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (no. 41 “Biodiversity of Natural Systems and Biological Resources of Russia,” subprogram “Dynamics of Populations of Resource Species of Animals”).

Additional information

Translated by Z. Litvinenko

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ruban, G.I. Exogenous Feeding in the Early Life Stages of Sturgeon (Acipenseridae) (Review). Inland Water Biol 13, 613–619 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995082920040094

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995082920040094

Keywords:

Search

Navigation