endangered animals

Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser Oxyrhynchus) I have discovered that an Atlantic Sturgeon is a threatened species in the state of Delaware. Its scientific name is Acipenser Oxyrhynchus and it belongs to the fish kingdom. Its phylum is chordata, and it is in the osteichthyes class. This species is in the acipenseriformes order, and it belongs to the acipenseridae family. Some common names of this species are as follows: escargot, escaille, esturgeon coir, and sea sturgeon. The Atlantic Sturgeon can be found anywhere on the East Coast. Mainly, they range from Canada to Florida on the Atlantic Coast. They can be found in the Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay, and the Hudson River. Their habitat is usually fresh-brackish and saltwater coasts. They also live in coastal bays and rivers. Atlantic Sturgeon eats insect larvae, snails, shrimps, mollusks, and animals without backbones. They also eat worms, and other small ocean creatures. As far as their reproductive cycle, the females reach sexual maturity between seven and twelve years of age, or at a length of seven feet. They spawn every two to six years when their fecundity is in a range of 800,000 to 3.76 million eggs in rivers. They begin spawning in the spring on through July. The Atlantic Sturgeon in the northern part of its range matures later than those in the southern part of its range. Once born, which are a few days after spawning, the fish remain in their birth habitat (the river) for five years and then move to coastal waters. The females of this species move downstream between four and six weeks of spawning, while the males remain in the river until the temperature drops. This species has been known to reach fifteen feet and eight hundred pounds, and it can live for sixty years or more. It can jump completely out of the water and has supported a number of fisheries. Their eggs are what are known as caviar. According to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources, the Atlantic Sturgeon is categorized as a S2. This means that the species is very rare within the state of Delaware, and it is susceptible to becoming extirpated. The population size of the Atlantic Sturgeon in Delaware is typically six to twenty occurrences. It's threatened in Delaware because the water in this state is extremely polluted and many fishermen fish in our rivers. These threats and others such as habitat loss; too much fishing, and limited access to spawning areas are primarily the reasons why this species is threatened. I believe that we can help this cause by keeping our water clean and making a way for this species to have access to more of their habitats. We can also do less fishing and limit the number of fish we catch. Another thing is we can catch just fish that are a certain length because they are more likely to be ones that have already spawned (laid eggs). Works Cited	Dutch
Species sturgeon, atlantic. http://fwie.vt.edu/www/macsis/lists/m010389.htm Endangered animals-reports. http://www.tenan.vuurwerk.nl/reports/goodwin/goodstur.htm Fish-Atlantic Sturgeon. http://www.chesapeakebay.net/info/atlantic_sturgeon.cfm Atlantic Sturgeon-Acipenser Oxyrhynchus. http://www.dnr.cornell.edu/sarep/fish/acipenseridae/atlsturg.html
Written by: Turmesha Sturgis Period 7/8 Co-op Group II March 26, 2001	(geschreven door)