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WSIU InFocus: Dr. Greg Whitledge And The Ancient Sturgeon

WSIU/Kevin Boucher
Dr. Greg Whitledge, Stands At A Tank Containing The Native Pallid Sturgeon At The wet lab facility on McLafferty Road on Friday May 19th, 2017.

On this edition of WSIU InFocus, we visit with Associate Professor Dr. Greg Whitledge, who is with the Center For Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. We will learn about a bottom-feeding ancient fish known as the Sturgeon, which inhabits the larger rivers in southern Illinois.  Because of it's unique adaptations, the public very rarely sees this fish as it spends most of its time either at, or on the bottom.  Another interesting fact about this fish, is, it migrates up river sometimes several hundred miles to spawn.  And, due to changes in river flows, caused by dams, this annual ritual of reproduction is affected.

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