Using adaptive resolution imaging sonar to investigate Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis Gray, 1835) behaviour on its only spawning ground in the Yangtze River

The present study investigated the presence of Chinese sturgeon Acipenser sinensis on its only remaining spawning ground (below the Gezhauba Dam), and monitored the behaviour under different environmental conditions from 24 December 2015 to 23 January 2016. A fixed ARIS (Adaptive Resolution Imaging Sonar) system was used and a total of 72 Chinese sturgeon were detected during nine observations. Detections initially recorded a few A. sinensis in the early days of late‐December 2015, with an increase in recordings, leading to a peak in early‐January 2016 and declining thereafter. Water temperature slowly decreased during the study period from 18.1 to 15.7°C. During the middle of this temperature decline the sturgeon observations peaked, suggesting that Chinese sturgeon could have an optimal temperature range. The sturgeon Detections Per Unit Effort (DPUE) was higher in the night hours, peaking before dawn, suggesting a circadian behaviour rhythm. Sturgeon spawning was not observed during the investigation period. A delay in the decrease in water temperature caused by the Three Gorges Reservoir and the few numbers of reproductively mature individuals are suspected to have contributed to the failure in natural breeding.