Freshwater Colloquium – Restoration and Conservation of an Ancient Species, the American Paddlefish

Join the School of Freshwater Sciences for a Colloquium with guest speaker: Dr. Jim Long

Acipenseriformes, including American Paddlefish (Polyodontidae, Polyodon spathula) represents an ancient lineage of fish, with representatives found back approximately 200 MYA. American Paddlefish is the only remaining extant species of its family, since the recent extinction of the Chinese Paddlefish (Psephurus gladius). American Paddlefish occur in North America and are large-bodied (> 2 m total length [TL]), potamadromous, and have fertilized eggs that stick to hard substrates with pelagic larvae that develop while drifting and moving downstream. Overharvest and habitat fragmentation has reduced Paddlefish populations across its range, including Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, restoration efforts have returned the species to former parts of its range, but factors associated with restoration success have just begun to be assessed. Since 2019, I have been working with state and federal conservation partners to examine factors associated with Paddlefish restoration success including the development of novel monitoring techniques that include the use of side-scan sonar. Suitable substrate availability does not appear to limit Paddlefish reproduction, but excessively turbid waters in spawning and rearing environments may. Side-scan sonar is an accurate tool for assessing abundance and can be used to monitor spring spawning movements. Further, side-scan sonar appears to be a useful monitoring method to identify early age classes of fish.

Jim Long grew up in the Ozarks of southwest Missouri and received a PhD from Oklahoma State University in 2000. Afterward, he went to South Carolina as a Fisheries Research Biologist investigating fish community structure in tidal freshwater wetlands. From 2002 to 2009, Jim worked with the National Park Service as the Fishery Biologist for the southeast region. In 2009, Jim moved back to Oklahoma as an Assistant Unit Leader and become Unit Leader in 2016. Jim’s research focuses on management-driven questions related to the process of fisheries management, social dimensions, early-life history of fishes, and effects of invasive species on aquatic communities.

This presentation is open to students, faculty, staff, alumni and the public.