with aquestionnairesent to all 24 stateswithin the
range ofthisspecies; biology andlifehistory infor-
mation were obtained from areview ofliterature.
dwelling species (Barnickol&Starrett1951,Moos
1978,Curtis1990).Theylivewherethere is a current
of 20–40 cmsec–1(Hurley et al.1987,Curtis1990).
Shovelnosesturgeon areusuallyfound in pools
downstream from sandbars inunchannelizedrivers
(Schmulbach et al.1975,Moos1978,Durkee et al.
1979);along the main channelborder,downstream
from dams. or in association with wing dams in riv-
ers withnavigational training structures (Hurley
1983,Pennington et al.1983,Carlson et al.1985,
Hurley et al.1987,Curtis1990);and in theriverine
habitat upstream ofreservoirs inimpoundedrivers
(Held1969,Curtis1990).They areusuallyfound in
associationwithsand substrate. often near rock or
gravel (Christenson 1975,Hurley1983,Carlson et
al. 1985), where a current exists (Coker 1930,
Schmulbach et al.1975,Carlson et al.1985,Curtis
1990).
Abundance ofshovelnosesturgeonseems to be
related to the size of therivers in which theylive and
to humanactivities.Coker(1930)statedthat the
fate ofMississippiRiversturgeon was a tragedy of
shortsightedness in the conduct of thefishery. Shov-
elnose sturgeon wereoncesocommonthattheyDistribution, habitat, and abundance
Species of thegenusScaphirhynchusrepresent a
distinctivegroup offreshwater sturgeons confined
to the larger rivers of theinterior United States
(Bailey&Cross1954). Thepallidsturgeon,S. albus,
is sympatricwith theshovelnosesturgeon through-
out the Missouri andAtchafalya rivers and the low-
er MississippiRiver downstream ofits confluence
with theMissouri. TheAlabamashovelnose stur-
geon,S.suttkusi,is a rarespeciesrecentlyproposed
from theMobileRiverbasin ofAlabama and Mis-
sissippi (Williams &Clemmer1991). T h eshovel-
nosesturgeon isalsoknownassandsturgeon,hack-
leback, orswitchtail and is themostcommon of the
threespecies. Thecurrentdistributionofthe shov-
elnosesturgeon, as obtained from the question-
naires used in thisstudy, ispresented inFigure1.
Shovelnose sturgeon areprimarily abottom