The Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, has been listed as Threatened since 1991. Beginning in 1986, USGS has been investigating sturgeon population abundance and ecology throughout its range, but mostly in the Suwannee River.
The Science Issue and Relevance: The Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, has been federally listed as Threatened since 1991. Beginning in 1986, USGS has been investigating sturgeon population abundance and ecology throughout its range, but mostly in the Suwannee River, Florida, to help fill gaps in our knowledge of the species. These gaps include population abundance, spawning location and timing, recruitment under varying river conditions, foraging locations, impacts of changing climate on sturgeon populations, and niche partitioning among multi-species assemblages of large marine vertebrates. The Gulf sturgeon research program currently focuses on assessing the population and its relationship with environmental parameters. Additional data collected through captures, tagging, tracking, and hydrologic monitoring will lead to a better understanding of their habitat use and life history and will provide natural resource managers with data to guide effective decision-making and restoration, and conservation strategies.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: To address these data gaps, we are using a wide range of tools and techniques. We have maintained a tagging program since 1986, capturing fish in a wide variety of net types and tagging them with T-bar and PIT tags. Spawning grounds have been verified using egg collecting mats. To document movements, we initially used pop-off satellite tags and active acoustic telemetry but migrated to passive acoustic telemetry when that technology matured. Estuarine use by juveniles was investigated by deploying an array of 54 receivers in Suwannee Sound, while offshore use by adults was investigated by a multi-agency/multi-investigator cooperative research project utilizing an array of 148 receivers distributed from Cedar Key, Florida, to Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana.
Currently, we maintain a tagging program for mark-recapture population analysis that includes an array of telemetry receivers along the Suwannee River, from the river mouth to the spawning grounds. The configuration of the array changes annually depending on monitoring needs. We maintain a database of marked Gulf sturgeon, with more than 13,000 observations of 9,400 individuals. We use mark-recapture models to estimate survival and recapture probabilities over time. Recent (2014) analyses indicate that the population has increased from approximately 2,200 net-vulnerable individuals in 1986, of which only 30% were reproductive adults, to approximately 9,500 net-vulnerable individuals, of which 60% are reproductive adults. Analyses also show that the population size has been essentially static since 1996, indicating that the Suwannee River population may be at carrying capacity.
Future Steps: The Suwannee River is an index river under the Gulf Sturgeon Recovery Plan and as such we will continue mark recapture studies. In addition, we will continue our participation in a multi-agency tracking and mark-recapture study to monitor sturgeon populations across the northern Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Sturgeon forage in areas that are also important to other imperiled marine vertebrates such as sea turtles and manatees. A new focus of the program will be to utilize our long-term mark-recapture and acoustic tracking database to examine multi-species foraging areas in the northern Gulf of Mexico and assess how changing environmental variables such as temperature and red tide events impact these populations.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Preserving Gulf Sturgeon—A Fish Tale of Gargantuan Proportions
A Bibliography of All Known Publications & Reports on the Gulf Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi (through 31 December 2013)
Below are publications associated with this project.
Status of scientific knowledge, recovery progress, and future research directions for the Gulf Sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi Vladykov, 1955
Survival of hatchery Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi Mitchill, 1815) in the Suwannee River, Florida: a 19-year evaluation
A bibliography of all known publications & reports on the Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi
Feeding habitats of the Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, in the Suwannee and Yellow rivers, Florida, as identified by multiple stable isotope analyses
Evidence of autumn spawning in Suwannee River Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi (Vladykov, 1955)
Defining winter trophic habitat of juvenile Gulf Sturgeon in the Suwannee and Apalachicola rivermouth estuaries, acoustic telemetry investigations
Gulf Sturgeon Facts
Documentation of a Gulf sturgeon spawning site on the Yellow River, Alabama, USA
Quantitative assessment of benthic food resources for juvenile Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee River estuary, Florida, USA
Movements of Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) in nearshore habitat as determined by acoustic telemetry
Understanding sturgeon life history: Enigmas, myths, and insights from scientific studies
Why do sturgeon jump? Insights from acoustic investigations of the Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River, Florida
- Overview
The Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, has been listed as Threatened since 1991. Beginning in 1986, USGS has been investigating sturgeon population abundance and ecology throughout its range, but mostly in the Suwannee River.
Weighing sturgeon prior to tagging The Science Issue and Relevance: The Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, has been federally listed as Threatened since 1991. Beginning in 1986, USGS has been investigating sturgeon population abundance and ecology throughout its range, but mostly in the Suwannee River, Florida, to help fill gaps in our knowledge of the species. These gaps include population abundance, spawning location and timing, recruitment under varying river conditions, foraging locations, impacts of changing climate on sturgeon populations, and niche partitioning among multi-species assemblages of large marine vertebrates. The Gulf sturgeon research program currently focuses on assessing the population and its relationship with environmental parameters. Additional data collected through captures, tagging, tracking, and hydrologic monitoring will lead to a better understanding of their habitat use and life history and will provide natural resource managers with data to guide effective decision-making and restoration, and conservation strategies.
Sturgeon are carefully weighed and measured Methodology for Addressing the Issue: To address these data gaps, we are using a wide range of tools and techniques. We have maintained a tagging program since 1986, capturing fish in a wide variety of net types and tagging them with T-bar and PIT tags. Spawning grounds have been verified using egg collecting mats. To document movements, we initially used pop-off satellite tags and active acoustic telemetry but migrated to passive acoustic telemetry when that technology matured. Estuarine use by juveniles was investigated by deploying an array of 54 receivers in Suwannee Sound, while offshore use by adults was investigated by a multi-agency/multi-investigator cooperative research project utilizing an array of 148 receivers distributed from Cedar Key, Florida, to Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana.
Currently, we maintain a tagging program for mark-recapture population analysis that includes an array of telemetry receivers along the Suwannee River, from the river mouth to the spawning grounds. The configuration of the array changes annually depending on monitoring needs. We maintain a database of marked Gulf sturgeon, with more than 13,000 observations of 9,400 individuals. We use mark-recapture models to estimate survival and recapture probabilities over time. Recent (2014) analyses indicate that the population has increased from approximately 2,200 net-vulnerable individuals in 1986, of which only 30% were reproductive adults, to approximately 9,500 net-vulnerable individuals, of which 60% are reproductive adults. Analyses also show that the population size has been essentially static since 1996, indicating that the Suwannee River population may be at carrying capacity.
Researchers pulling nets with captured sturgeon Future Steps: The Suwannee River is an index river under the Gulf Sturgeon Recovery Plan and as such we will continue mark recapture studies. In addition, we will continue our participation in a multi-agency tracking and mark-recapture study to monitor sturgeon populations across the northern Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Sturgeon forage in areas that are also important to other imperiled marine vertebrates such as sea turtles and manatees. A new focus of the program will be to utilize our long-term mark-recapture and acoustic tracking database to examine multi-species foraging areas in the northern Gulf of Mexico and assess how changing environmental variables such as temperature and red tide events impact these populations.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Preserving Gulf Sturgeon—A Fish Tale of Gargantuan Proportions
It's hard to imagine a better job than doing fieldwork with the USGS Coastal Ecology crew as they work to keep tabs on the Gulf sturgeon population.A Bibliography of All Known Publications & Reports on the Gulf Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi (through 31 December 2013)
This functional bibliography is meant to be a complete and comprehensive bibliography of all discoverable reports containing information on the Gulf Sturgeon (GS). This bibliography contains all known reports presenting, documenting, summarizing, listing, or interpreting information on the GS through 31 December 2013. - Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 15Status of scientific knowledge, recovery progress, and future research directions for the Gulf Sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi Vladykov, 1955
The Gulf Sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, is an anadromous species of Acipenseridae and native to North America. It currently inhabits and spawns in the upper reaches of seven natal rivers along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico from the Suwannee River, Florida, to the Pearl River, Louisiana, during spring to autumn. Next to the Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula), the Gulf SturgeonAuthorsKenneth J. Sulak, F Parauka, W. Todd Slack, T Ruth, Michael T. Randall, K Luke, M. F Mette, M. E PriceSurvival of hatchery Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi Mitchill, 1815) in the Suwannee River, Florida: a 19-year evaluation
An experimental release of 1192 hatchery-reared, individually PIT tagged, 220 days old (296–337 mm TL) Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, was undertaken in 1992 in the Suwannee River, Florida. The original objectives of the 1992 release experiment were to: (1) evaluate survival rate of cultured Gulf sturgeon in the wild vs survival rate of their wild 1992 cohort counterparts, (2) determiAuthorsKenneth J. Sulak, Michael T. Randall, James P. ClugstonA bibliography of all known publications & reports on the Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi
This functional bibliography is meant to be a complete and comprehensive bibliography of all discoverable reports containing information on the Gulf Sturgeon (GS). This bibliography contains all known reports presenting, documenting, summarizing, listing, or interpreting information on the GS through 31 December 2013. Report citations are organized into four sections. Section I includes publishedAuthorsMelissa Price, Jennifer Adler, Chanda Littles, April Norem Randolph, Ursula A. Nash, Bethan Gillett, Michael T. Randall, Kenneth J. Sulak, Stephen J. Walsh, Prescott BrownellFeeding habitats of the Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, in the Suwannee and Yellow rivers, Florida, as identified by multiple stable isotope analyses
Stable 13C, 15N, and 34S isotopes were analyzed to define the feeding habitats of Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee and Yellow River populations. For the majority (93.9%) of Suwannee subadults and adults, 13C and 34S signatures indicate use of nearshore marine waters as primary winter feeding habitat, probably due to the limiting size of the Suwannee Sound estuary. In the Yellow River pAuthorsKenneth J. Sulak, James J. Berg, Michael T. RandallEvidence of autumn spawning in Suwannee River Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi (Vladykov, 1955)
Evidence of autumn spawning of Gulf sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee River, Florida, was compiled from multiple investigations between 1986 and 2008. Gulf sturgeon are known from egg collections to spawn in the springtime months following immigration into rivers. Evidence of autumn spawning includes multiple captures of sturgeon in September through early November that were riAuthorsM.T. Randall, K. J. SulakDefining winter trophic habitat of juvenile Gulf Sturgeon in the Suwannee and Apalachicola rivermouth estuaries, acoustic telemetry investigations
Three automated listening post-telemetry studies were undertaken in the Suwannee and Apalachicola estuaries to gain knowledge of habitats use by juvenile Gulf Sturgeons (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) on winter feeding grounds. A simple and reliable method for external attachment of small acoustic tags to the dorsal fin base was developed using shrink-tubing. Suspending receivers on masts below ancAuthorsK. J. Sulak, M.T. Randall, R. E. Edwards, T.M. Summers, K.E. Luke, W.T. Smith, A.D. Norem, William M. Harden, R.H. Lukens, F. Parauka, S. Bolden, R. LehnertGulf Sturgeon Facts
Sturgeon: An ancient type of fish, with 5 rows of armor scutes, a cartilaginous skeleton, long snout, suction mouth, no teeth, and 4 barbels. Photograph of a Gulf sturgeon. The total length of a 5-month old is 313 mm.AuthorsKenneth J. Sulak, Michael T. RandallDocumentation of a Gulf sturgeon spawning site on the Yellow River, Alabama, USA
The Gulf Sturgeon Recovery Plan (USFWS, GSMFC and NMFS 1995) stressed the need to provide maximum protection to Gulf sturgeon spawning habitat. The approach employed by various Gulf sturgeon researchers, including ourselves, to document spawning has been to identify potential spawning habitat on the basis of physical characteristics and/or tracking data, collect eggs, and then raise the eggs in thAuthorsBrian R. Kreiser, J. Berg, M. Randall, F. Parauka, S. Floyd, B. Young, Kenneth J. SulakQuantitative assessment of benthic food resources for juvenile Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee River estuary, Florida, USA
Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, forage extensively in the Suwannee River estuary following emigration out of the Suwannee River, Florida. While in the estuary, juvenile Gulf sturgeon primarily feed on benthic infauna. In June–July 2002 and February–April 2003, random sites within the estuary were sampled for benthic macrofauna (2002 n = 156; 2003 n = 103). A mean abundance of 2,562 inAuthorsR. A. Brooks, K. J. SulakMovements of Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) in nearshore habitat as determined by acoustic telemetry
Gulf sturgeon were tagged with telemetry tags and were tracked and relocated in fall and early winter of 1996 and 1998 to determine migration patterns and winter feeding habitats after they emigrated from the Suwannee River, Florida, into the Gulf of Mexico. We hypothesized that their migration would generally follow the drowned Suwannee River channel across the West Florida shelf. Fish left the rAuthorsR. E. Edwards, K. J. Sulak, Craig B. Grimes, M. RandallUnderstanding sturgeon life history: Enigmas, myths, and insights from scientific studies
No abstract available.AuthorsK. J. Sulak, M. RandallWhy do sturgeon jump? Insights from acoustic investigations of the Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River, Florida
No abstract available.AuthorsK. J. Sulak, R. E. Edwards, G. W. Hill, M. Randall