Lake sturgeon growth and longevity from capture-mark-recapture data

Effective fishery management policy depends on accurate life-history data, particularly for harvested species. Longevity is a core life-history trait that is directly related to annual survival and lifetime reproductive potential, but fish longevity is generally not well documented, particularly for long-lived species. We used capture–mark–recapture data spanning 44 years as an alternative method to estimate sex-specific adult lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) average annual growth and longevity for five populations in the Laurentian Great Lakes. We determined individual fish average annual growth and fit population and sex-specific exponential lines for average annual growth as a function of fish length at initial capture. We used the exponential equations to estimate age for 180 cm fork length (FL) female and 160 cm FL male lake sturgeon from each population by sequential subtraction of annual growth increments and assuming age at onset of sexual maturity of 24 and 15 years for fem..., , # Lake sturgeon growth and longevity from capture-mark-recapture data Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.ns1rn8q5r](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ns1rn8q5r) ## Description of the data and file structure #### File: Dryad_Data_Upload.xlsx **Description:** Lake sturgeon capture-mark-recapture data used for determining mean annual growth for 5 populations across the Laurentian Great Lakes. Also included are data on TL vs FL regression for lake sturgeon, and comparison of measuring board vs flexible tape measured FL for lake sturgeon. * \"Growth Data\" Worksheet: Data are the mean annual growth (cm/yr) estimated for 5 lake sturgeon populations in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Mean annual growth was calculated from differences in length between capture events and years between capture events. * \"FL-TL Data\" Worksheet Data are fork length and total length measurements (cm) collected from lake sturgeon in Black Lake. Data were used to calculate linear regression relationship of FL as function of..., ,