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Abstract
Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) were historically one of the most widespread freshwater fishes in North America, but anthropogenic impacts have caused declines throughout their native range of the Mississippi River, Great Lakes, and Hudson Bay basins. An isolated population was present in the Coosa River in Georgia-Alabama before being extirpated during the 1970s. In 2002, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources began reintroducing Lake Sturgeon to the Coosa River basin to reestablish a self-sustaining population. A study from 2004 – 2007 confirmed that stocked fingerlings were surviving and recruiting to the population, but little is known about the abundance or population dynamics after 20 years of hatchery supplementation. We used a combination of data sources and field observations to estimate the abundance and quantify the population dynamics of this reintroduced population. Based on our results, it appears that reintroduction has been successful and life history characteristics differ from northern populations.