National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Photo: Mystery of Florida's Giant Jumping Sturgeon Solved?


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Gulf sturgeons have long been known to leap out of the water by as much as six feet (two meters)—sometimes colliding with people on boats—but exactly why the fish jump has been the subject of a long-standing debate.

Now a USGS scientist says he believes the jumping is a form of communication that sturgeons use to connect with larger groups and maintain community cohesion.

Photograph courtesy Kevin Lee McIver/USFWS