How is the feeding impact of a mature White Sturgeon often characterized regarding the local environment?
Answer
Acting as a major regulator of benthic communities where they reside.
Given the extremely long lifespan of the White Sturgeon, often exceeding a century, the cumulative effect of its substantial annual prey consumption has a profound influence on the local ecosystem structure. A mature sturgeon consumes a significant volume of food over time, positioning it as a major force in controlling and regulating the populations of the benthic communities that form its primary food base. Furthermore, monitoring dietary shifts in these long-lived fish can serve as an early biological barometer for detecting wider ecological changes within the riverbed food web.
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