[...]... fisheries, and conservation of sturgeons and paddlefish in China Env Biol Fish (this volume) Zholdasova, I 1997 Sturgeons and the Aral Sea ecological catastrophe Env Biol Fish (this volume) ∨ ∨ ∨ ∨ ∨ ∨ ∨ ∨ ∨ Part 1: Diversity and evolution of sturgeons and paddlefishes Acipenser, Aquipenser, Sturio -sturgeon woodcuts from Conrad Gesner (1558) The three major commercial species of sturgeons from Caspian and. .. potamodromy and demersal spawning; (3) paedomorphosis and evolution of the group; (4) the biogeography of Asian and North American polyodontids and scaphirhynchines; and (5) the great abundance of electroreceptive organs in the rostral and opercular regions Finally, we summarize our nomenclatural recommendations Introduction and historical overview This paper reviews the systematics of sturgeons and paddlefishes... parallax distortions and block one eye in order to loose your stereoscopic vision 15 August 1996 Paul Vecsei Environmental Biology of Fishes 48: 13 – 14, 1997 © 1997 KIuwer Academic Publishers Printed in the Netherlands Sturgeon biodiversity and conservation: an introduction William E Bemis¹, Vadim J Birstein2 & John R Waldman3 I Department of Biology and Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary... addressed ongoing conservation efforts Still other speakers examined current controversies at the interface between science and society, bringing information from a variety of sources to enrich our meeting These three ap proaches are reflected by the three part organization of this volume: Part 1, Diversity and evolution: Part 2, Biology and status reports: and Part 3, Controversies, conservation and summary... dedicated issues of the journal and a separate volume of Developments in EBF 17 References cited Bemis, W.E & E.K Findeis 1994 The sturgeons’ plight Nature 370: 602 Bemis, W.E & B Kynard 1997 Sturgeon rivers: an introduction to acipenseriform biogeography and life history Env Biol Fish (this volume) Birstein, V.J 1993 Sturgeons and paddlefishes: threatenedfishes in need of conservation Cons Biol 7: 773–787... reviews the systematics of sturgeons and paddlefishes and their immediate fossil relatives in the order Acipenseriformes We synthesize historic and current information in our effort to better un- derstand the evolution, biogeography, and composition of the order We emphasize generic and familial comparisons, and summarize information for all recent and well preserved fossil genera In keeping with our... volume) Migrating and riverine races (or populations) are discussed by: Ruban (1997 this volume) for Siberian sturgeon, A baerii; Krykhtin & Svirskii (1997 this volume) for Amur River sturgeons; and Hensel & Holcík (1997 this volume) for sturgeons of the Danube River Profound knowledge of the distribution of Acipenseriformes played a major role in Berg’s evolutionary (Berg 1922) and zoogeographic theories... hybridixation, are discussed in this volume by Birstein et al (1997) Berg lived and workedwhen the sturgeon crisis in Russia, Europe, and Asia had only started (Figure 3, 4) The desperate need for conservation measures to save sturgeons was in the future He published only a small article describing his concern about A sturio in the Baltic Sea and especially in the Neva River (Berg 1935c) He suggested that a complete... species of sturgeons and paddlefishes have become threatened or endangered, a theme of many papers of this volume, and one that surely would have saddened L.S Berg Acknowledgements We are very grateful to Raissa Lvovna Berg (L.S Berg’s daughter) and Maria Berg (L.S Berg’s granddaughter) for providing an unpublished photo of L.S Berg Eugene Balon gave his photo of L.S Berg’s chair References cited Andriyashev,... cultured white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus Env Biol Fish (this volume) Findeis, E.K 1997 Osteology and phylogenetic interrelationships of sturgeons (Acipenseridae) Env Biol Fish (this volume) Fitzinger, L.J & J Heckel 1836 Monographische Darstellung 22 der Gattung Acipenser Ann Wiener Mus Naturgesch 1: 261– 326 Grande, L & W.E Bemis 1991 Osteology and phylogenetic relationships of fossil and recent . alt="" Sturgeon biodiversity and conservation Developments in environmental biology of fishes 17 Series Editor EUGENE K. BALON Sturgeon biodiversity and conservation Editors: VADIM J. BIRSTEIN, JOHN R http://kluweronline.com and Kluwer's eBookstore at: http://ebooks.kluweronline.com 0-792-34517-7 Contents Prelude to sturgeon biodiversity and conservation Sturgeon biodiversity