Historically, the ship sturgeon (Acipenser nudiventris) occurred in the Aral, Caspian, Azov, and ... more Historically, the ship sturgeon (Acipenser nudiventris) occurred in the Aral, Caspian, Azov, and Black Sea basins. However, its numbers decreased dramatically during the 20th century. It is now considered extirpated from the Aral, Azov, and Black Seas, and has almost disappeared in the Caspian Sea. A. nudiventris is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and, in Georgia, the species has been undetected for the last three decades. We collected 22 sightings, including nine genetic samples taken from fin clips of ship sturgeon from the Rioni River in Georgia during 2020–2022. For the genetic samples, the mitochondrial DNA control region was used for species identification. Because cases of sturgeon inter-species hybridization have been reported in the Rioni River, we used species-specific diagnostic markers and ship sturgeon-specific microsatellite markers for detecting hybridization with other sturgeon species. In addition, we used a sex-specific marker for sex identific...
The eastern part of the Black Sea and its tributaries are suitable habitats for several sturgeon ... more The eastern part of the Black Sea and its tributaries are suitable habitats for several sturgeon species, among which Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, A. stellatus, A. nudiventris, A. persicus, A. sturio, and H. huso are well documented. However, different threats have led these species to a dramatic decline, all of them are currently listed as Critically Endangered, and some Locally Extinct, in that area. We tested 94 wild sturgeon samples from the Black Sea and Rioni River by analyzing the mitochondrial Control Region and nuclear markers for hybrid identification. The data analyses (1) assessed mitochondrial diversity among samples, (2) identified their species, as well as (3) indicated instances of hybridization. The data collected, besides confirming a sharp decrease of catches of Beluga and Stellate sturgeon in recent years, also revealed four juvenile hybrids between Russian and Stellate sturgeon, providing the first evidence of natural interspecific hybridization in the Rioni. The ...
Historically, the ship sturgeon (Acipenser nudiventris) occurred in the Aral, Caspian, Azov, and ... more Historically, the ship sturgeon (Acipenser nudiventris) occurred in the Aral, Caspian, Azov, and Black Sea basins. However, its numbers decreased dramatically during the 20th century. It is now considered extirpated from the Aral, Azov, and Black Seas, and has almost disappeared in the Caspian Sea. A. nudiventris is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and, in Georgia, the species has been undetected for the last three decades. We collected 22 sightings, including nine genetic samples taken from fin clips of ship sturgeon from the Rioni River in Georgia during 2020–2022. For the genetic samples, the mitochondrial DNA control region was used for species identification. Because cases of sturgeon inter-species hybridization have been reported in the Rioni River, we used species-specific diagnostic markers and ship sturgeon-specific microsatellite markers for detecting hybridization with other sturgeon species. In addition, we used a sex-specific marker for sex identific...
The eastern part of the Black Sea and its tributaries are suitable habitats for several sturgeon ... more The eastern part of the Black Sea and its tributaries are suitable habitats for several sturgeon species, among which Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, A. stellatus, A. nudiventris, A. persicus, A. sturio, and H. huso are well documented. However, different threats have led these species to a dramatic decline, all of them are currently listed as Critically Endangered, and some Locally Extinct, in that area. We tested 94 wild sturgeon samples from the Black Sea and Rioni River by analyzing the mitochondrial Control Region and nuclear markers for hybrid identification. The data analyses (1) assessed mitochondrial diversity among samples, (2) identified their species, as well as (3) indicated instances of hybridization. The data collected, besides confirming a sharp decrease of catches of Beluga and Stellate sturgeon in recent years, also revealed four juvenile hybrids between Russian and Stellate sturgeon, providing the first evidence of natural interspecific hybridization in the Rioni. The ...
Uploads
Papers by Tamari Edisherashvili