The Cooperative Research Units Program is a unique collaborative relationship among federal and state agencies, universities, and a non-profit organization.
The tripartite mission of the Cooperative Research Units Program is:
- Train graduate students for professional careers in natural-resource research and management.
- Conduct research that will create new information useful for natural-resource management.
- Provide technical assistance on application and integration of new science.
The Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit embraces the mission of the Cooperative Research Units Program and contributes daily to the overall success of the Cooperative Research Units Program.
Featured Student
Our students are involved in a wide variety of research, including diversity in ecological functions, invasive species, and habitats of various animals.
Jenna Ruoss's project is:
Pallid Sturgeon biology in Platte River and its tributaries
Pallid Sturgeon is a long-lived (i.e., > 50 years) species that historically occupied a large proportion of the Mississippi River basin including the mainstem Missouri River and its large tributaries. Pallid Sturgeon possesses a life-history strategy that enables individuals to maximize contributions of offspring to future generations through aligning spawning events with environmental conditions that support larval drift, survival, and recruitment to the population. However, Pallid Sturgeon do not spawn until they are many years old (i.e., 10 – 20 years), do not spawn annually when sexually mature, and reach relatively old ages. Pallid Sturgeon have undergone declines in abundance and distribution resulting in listing as a federally endangered species. The present distribution of Pallid Sturgeon is truncated due to multiple environmental stressors including lack of connectivity from dams or other flow-control structures that block movements. Furthermore, minimal recruitment of Pallid Sturgeon has occurred within the lower Missouri River as habitat conditions within the system may limit survival of drifting larvae and limited habitat for post-larval stages may exist in altered mainstem channels. Extensive hatchery supplementation of Pallid Sturgeon has occurred to stabilize population loss and potentially increase the number of reproductively viable adults to a level where natural reproduction can result in recruitment. However, a fundamental understanding of habitat needs of spawning adults across different systems as well as the role of different habitat types in enhancing survival of young is limited. Studies to inform recovery efforts to date have focused on gaining a better understanding of life-history requirements, population dynamics, habitat use, and propagation in the mainstem Mississippi and Missouri rivers. However, limited work has been done to understand the role of tributaries to fill data gaps in the recovery process. Therefore, there is a large need to provide details on Pallid Sturgeon populations and reproduction success in areas where they are not currently being evaluated. For example, the Platte River is frequently used by Pallid Sturgeon and may be important to species abundance, seasonal distribution, and reproductive ecology. The goal of this project is to fill knowledge gaps about lower Platte River contributions to Pallid Sturgeon spawning habitat, reproduction, recruitment, and population dynamics.
Jenna Ruoss
Ph.D. Candidate, Fisheries
Featured Research Project
State-Wide Connectivity of Deer and Other Big Game in Nebraska
August 2028
Western Nebraska provides a complex mosaic of habitats for large game species to navigate. Although the movement ecology of these species has been studied individually, relatively little is known about the extent to which these species share common corridors or barriers to movement.
The ability of wildlife to move across the landscape, either as part of their annual cycle to exploit different habitats at critical life stages or in response to ecosystem change and resource availability, is fundamental to population viability and health. Disruption of migration routes or reduction of dispersal opportunities can increase extirpation risk beyond the effects of habitat loss alone.
