Melissa Price
Melissa Price is a Fish Biologist with WARC.
Science and Products
Sturgeon Occurrence and Behavior in the Outer Continental Shelf
A new study aims to collect information on sturgeon temporal and spatial distribution to inform offshore wind energy and sand leasing operations.
Gulf Sturgeon Ecological Investigations
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.
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.
The Oysters of Chicopit: Status of the Oyster Population in Chicopit Bay before, during, and after the Construction of the Mile Point Project
Chicopit Bay, part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in Florida, is a small embayment at the intersection of San Pablo Creek (part of the Intercoastal Waterway) and the St. Johns River. Home to a number of small oyster beds, this area is now being dredged to help eliminate cross currents from the main shipping channel of the St. Johns. WARC researchers collect baseline environmental...
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.
The Oysters of Chicopit Bay, Florida, 2016-2018
This data set was generated to evaluate the status and response of oysters within Chicopit Bay, FL, in the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve during and following dredging completed by the Army Corps of Engineers for the Mile Point Project. It includes live oyster area estimates from aerial images collected in 2016-2018.
Data release to Suwannee River Water Management District: Gulf Sturgeon Upper Suwannee River movements (2011-2019)
This data set was compiled for the Suwannee River Water Management District for use in determining Minimum Flows and Levels. The data set contains detection summaries of acoustically tagged adult Gulf sturgeon using the Upper Suwannee River areas equipped with Innovasea Vemco acoustic receivers (2011-2019).
Satellite tracking data for post-nesting green turtles from Northwest Florida (2002-2020)
This dataset includes processed satellite tracking data collected from green turtles between July 2002 and October 2020 in the Gulf of Mexico along the west coast of Florida from the Florida Keys to the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It contains model output including from the state-space model (SSM) described in Lamont et al. (2022) and centroids associated with the 50 percent and 95 percent ker
Preliminary data from animal borne cameras on loggerhead sea turtles in St. Joseph Bay, Florida (2018-2019)
This is a fifty-four second video which includes short segments compiled from video collected using GoPro cameras mounted on two individual loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) within St. Joseph Bay, Florida as part of a preliminary data release for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) outreach publications. Approximately 90 minutes of video footage was collected per individual prior to retrieval. This i
Suwannee River Gulf sturgeon acoustic telemetry data (2014) used in state-space model
Detection data for Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River using a series of passive acoustic receivers. Data set includes receiver locations (river kilometer), detections, time periods, and individual transmitter ID.
Satellite telemetry reveals space use of diamondback terrapins
Movement and space use information of exploited and imperiled coastal species is critical to management and conservation actions. While satellite telemetry has been successfully used to document movements of marine turtles, the large tag sizes available have limited use on smaller turtle species. We used small Argos-based satellite tags to document movement patterns of diamondback terrapins (Malac
Authors
Margaret Lamont, Melissa E. Price, Daniel J. Catizone
Temporal and spatial relationships of Yellowfin Tuna to deepwater petroleum platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico
In 2006–2007, 110 Yellowfin Tuna Thunnus albacares were tagged with acoustic transmitters near deepwater oil platforms and one drillship in the northern Gulf of Mexico off the Mississippi River delta to determine the extent to which platforms act as fish aggregating devices (FADs). Vemco acoustic receivers were installed on six deepwater platforms to detect the presence of tagged individuals. Five
Authors
Melissa E. Price, Michael T. Randall, Kenneth J. Sulak, Randy E. Edwards, Margaret Lamont
Regional-scale variability in the movement ecology of marine fishes revealed by an integrative acoustic tracking network
Marine fish movement plays a critical role in ecosystem functioning and is increasingly studied with acoustic telemetry. Traditionally, this research has focused on single species and small spatial scales. However, integrated tracking networks, such as the Integrated Tracking of Aquatic Animals in the Gulf of Mexico (iTAG) network, are building the capacity to monitor multiple species over larger
Authors
Claudia Friess, Susan K. Lowerre-Barbieri, Gregg R. Poulakis, Neil Hammerschlag, Jayne M. Gardiner, Andrea M. Kroetz, Kim Bassos-Hull, Joel Bickford, Erin C. Bohaboy, Robert D. Ellis, Hayden Menendez, William F. Patterson, Melissa E. Price, Jennifer S. Rehage, Colin P. Shea, Matthew J. Smukall, Sarah Walters Burnsed, Krystan A. Wilkinson, Joy Young, Angela B. Collins, Breanna C. DeGroot, Cheston T. Peterson, Caleb Purtlebaugh, Michael T. Randall, Rachel M. Scharer, Ryan W. Schloesser, Tonya R. Wiley, Gina A. Alvarez, Andy J. Danylchuk, Adam G. Fox, Ashley Hill, R. Dean Grubbs, James V. Locascio, Patrick M. O’Donnell, Gregory B. Skomal, Lucas P. Griffin, Fred G. Whoriskey
State-space models to infer movements and behavior of fish detected in a spatial array of acoustic receivers
We developed state-space models for inferring movements and behaviors of fish implanted with acoustic transmitters and detected within a spatial array of stationary acoustic receivers. In these models fish movements and behavior switching are specified using a hidden Markov model of the changes in an individual's latent activity center. The observed number of detections at each acoustic receiver i
Authors
Melissa E. Price, Robert Dorazio
Status 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 Sturgeon
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, F Parauka, W. Todd Slack, T Ruth, Michael T. Randall, K Luke, M. F Mette, M. E Price
A 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 published
Authors
Melissa Price, Jennifer Adler, Chanda Littles, April Norem Randolph, Ursula A. Nash, Bethan Gillett, Michael T. Randall, Kenneth J. Sulak, Stephen J. Walsh, Prescott Brownell
Science and Products
Sturgeon Occurrence and Behavior in the Outer Continental Shelf
A new study aims to collect information on sturgeon temporal and spatial distribution to inform offshore wind energy and sand leasing operations.
Gulf Sturgeon Ecological Investigations
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.
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.
The Oysters of Chicopit: Status of the Oyster Population in Chicopit Bay before, during, and after the Construction of the Mile Point Project
Chicopit Bay, part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in Florida, is a small embayment at the intersection of San Pablo Creek (part of the Intercoastal Waterway) and the St. Johns River. Home to a number of small oyster beds, this area is now being dredged to help eliminate cross currents from the main shipping channel of the St. Johns. WARC researchers collect baseline environmental...
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.
The Oysters of Chicopit Bay, Florida, 2016-2018
This data set was generated to evaluate the status and response of oysters within Chicopit Bay, FL, in the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve during and following dredging completed by the Army Corps of Engineers for the Mile Point Project. It includes live oyster area estimates from aerial images collected in 2016-2018.
Data release to Suwannee River Water Management District: Gulf Sturgeon Upper Suwannee River movements (2011-2019)
This data set was compiled for the Suwannee River Water Management District for use in determining Minimum Flows and Levels. The data set contains detection summaries of acoustically tagged adult Gulf sturgeon using the Upper Suwannee River areas equipped with Innovasea Vemco acoustic receivers (2011-2019).
Satellite tracking data for post-nesting green turtles from Northwest Florida (2002-2020)
This dataset includes processed satellite tracking data collected from green turtles between July 2002 and October 2020 in the Gulf of Mexico along the west coast of Florida from the Florida Keys to the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It contains model output including from the state-space model (SSM) described in Lamont et al. (2022) and centroids associated with the 50 percent and 95 percent ker
Preliminary data from animal borne cameras on loggerhead sea turtles in St. Joseph Bay, Florida (2018-2019)
This is a fifty-four second video which includes short segments compiled from video collected using GoPro cameras mounted on two individual loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) within St. Joseph Bay, Florida as part of a preliminary data release for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) outreach publications. Approximately 90 minutes of video footage was collected per individual prior to retrieval. This i
Suwannee River Gulf sturgeon acoustic telemetry data (2014) used in state-space model
Detection data for Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River using a series of passive acoustic receivers. Data set includes receiver locations (river kilometer), detections, time periods, and individual transmitter ID.
Satellite telemetry reveals space use of diamondback terrapins
Movement and space use information of exploited and imperiled coastal species is critical to management and conservation actions. While satellite telemetry has been successfully used to document movements of marine turtles, the large tag sizes available have limited use on smaller turtle species. We used small Argos-based satellite tags to document movement patterns of diamondback terrapins (Malac
Authors
Margaret Lamont, Melissa E. Price, Daniel J. Catizone
Temporal and spatial relationships of Yellowfin Tuna to deepwater petroleum platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico
In 2006–2007, 110 Yellowfin Tuna Thunnus albacares were tagged with acoustic transmitters near deepwater oil platforms and one drillship in the northern Gulf of Mexico off the Mississippi River delta to determine the extent to which platforms act as fish aggregating devices (FADs). Vemco acoustic receivers were installed on six deepwater platforms to detect the presence of tagged individuals. Five
Authors
Melissa E. Price, Michael T. Randall, Kenneth J. Sulak, Randy E. Edwards, Margaret Lamont
Regional-scale variability in the movement ecology of marine fishes revealed by an integrative acoustic tracking network
Marine fish movement plays a critical role in ecosystem functioning and is increasingly studied with acoustic telemetry. Traditionally, this research has focused on single species and small spatial scales. However, integrated tracking networks, such as the Integrated Tracking of Aquatic Animals in the Gulf of Mexico (iTAG) network, are building the capacity to monitor multiple species over larger
Authors
Claudia Friess, Susan K. Lowerre-Barbieri, Gregg R. Poulakis, Neil Hammerschlag, Jayne M. Gardiner, Andrea M. Kroetz, Kim Bassos-Hull, Joel Bickford, Erin C. Bohaboy, Robert D. Ellis, Hayden Menendez, William F. Patterson, Melissa E. Price, Jennifer S. Rehage, Colin P. Shea, Matthew J. Smukall, Sarah Walters Burnsed, Krystan A. Wilkinson, Joy Young, Angela B. Collins, Breanna C. DeGroot, Cheston T. Peterson, Caleb Purtlebaugh, Michael T. Randall, Rachel M. Scharer, Ryan W. Schloesser, Tonya R. Wiley, Gina A. Alvarez, Andy J. Danylchuk, Adam G. Fox, Ashley Hill, R. Dean Grubbs, James V. Locascio, Patrick M. O’Donnell, Gregory B. Skomal, Lucas P. Griffin, Fred G. Whoriskey
State-space models to infer movements and behavior of fish detected in a spatial array of acoustic receivers
We developed state-space models for inferring movements and behaviors of fish implanted with acoustic transmitters and detected within a spatial array of stationary acoustic receivers. In these models fish movements and behavior switching are specified using a hidden Markov model of the changes in an individual's latent activity center. The observed number of detections at each acoustic receiver i
Authors
Melissa E. Price, Robert Dorazio
Status 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 Sturgeon
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, F Parauka, W. Todd Slack, T Ruth, Michael T. Randall, K Luke, M. F Mette, M. E Price
A 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 published
Authors
Melissa Price, Jennifer Adler, Chanda Littles, April Norem Randolph, Ursula A. Nash, Bethan Gillett, Michael T. Randall, Kenneth J. Sulak, Stephen J. Walsh, Prescott Brownell