Juvenile Gulf Sturgeon - Gulf-wide Population Dynamics and Habitat Use
Implementing Organization
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; US Department of the Interior
Overview
DWH Project Funding
$2,578,000
Known Leveraged Funding
$0
Funding Organization
Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees (NRDA)
Funding Program
Natural Resource Damage Assessment NRDA
Details
Project Category
Science
Project Actions
Monitoring and Observations
Targeted Resources
Other
Project Description
This Monitoring and Adaptive Management (MAM) activity will examine juvenile Gulf sturgeon habitat use and preference in estuaries in the northern Gulf of Mexico to: (1) better understand baseline status and conditions, (2) identify and prioritize habitats most in need of restoration, and (3) provide a framework for monitoring the results of restoration in an adaptive management context. Data will be collected on habitat use as well as trends in juvenile recruitment, growth, survival, genetics, and kinship across the following river systems: Pearl, Pascagoula, Escambia, Yellow, Choctawhatchee, Apalachicola, and Suwannee. All captured fish will have passive integrated transponders (PIT tags) inserted and fin rays and DNA samples collected. Field sampling methods include traditional tagging approaches, surgically implanting acoustic transmitters, and collecting fin rays. This information is critical to the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group (OO TIG) Restoration Area because estuaries serve as important foraging habitat for juvenile Gulf sturgeon in winter, yet little data exists about the patterns of habitat use within the estuary or the preference for specific habitats (e.g., oyster reefs, seagrass beds, or mud flats). This activity will help determine effective strategies for estuarine restoration to benefit Gulf sturgeon and evaluate regional restoration outcomes.
Contact
Kate Healy(251) 517-8010
katherine_healy@fws.gov
Project Website
None
For official trustee information regarding the Deepwater Horizon NRDA, including information regarding the NRDA process and the status of projects, see https://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/