Kenneth Sulak, Ph.D.
Kenneth Sulak is a Scientist Emeritus at Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 52
Evidence 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 ri
Authors
M.T. Randall, K. J. Sulak
The Gulf Sturgeon in the Suwannee River - Questions and Answers
Sturgeons and paddlefishes are modern descendants of an ancient group of freshwater fishes, the Chondrostei (a group of bony fishes with mostly cartilaginous skeletons). Sturgeons evolved during the Age of the Dinosaurs, and have prospered in the large rivers and lakes of North America, Europe and Asia for 200 million years. Together with alligators and crocodiles, they survived the mass extinctio
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, Michael T. Randall
Identification guide to skates (Family Rajidae) of the Canadian Atlantic and adjacent regions
Ecosystem-based management requires sound information on the distribution and abundance of species both common and rare. Therefore, the accurate identification for all marine species has assumed a much greater importance. The identification of many skate species is difficult as several are easily confused and has been found to be problematic in both survey data and fisheries data collection. Ident
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, P. D. MacWhirter, K.E. Luke, A.D. Norem, J.M. Miller, J.A. Cooper, L.E. Harris
Age, growth, mortality, and reproduction of Roughtongue bass, Pronotogrammus martinicensis 9Serranidae), in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico
The inaccessibility of outer continental shelf reefs has made it difficult to investigate the biology of Pronotogrammus martinicensis, a small sea bass known to be numerous and widely distributed in such habitat. This study takes advantage of a series of cruises in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico that collected 1,485 individuals. Fish were collected over or in the vicinity of reef habitats with ho
Authors
Richard S. McBride, Kenneth J. Sulak, Paul E. Thurman, Adam K. Richardson
Defining 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 anc
Authors
K. 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. Lehnert
In situ video observations of two manefishes (perciformes: Caristiidae) in the mesopelagic zone of the northern Gulf of Mexico
This paper describes direct video observations of two manefishes, likely Paracaristius sp., from the mesopelagic waters of the north-central Gulf of Mexico. One fish was observed with a remotely operated vehicle at a depth of 829 m by an industrial ROV as part of the SERPENT Project. The second was observed at 496 m from a manned submersible. Little is known about the behavior of manefishes becaus
Authors
M.C. Benfield, John H. Caruso, K. J. Sulak
Persistent near-bottom aggregations of mesopelagic animals along the North Carolina and Virginia continental slopes
Submersible observations during four missions over the North Carolina and Virginia continental slopes (184–900 m) documented the occurrence of large aggregations of mesopelagic fishes and macronektonic invertebrates near or on the bottom. Aggregated mesopelagics formed a layer up to tens of meters deep positioned from a few centimeters to 20 m, usually <10 m, above the substrate. Aggregations were
Authors
John V. Gartner, Kenneth J. Sulak, Steve W. Ross, Ann Marie Necaise
Documentation 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 th
Authors
Brian R. Kreiser, J. Berg, M. Randall, F. Parauka, S. Floyd, B. Young, Kenneth J. Sulak
Gulf 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.
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, Michael T. Randall
Dual-Carbon sources fuel the OCS deep-reef Community, a stable isotope investigation
The hypothesis that phytoplankton is the sole carbon source for the OCS deep-reef community (>60 m) was tested. Trophic structure for NE Gulf of Mexico deep reefs was analyzed via carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Carbon signatures for 114 entities (carbon sources, sediment, fishes, and invertebrates) supported surface phytoplankton as the primary fuel for the deep reef. However, a second carbo
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, J. Berg, Michael T. Randall, George D. Dennis, R. A. Brooks
Demersal fishes associated with Lophelia pertusa coral and hard-substrate biotopes on the continental slope, northern Gulf of Mexico
The demersal fish fauna of Lophelia pertusa (Linnaeus, 1758) coral reefs and associated hard-bottom biotopes was investigated at two depth horizons in the northern Gulf of Mexico using a manned submersible and remote sampling. The Viosca Knoll fauna consisted of at least 53 demersal fish species, 37 of which were documented by submersible video. On the 325 m horizon, dominant taxa determined from
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, Brooks R. Allen, Kirsten E. Luke, April D. Norem, Michael T. Randall, Andrew J. Quaid, George E. Yeargin, Jana M. Miller, William M. Harden, John H. Caruso, Steve W. Ross
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 52
Evidence 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 ri
Authors
M.T. Randall, K. J. Sulak
The Gulf Sturgeon in the Suwannee River - Questions and Answers
Sturgeons and paddlefishes are modern descendants of an ancient group of freshwater fishes, the Chondrostei (a group of bony fishes with mostly cartilaginous skeletons). Sturgeons evolved during the Age of the Dinosaurs, and have prospered in the large rivers and lakes of North America, Europe and Asia for 200 million years. Together with alligators and crocodiles, they survived the mass extinctio
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, Michael T. Randall
Identification guide to skates (Family Rajidae) of the Canadian Atlantic and adjacent regions
Ecosystem-based management requires sound information on the distribution and abundance of species both common and rare. Therefore, the accurate identification for all marine species has assumed a much greater importance. The identification of many skate species is difficult as several are easily confused and has been found to be problematic in both survey data and fisheries data collection. Ident
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, P. D. MacWhirter, K.E. Luke, A.D. Norem, J.M. Miller, J.A. Cooper, L.E. Harris
Age, growth, mortality, and reproduction of Roughtongue bass, Pronotogrammus martinicensis 9Serranidae), in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico
The inaccessibility of outer continental shelf reefs has made it difficult to investigate the biology of Pronotogrammus martinicensis, a small sea bass known to be numerous and widely distributed in such habitat. This study takes advantage of a series of cruises in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico that collected 1,485 individuals. Fish were collected over or in the vicinity of reef habitats with ho
Authors
Richard S. McBride, Kenneth J. Sulak, Paul E. Thurman, Adam K. Richardson
Defining 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 anc
Authors
K. 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. Lehnert
In situ video observations of two manefishes (perciformes: Caristiidae) in the mesopelagic zone of the northern Gulf of Mexico
This paper describes direct video observations of two manefishes, likely Paracaristius sp., from the mesopelagic waters of the north-central Gulf of Mexico. One fish was observed with a remotely operated vehicle at a depth of 829 m by an industrial ROV as part of the SERPENT Project. The second was observed at 496 m from a manned submersible. Little is known about the behavior of manefishes becaus
Authors
M.C. Benfield, John H. Caruso, K. J. Sulak
Persistent near-bottom aggregations of mesopelagic animals along the North Carolina and Virginia continental slopes
Submersible observations during four missions over the North Carolina and Virginia continental slopes (184–900 m) documented the occurrence of large aggregations of mesopelagic fishes and macronektonic invertebrates near or on the bottom. Aggregated mesopelagics formed a layer up to tens of meters deep positioned from a few centimeters to 20 m, usually <10 m, above the substrate. Aggregations were
Authors
John V. Gartner, Kenneth J. Sulak, Steve W. Ross, Ann Marie Necaise
Documentation 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 th
Authors
Brian R. Kreiser, J. Berg, M. Randall, F. Parauka, S. Floyd, B. Young, Kenneth J. Sulak
Gulf 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.
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, Michael T. Randall
Dual-Carbon sources fuel the OCS deep-reef Community, a stable isotope investigation
The hypothesis that phytoplankton is the sole carbon source for the OCS deep-reef community (>60 m) was tested. Trophic structure for NE Gulf of Mexico deep reefs was analyzed via carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Carbon signatures for 114 entities (carbon sources, sediment, fishes, and invertebrates) supported surface phytoplankton as the primary fuel for the deep reef. However, a second carbo
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, J. Berg, Michael T. Randall, George D. Dennis, R. A. Brooks
Demersal fishes associated with Lophelia pertusa coral and hard-substrate biotopes on the continental slope, northern Gulf of Mexico
The demersal fish fauna of Lophelia pertusa (Linnaeus, 1758) coral reefs and associated hard-bottom biotopes was investigated at two depth horizons in the northern Gulf of Mexico using a manned submersible and remote sampling. The Viosca Knoll fauna consisted of at least 53 demersal fish species, 37 of which were documented by submersible video. On the 325 m horizon, dominant taxa determined from
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, Brooks R. Allen, Kirsten E. Luke, April D. Norem, Michael T. Randall, Andrew J. Quaid, George E. Yeargin, Jana M. Miller, William M. Harden, John H. Caruso, Steve W. Ross