The present work reports behavioural responses by young-of-the-year (21-30 cm) Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus and shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum to nine binary combinations of dissolved oxygen saturation (40, 70 and 100%), temperature (12, 20 and 28°C) and salinity (1, 8 and 15). Both species showed no acclimation effects and similar discrimination and avoidance re...

  Glyphosate, N–(phosphonomethyl) glycine, has been widely used to control agricultural weeds in the north of Iran. However, it is also supposed to have adverse effects on natural sturgeon population. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the acute toxicity of glyphosate to three different sturgeon species (Huso huso, Acipenser stellatus, and A. persicus) under laboratory conditions. Fis...

Serum complement is valuable tool in determining the health status of fish. This study was conducted to examine in vitro activity of serum complement as an indicator of innate immunity in four sturgeon species, Acipenser stellatus, A. baeri, A. nudiventris and Huso huso (Chondrostei: Acipenseridae). The Effects of different temperatures, concentrations and volumes of serum on alternative comple...

  Glyphosate, N–(phosphonomethyl) glycine, has been widely used to control agricultural weeds in the north of Iran. However, it is also supposed to have adverse effects on natural sturgeon population. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the acute toxicity of glyphosate to three different sturgeon species (Huso huso, Acipenser stellatus, and A. persicus) under laboratory conditions. Fis...

Acipenser stellatus (stellate sturgeon) represents a sturgeon species of great importance for the scientific community and fishermen that has been intensively captured for decades. Besides of overfishing and poaching, their reproduction sites have been destroyed and their natural habitats were affected by pollution. In consequence, wild populations of stellate sturgeon have decreased dramatical...

Plant peels could be a potential source of novel pectinases for use in various industrial applications due to their broad substrate specificity with high stability under extreme conditions. Therefore, the extraction conditions of a novel pectinase enzyme from pitaya peel was optimized in this study. The effect of extraction variables, namely buffer to sample ratio (2:1 to 8:1, X₁), extraction t...

Histological examination of thymi from juvenile Acipenser ruthenus and Acipenser brevirostrum after haematoxylin and eosin staining revealed the presence of Hassall’s corpuscles, in a scattered distribution within the thymic medulla in two of seven, and one of nine examined specimens, respectively. Morphologically, the Hassall’s corpuscles were of the juvenile and premature type and no degenera...

Population genetic structure of stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus) in 197 adult specimens from four fishery regions along the Iranian coastline of the southern Caspian Sea was investigated using microsatellite markers. Out of 15 microsatellite primers, 11 loci were produced, in which 10 of them were polymorphic and 1 was monomorph. Totally, 184 alleles were identified and on average 13.1 a...

Worldwide, sturgeons (Acipenseridae) are among the most endangered fishes due to habitat degradation, overfishing, and inherent life history characteristics (long life span, late maturation, and infrequent spawning). As most sturgeons are anadromous, a considerable portion of their life history occurs in estuarine and marine environments where they may encounter unique threats (e.g., intercepti...