Estuaries and Coasts

, Volume 32, Issue 2, pp 360–374 | Cite as

Estuarine and Coastal Habitat Use of Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) in the North-Central Gulf of Mexico

  • Stephen T. Ross
  • W. Todd Slack
  • Ryan J. Heise
  • Mark A. Dugo
  • Howard Rogillio
  • Bryant R. Bowen
  • Paul Mickle
  • Richard W. Heard
Article
First Online:
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Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

Gulf sturgeon are anadromous, spawning in freshwater and returning to the marine environment to feed. Herein, we document the marine distribution and timing of movement in and out of the marine environment of Gulf sturgeon natal to the Pascagoula and Pearl rivers (MS and LA). From 1999 to 2004, we attached sonic transmitters to 194 fish averaging 151 (MS) to 160 (LA) cm in fork length. We located 56 different Gulf sturgeon in the estuarine or marine environments, some multiple times. Fish were distributed nonrandomly, being found primarily in shallow water (mean = 3.9 m) in barrier island passes. Benthic samples taken at Gulf sturgeon telemetry location sites were dominated by Florida lancelets, sand dollars, annelids, haustoriid amphipods, and mollusks—all documented prey of Gulf sturgeon. Movement into salt water consistently occurred in October and November; movement back into rivers or low salinity estuaries was complete by the end of March.

Keywords

Gulf sturgeon Marine habitat use Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi Acipenseridae Conservation Anadromous fishes Gulf of Mexico 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

Overall, the manuscript benefited greatly from the comments of two anonymous reviewers and from the editorial help of Y. Ross. For the MS portion of the study, we thank Mollie Cashner, Tanya Darden, Richard Darden, John Ewing, Billie Joe Johnson, Yvonne Ross, and Brian Kreiser for help with fieldwork and logistical support and Randy E. Edwards and Wendy Gierhart for providing the location data for the pop-up tag. We are grateful to Frank Parauka, USFWS, for sharing his knowledge of Gulf sturgeon, for providing tag information, and for supplying the PAT tag. We thank Jerry McLelland for the help with invertebrate identifications and Captain Kyle Jarreau aboard the vessel Jus Ad Water for providing access to offshore telemetry sites. Gulf sturgeon in the Pascagoula River were captured under annual administrative scientific collecting permits issued to STR and WTS by the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks; capture of Gulf sturgeon in the Pascagoula River estuary was done under annual scientific collecting permits issued to STR and WTS by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. This study was supported by the National Sea Grant College Program of the US Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under NOAA Grant # NA16RG2258, the Mississippi–Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Shell Marine Habitat Program. Additional support was provided to S. T. Ross by the T. W. Bennett Jr., Distinguished Professorship in the Sciences at the University of Southern Mississippi. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of any of these organizations. For the LWF portion of the study, we thank Elizabeth Rabalais and Tim Ruth as assistant Project leaders who coordinated sampling, data records, and scheduling of telemetry day trips. Fieldwork and logistical support by Jeff Thompson and Brian McNamara was commendable. Funding for portions of the projects was through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Shell Marine Habitat Program in 2000 and Section 6 funding though the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Department Heritage Section from 2001 to 2003. Collecting of Gulf sturgeon was authorized by LWF.

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Copyright information

© Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  • Stephen T. Ross
    • 1
    • 5
  • W. Todd Slack
    • 2
  • Ryan J. Heise
    • 1
    • 6
  • Mark A. Dugo
    • 1
  • Howard Rogillio
    • 3
  • Bryant R. Bowen
    • 1
    • 7
  • Paul Mickle
    • 1
  • Richard W. Heard
    • 4
  1. 1.Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Southern MississippiHattiesburgUSA
  2. 2.Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Museum of Natural ScienceJacksonUSA
  3. 3.Louisiana Department of Wildlife and FisheriesLacombeUSA
  4. 4.Department of Coastal SciencesThe University of Southern MississippiOcean SpringsUSA
  5. 5.Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology, MSC 03-2020 1University of New MexicoAlbuquerqueUSA
  6. 6.Division of Inland FisheriesNorth Carolina Wildlife Resources CommissionCreedmoorUSA
  7. 7.Region VI Fisheries Management Section, Wildlife Resources DivisionGeorgia Department of Natural ResourcesWaycrossUSA

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