Dr. Vadim J. Birstein

Reviews and opinions:

This is a landmark volume.
-- E. O. Wiley, Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Center and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS), a review published in Copeia: 1999, No. 4, pp. 1135-1137.

It is a fine volume with a very comprehensive suite of articles. It is also exemplary as a work that grounds issues of high conservation concern and top quality science.
-- Michael J. Novacek, Senior Vice President and Provost of Science, American Museum of Natural History (New York, NY)

I am truly impressed. . . This book will become a classic.
-- John Boreman, Director, UMass/​NOAA CMER Program (Amherst, MA)

Sturgeon Biodiversity and Conservation is an important volume because it represents much of the best information around the world . . .
-- David H. Secor, Professor, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (Solomons, MD)

Contents

Prelude to sturgeon biology and conservation
  by E. K. Balon, pp. 9-11

Sturgeon biodiversity and conservation: an introduction
  by W. E. Bemis, V. J. Birstein, and J. R. Waldman, pp. 13-14

Part 1: Diversity and evolution of sturgeons and paddlefishes

An overview of Acipenseriformes
  by W. E. Bemis, E. K. Findeis, and L. Grande, pp. 25-71

Osteology and phylogenetic interrelationships of sturgeons (Acipenseridae)
  by E. K. Findeis, pp. 73-126

Phylogeny of the Acipenseriformes: cytogenetic and molecular approaches
  by V. J. Birstein, R. Hanner, and R. DeSalle, pp. 127-155

How many species are there within the genus Acipenser?
  by V. J. Birstein and W. E. Bemis, pp. 157-163

Part 2: Biology and status reports on sturgeons and paddlefishes

Sturgeon rivers: an introduction to acipenseriform biogeography and life history
  by W. E. Bemis and B. Kynard, pp. 167-183

Past and current status of sturgeons in the upper and middle Danube River
  by K. Hensel and J. Holcik, pp. 185-200

Endangered migratory sturgeons of the lower Danube River and its delta
  by N. Bacalbasa-Dobrovici, pp. 201-207

Present status of commercial stocks of sturgeons in the Caspian Sea basin
  by R. P. Khodorevskaya, G. F. Dovgopol, O. L. Zhuravleva, and A. D. Vlasenko,
  pp. 209-219

Species structure, contemporary distribution and status of the Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii
  by G. I. Ruban, pp. 221-230

Endemic sturgeons of the Amur River: kaluga, Huso dauricus, and Amur sturgeon, Acipenser schrenckii
  by M. L. Krykhtin and V. G. Svirskii, pp. 231-239

Biology, fisheries, and conservation of sturgeons and paddlefish in China
  by Q. Wei, F. Ke, J. Zhang, P. Zhuang, J. Luo, R. Zhou, and W. Yang, pp. 241-255

Biology and life history of Dabry’s sturgeon, Acipenser dabryanus, in the Yangtze River
  by P. Zhuang, F. Ke, Q. Wei, X. He, and Y. Cen, pp. 257-264

Observations on the reproductive cycle of cultured white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus
  by S. I. Doroshov, G. P. Moberg, and J. P. Van Eenennaam, pp. 265-278

Contemporary status of the North American paddlefish, Polyodon spathula
  by K. Graham, pp. 279-289

Life history and status of the shovelnose sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus
  by K. D. Keenlyne, pp. 291-298

The status and distribution of lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec: a genetic perspective
  by M. M. Ferguson and G. A. Duckworth, pp. 299-309

Lake sturgeon management in the Menominee River, a Wisconsin-Michigan boundary water
  by T. F. Thuemler, pp. 311-317

Life history, latitudinal patterns, and status of the shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum
  by B. Kynard, pp. 319-334

Status and management of Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus, in North America
  by T. I. J. Smith and J. P. Clugston, pp. 335-346

Atlantic and shortnose sturgeons of the Hudson River: common and divergent life history attributes
  by M. B. Bain, pp. 347-358

Biological characteristics of the European Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser sturio, as the basis for a restoration program in France
  by P. Williot, E. Rochard, G. Castelnaud, T. Rouault, R. Brun, M. Lepage, and P. Elie,
  pp. 359-370

Part 3: Controversies, conservation and summary

Sturgeons and the Aral Sea ecological catastrophe
  by I. Zholdasova, pp. 373-380

Threatened fishes of the world: Pseudoscaphirhynchus spp. (Acipenseridae)
  by V. J. Birstein, pp. 381-383

Molecular analysis in the conservation of sturgeons and paddlefish
  by I. I. Virgin, J. E. Stabile, and J. R. Waldman, pp. 385-398

Sensitivity of North American sturgeons and paddlefish to fishing mortality
  by J. Boreman, pp. 399-405

Alternatives for the protection and restoration of sturgeons and their habitat
  by R. C. P. Beamesderfer and R. A. Farr, pp. 407-417

Threatened fishes of the world: Scaphirhynchus suttkusi Williams and Clemmer, 1991 (Acipenseridae)
  by R. L. Mayden and B. R. Kuhajda, pp. 418-419

Threatened fishes of the world: Scaphirhynchus albus (Forbes and Richardson, 1905) (Acipenseridae)
  by R. L. Mayden and B. R. Kuhajda, pp. 420-421

Sturgeon poaching and black market caviar: a case study
  by A. Cohen, pp. 423-426

The threatened status of acipenseriform fishes: a summary
  by V. J. Birstein, W. E. Bemis, and J. R. Waldman, pp. 427-435

Species and subject index, by Alice G. Klingener, pp. 437-444.