Assessment of Habitat Use Patterns of Gulf-sturgeon Acipenser Oxtrinchus Desotoi Overwintering in Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida PDF Download
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Author: Katherine Marie Fleming
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Gulf sturgeon
Languages : en
Pages : 91
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Author: Katherine Marie Fleming
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Gulf sturgeon
Languages : en
Pages : 91
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Author: Page Elizabeth Vick
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Anadromous fishes
Languages : en
Pages : 96
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Critical spawning and feeding habitat was designated for federally threatened, anadromous Gulf Sturgeon (GS) to aid in population recovery. This study examined GS occupancy, habitat use, and movement through critical habitat monitored by the Ship Island (SI) acoustic array during overwintering periods from 2011 to 2015, prior to MsCIP SI restoration. An occupancy index analyzed patterns of spatial and temporal habitat use of both western and eastern population segments (WPS and EPS, respectively) of GS on the SI array. The ends of SI along with the passes and cuts of the island, especially Dog Keys Pass (DKP), were occupied by GS. Further, the index was determined to be strong and robust as it was able to adapt as the array expanded. There was no significant difference in mean active days of population segments of GS on the SI array, and both population segments were concentrated within DKP and nearshore Western Horn Island. Travel rate (km d[-1]) to the SI array from natal drainages was observed, and population segments differed significantly with EPS individuals traveling at a higher rate, on average, compared to WPS individuals; Blackwater fish had a significantly higher travel rate compared to Pascagoula fish. Clearly, both population segments use areas associated with the SI array as critical habitat during the overwintering period, regardless of the distance traveled from natal rivers. Gulf Sturgeon use multiple marine and freshwater habitats throughout their lifetime; critical habitat should be protected and expanded to possibly assist in population recovery for this species. --Page ii.
Author: Stephen T. Ross
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fish tagging
Languages : en
Pages : 5
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Author: Matthew W. Breece
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780355251487
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 150
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Animals utilize various environments throughout their life cycle to optimize growth, fitness, and survival. These environments are their habitats. As the lifecycle of an organism progresses, the resources needed, and thus the habitats preferred will change to fulfill the new requirements of the given life history stage. Resource needs for many organisms will also vary seasonally in both composition and specificity requiring organisms to shift their habitats to fulfill changing needs throughout the year. Incorporating species occurrence observations and environmental properties enables species distribution models to reliably estimate habitat locations. Destruction of habitat and overfishing beginning in the late 19th century severely depleted Atlantic Sturgeon populations. Subsequent to the boom and bust period of exploitation, there has been minimal fishing pressure and improving habitats. However, lack of recovery led to the 2012 listing of Atlantic Sturgeon under the Endangered Species Act. In this dissertation I utilize various sources of environmental data, species distribution modeling, and acoustic biotelemetry to gain insight into the occurrence and habitat use of adult Atlantic Sturgeon to further their protection and promote efficient resource management. ☐ To estimate adult Atlantic sturgeon spatial distributions during riverine occupancy in the Delaware River, I utilized a maximum entropy approach along with passive biotelemetry during the likely spawning season. I found that substrate composition and distance from the salt front significantly influenced the locations of adult Atlantic Sturgeon in the Delaware River. The movement of the salt front upstream as a result of dredging and climate change likely eliminated historic spawning habitats and currently threatens areas where Atlantic Sturgeon spawning may still be taking place. ☐ In the Delaware Bay I found that movement and residency patterns were driven primarily by depth, bottom temperature, and location. These findings revealed that as temperatures warm in the summer Atlantic Sturgeon maintain residency in deep areas near the mouth of the Delaware Bay where upwelling offshore waters keep bottom temperatures cooler than surrounding area. As water temperatures begin to cool in the fall this pattern of residency turns back into movement. ☐ By placing Atlantic Sturgeon in the context of dynamic, objective, and globally conservative seascapes, in a manner similar to landscape partitioning in the terrestrial environment, I was able to link Atlantic Sturgeon occurrence to one particular seascape associated with terrigenous input during their spring migration. To verify the seascape findings from the passive acoustic array I deployed an autonomous underwater vehicle to dynamically sample the seascape distribution in the coastal ocean to confirm the original hypothesis of selection for a given seascape. ☐ To expand the prediction of Atlantic Sturgeon occurrence for the entire seasonal cycle I matched fisheries independent biotelemetry observations of Atlantic Sturgeon with daily satellite observations to construct a time resolved spatial distribution model of Atlantic Sturgeon. I determined that depth, day-of-year, sea surface temperature, and light absorption by seawater are the most important predictors of Atlantic sturgeon occurrence. I found strong spatial differences in spring and fall migration patterns, when anthropogenic interactions peak. Cross-validated models correctly identified > 88% of biotelemetry observations in this study region and my models also correctly identified ~67% of fisheries dependent observations throughout the year. However, during their migrations, when harmful interactions were highest, models correctly identified ~91% of fisheries dependent observations. ☐ The Delaware Bay and River once supported the largest population of sturgeon in North America but due to anthropogenic impacts this population segment is severely depleted. Recent measures have aided to stabilize Atlantic Sturgeon populations but without further protection for habitats, such as those highlighted by this dissertation, recovery may never be realized. I strongly suggest that the dynamic models created in this body of work be used for guidance to managers and stakeholders to reduce interactions with this highly imperiled species thereby enhancing conservation and recovery efforts.
Author: Nathaniel Quinn Hancock
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 160
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Book Description
Recruitment and overwinter habitat use of juvenile gulf sturgeon in the Apalachicola River, Florida
Author: Gulf Sturgeon Recovery/Management Task Team (U.S.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Endangered species
Languages : en
Pages : 170
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Author: Page E. Vick
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Gulf sturgeon
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Author: Dewayne Allen Fox
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Gulf sturgeon
Languages : en
Pages : 214
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Author: Ryan Jeffrey Heise
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Gulf sturgeon
Languages : en
Pages : 254
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Author: Adam Gregory Fox
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 266
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The Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) is a federally endangered anadromous fish that historically occurred along the Atlantic coast of North American from Canada to Florida. Through the 20th century, overharvest and dam construction resulted in range-wide population declines. Despite two decades of federal protection, many populations have not recovered, and information about the status of many populations is lacking, especially in the Southeastern United States. Recruitment may be a bottleneck for recovery, but habitat use by early juveniles is not well understood. The objectives of this study were to 1) assess the status of Atlantic Sturgeon populations in the St. Johns River in Florida and the St. Marys River in Georgia, at the southern margin of the species' range, and 2) describe seasonal movement by juvenile Atlantic Sturgeon in the Ogeechee, Altamaha, and Satilla Rivers in Georgia. Sturgeon were captured using monofilament gill and trammel nets, and some individuals were tagged with surgically-implanted acoustic transmitters. Fish movements were monitored using an array of passive acoustic receivers distributed throughout the lower river and estuary of each system. We found no evidence of an extant population of Atlantic Sturgeon within the St. Johns River system, but did document the presence of young juveniles in the St. Marys River. Those fish represent a small, but genetically distinct population in a river where the species had previously been thought extirpated. Our results also indicated that both rivers continue to provide seasonally important habitat for migrating adults from other populations. Tagged age-1 river-resident juvenile sturgeon in the Ogeechee, Altamaha, and Satilla Rivers exhibited similar patterns of seasonal habitat use 0́3 during the summer, fish were concentrated in upriver portions of nursery habitat, but during the winter they dispersed downriver and used more polyhaline habitat. Also during the winter of age-2, at least 30% of tagged fish outmigrated from their natal river. These results provide important information for management agencies regarding the status of Atlantic Sturgeon in the two southernmost rivers in their range, as well as helping to fill knowledge gaps about juvenile habitat use and outmigration.
