Associated Data for Mooneye tracking in the St. Croix River and Mississippi River from 2022-2024

This study aimed to determine movement patterns of Mooneye in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) to better understand their range, seasonal behavior, spawning site fidelity, and co-occurrence with Spectaclecase. To our knowledge, Mooneye have never been tracked with acoustic transmitters. Prior to Mooneye trials, we conducted a Gizzard Shad pilot to ensure surgeries were possible. In year 1, we implanted transmitters (8mm Ø, 2.0 g, 69-kHz) in wild caught Mooneye (n=15) from the SACN. Tagged Mooneye were held 3 days in situ before release into the river ensure retention of tags. In year 2, we tagged and released 26 Mooneye and tracked them using a network of 69-kHz acoustic receivers deployed in main channels of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers. The associated data describes the animal metrics, water quality, survival, and movement of Gizzard Shad and Mooneye.

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