Spatial Drift Dynamics of Shovelnose Sturgeon and Pallid Sturgeon Prelarvae in the Transition Zone of Ft. Peck Reservoir

Habitats in reservoir headwaters may cause high mortality of sturgeon prelarvae. Short inter-reservoir reaches export drifting prelarvae from hatch locations into reservoirs. However, flooded vegetation could entrain prelarvae. We used 2 day post hatch (dph) shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) and 1-dph pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) to determine the spatial dynamics of drifting prelarvae.We released 220,000 2-dph shovelnose sturgeon 4 km upstream of Ft. Peck Reservoir and 135,000 1-dph pallid sturgeon 2.5 km upstream of the reservoir the following day. We recaptured shovelnose sturgeon prelarvae with nets deployed along three transects of the transition zone and within the headwaters of the reservoir.We sampled 5148.2 m3 of water and recaptured 323 prelarval shovelnose sturgeon for a recapture rate of 0.14 percent. Fifty-nine percent of recaptured prelarvae were recaptured from the thalweg, 12 percent from the flooded vegetation-main channel interface, 9 percent from the channel border, and 19 percent from the zero-velocity area of Ft. Peck Reservoir. We recaptured pallid sturgeon prelarvae with nets deployed along one transect of the transition zone and within the headwaters of the reservoir. We sampled 6608.5 m3 of water and recaptured 397 pallid sturgeon prelarvae for a recapture rate of 0.29 percent. Twenty one percent of prelarvae were recaptured within the thalweg, 0.25 percent were recaptured along the channel margins, and 79 percent from the zero-velocity area of Ft. Peck Reservoir. Although recapture rates were low, the majority of prelarvae were captured in the thalweg and transported to the headwaters of Ft. Peck Reservoir. The drift dynamics observed in this study provide a springboard for further research

Transfer of acute care surgery patients in a rural state: a concerning trend.

BACKGROUND: Regionalized care of complex patients to larger hospitals is an increasingly common practice as the population ages and the physician shortage evolves. The Acute Care Surgery model is new, and there are limited data on the patients being transferred through this system. We hypothesized transfer patients would be older, more complex, and require additional resources. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective chart review of Acute Care Surgery patients admitted to a single tertiary facility. Patient demographics, clinical presentation, and outcomes were obtained. RESULTS: We found that our 161 transferred patients (TPs) were older (61.2 versus 54.7 y [P \u3c 0.001]), had more comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index 4 versus 3.1 [P \u3c 0.001]), and required more resources than 611 local patients (LP; length of stay 8.2 versus 3.4 [P \u3c 0.001], intensive care unit admission 24% versus 6% of patients [P \u3c 0.001]). Admission diagnosis was similar, with pancreaticobiliary (TP 29% versus LP 30%) and small bowel (TP 25% versus LP 23%) complaints most common. Most common intervention was laparoscopic cholecystectomy for both (29% versus 25%). Subspecialty interventions were similar (IR, advanced endoscopy) at TP 10% and LP 8%. TPs were more likely to not require a procedure (31% versus 23%). Insurance provider differed between groups, particularly for Medicare (55% versus 34%) and privately insured (26% versus 45%). CONCLUSIONS: Although this study confirms transfer patients need the resources for which they were referred to a tertiary center, we unexpectedly found nearly half of transfer patients undergo basic surgical procedures or do not require intervention. This points to a concerning lack of general surgery resources in the community