Moderate
Climate vulnerability
Sensitivity to climate change
Moderate
White sturgeon likely exhibit physiological sensitivity to warmer water temperatures, and increasing temperatures may reduce spawning success and/or increase disease risk and mortality. White sturgeon are also sensitive to declining spring and summer streamflows, which reduce spawning habitat and annual recruitment; loss of spawning habitat and reduced recruitment associated with lower streamflows is a particular concern for impounded portions of the Columbia River. Shifts in ocean conditions may also affect prey availability for young white sturgeon in estuarine environments, and reduced prey availability has been linked with undermined sturgeon growth.
Exposure to climate change
Moderate
- Increased water temperatures
- Lower summer flows