Michael Randall is a Fish Biologist at WARC in Gainesville, FL.
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...
Assessment of South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (SALCC) Marine Indicators
The South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (SALCC) has proposed natural resource indicators and associated targets for the marine ecosystem.
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).
Filter Total Items: 18
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
Assessment of adult pallid sturgeon fish condition, Lower Missouri River—Application of new information to the Missouri River Recovery Program
During spring 2015, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) biologists noted that pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) were in poor condition during sampling associated with the Pallid Sturgeon Population Assessment Project and NGPC’s annual pallid sturgeon broodstock collection effort. These observations prompted concerns that reduced fish condition could compromise reproductive health and po
Authors
Michael T. Randall, Michael E. Colvin, Kirk D. Steffensen, Timothy L. Welker, Landon L. Pierce, Robert B. Jacobson
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
Survival 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) determi
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, Michael T. Randall, James P. Clugston
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
Feeding 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 p
Authors
Kenneth J. Sulak, James J. Berg, Michael T. Randall
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
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
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
Science and Products
- Science
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...Assessment of South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (SALCC) Marine Indicators
The South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (SALCC) has proposed natural resource indicators and associated targets for the marine ecosystem.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. - Data
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). - Publications
Filter Total Items: 18
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. FiveAuthorsMelissa E. Price, Michael T. Randall, Kenneth J. Sulak, Randy E. Edwards, Margaret LamontRegional-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 largerAuthorsClaudia 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. WhoriskeyAssessment of adult pallid sturgeon fish condition, Lower Missouri River—Application of new information to the Missouri River Recovery Program
During spring 2015, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) biologists noted that pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) were in poor condition during sampling associated with the Pallid Sturgeon Population Assessment Project and NGPC’s annual pallid sturgeon broodstock collection effort. These observations prompted concerns that reduced fish condition could compromise reproductive health and poAuthorsMichael T. Randall, Michael E. Colvin, Kirk D. Steffensen, Timothy L. Welker, Landon L. Pierce, Robert B. JacobsonStatus 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. SulakThe 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 extinctioAuthorsKenneth J. Sulak, Michael T. RandallDefining 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. LehnertDual-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 carboAuthorsKenneth J. Sulak, J. Berg, Michael T. Randall, George D. Dennis, R. A. Brooks