Chapman et al.: Reproductive condition of Acipenser transmontanus 



633 



years. Males mature at a smaller body size and have 

 shorter intervals between spawnings than do fe- 

 males. Sex differences in maturation rates of stur- 

 geon create incredible combinations of individual 

 matings from different generations that favor genetic 

 diversity even with a small number of spawning fe- 

 males. Annual recruitment and genetic structure of 

 a sturgeon population may be influenced by its sex 

 ratio, the proportion of females spawning each year, 

 and the number of eggs they produce. Monastyrski 

 (1949) noted that the complex age-size structure of 

 spawning populations and the iteroparity of stur- 

 geons require a special approach for their manage- 

 ment. Our data on the reproductive conditions of 

 white sturgeon in the San Francisco Bay provide 

 additional evidence for potential sensitivity of stur- 

 geon populations to exploitation by either commer- 

 cial or sport fisheries. The effect of prolonged sexual 

 maturation may be compromised further by loss of 

 spawning habitat, altered seasonal changes of tem- 

 perature in rivers with controlled flow, and environ- 

 mental pollutants that may affect sexual develop- 

 ment and the reproductive cycle. 



Acknowledgments 



This work was supported by the National Oceanic 

 and Atmospheric Administration through the Cali- 

 fornia Sea Grant College Program project R/F-90 and, 

 in part, by the California State Resource Agency. Data 

 used for this investigation reflect the work by mem- 

 bers of the Sturgeon Program at the University of 

 California, Davis. We appreciate the assistance of 

 those who participated in this work and are thank- 

 ful to Abe and Angelo Cuanang, Eddie Tavasieff, and 

 Dick Nelson for their help in collecting fish. We ac- 

 knowledge personnel of two sturgeon farms, The 

 Fishery and SeaFarms of California, for providing 

 hatchery data for fecundity estimation. 



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