Gulf Sturgeon – The Central Role of an Iconic Species in the Suwannee River Initiative Gulf Sturgeon – The Central Role of an Iconic Species in the Suwannee River Initiative Randy E. Edwards 1,, Kenneth J. Sulak 2, Michael T. Randall 2 and R. A. Brooks 2 1 – University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, St. Petersburg, FL; 2 – US Geological Survey, Center for Aquatic Resource Studies, Gainesville, FL

Pascagoula Lake Ponchartrain Mobile Apalachicola Suwannee Yellow Pearl OchlockoneeEscambia Gulf Sturgeon Distribution Blackwater Choctawatchee Sex Unknown Female Male Subadult Coastal/Shallow Deepwater (>10 m) Hillsborough

Rkm 220 Rkm 273

USGS/NBS/USFWS, Gainesville Suwannee Sturgeon Publications 1. Brooks, R. A. and K. J. Sulak Quantitative assessment of benthic food resources for juvenile Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, in the Suwannee River estuary, Florida, USA. (submitted February 2004 to Estuaries). 2. Brooks, R. A., and K. J. Sulak Quantitative assessment of benthic food resources for juvenile Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee River Estuary, Florida, USA. Final Project Report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, prepared by Coastal Ecology and Conservation Research Group, Center for Aquatic Resource Studies, Florida Integrated Science Center, Gainesville, FL, CEC Investigation Report, February Brooks, R. A., and K. J. Sulak Gulf sturgeon juvenile trophic habitat and food resources in the Suwannee River estuary. Poster presented at Estuarine Research Federation, biennial meeting, September Brooks, R. A., and K. J. Sulak. Gulf sturgeon juvenile trophic habitat and food resources in the Suwannee River estuary. Oral paper presented at Symposium on Anadromous Sturgeons, American Fisheries Society, Annual Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec, August Brooks, R. A., and K. J. Sulak Gulf sturgeon juvenile trophic habitat and food resources in the Suwannee River estuary. Poster presented at Estuarine Research Federation, biennial meeting, September Brooks, R. A., and K. J. Sulak. Gulf sturgeon juvenile trophic habitat and food resources in the Suwannee River estuary, Oral paper presented at 5th Gulf Sturgeon Research Workshop, Mobile, AL, October Brooks, R. A., and K. J. Sulak Gulf sturgeon juvenile trophic habitat and food resources in the Suwannee River estuary. Oral paper presented at Symposium on Anadromous Sturgeons, American Fisheries Society, Annual Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec, August Clugston, J. P., Foster, A. M. and S. H. Carr Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, in the Suwannee River, Florida, USA. pp. In: A. D. Gershanovich and T. I. J. Smith (eds.) Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sturgeons, VNIRO Publishing, Moscow. 9. Edwards, R. E, and K. J. Sulak Inter-river translocations of Gulf sturgeon. Oral paper presented at the 6th Gulf Sturgeon Research Workshop, Mandeville, LA, November 2004.

USGS/NBS/USFWS, Gainesville Suwannee Sturgeon Publications 10. Edwards, R.E, Parauka, F.M. and K.J. Sulak, New insights into marine migrations and winter habitats of Gulf sturgeon. Proceedings of the Symposium on Anadromous Sturgeons, Special Publication of the American Fisheries Society. (submitted August 2003 to American Fisheries Society Special Publication: The Biology of Anadromous Sturgeons). 11. Edwards, R. E, and K. J. Sulak Winter habitat use among Gulf sturgeon in Gulf of Mexico waters. Oral paper presented at Symposium on Anadromous Sturgeons, American Fisheries Society, Annual Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec, August Edwards, R. E, and K. J. Sulak Winter habitat use among Gulf sturgeon in Gulf of Mexico waters, Oral paper presented at 5th Gulf Sturgeon Research Workshop, Mobile, AL, October Edwards, R. E., K. J, Sulak, C. B. Grimes, and M. Randall Movements of Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) in nearshore habitat as determined by acoustic telemetry. Gulf of Mexico Science 2003(1): Edwards, R., and K. J. Sulak Trans-Gulf of Mexico movements of Gulf sturgeon. Oral paper presented at Sturgeon Workshop, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, 20 September Edwards, R. E., K. J. Sulak, G. W. Hill, and M. Randall Why do sturgeon jump? Insights from acoustic investigations of the Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River, Florida. Poster paper, presented at: Fourth International Sturgeon Symposium, Oshkosh, WI, July Foster, A. M. and J. P. Clugston Seasonal migration of Gulf sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee River, Florida. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 126: Foster, A. M Movement of Gulf Sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, in the Suwannee River, Florida. Masters Thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville. 130 p. 18. Marchant, S. R. and M. K. Shutters Artificial substrates collect Gulf sturgeon eggs. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 19. Mason, W. T., Jr. and J. P. Clugston Foods of the Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River, Florida. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 122: Mason, W. T. Clugston, J. P. and A. M. Foster Growth of laboratory-held Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi). The Progressive Fish Culturist 54:

USGS/NBS/USFWS, Gainesville Suwannee Sturgeon Publications 21. Randall, M. and K. J. Sulak Year-class structure of the Gulf sturgeon population of the Suwannee River, Florida, Oral paper presented at 5th Gulf Sturgeon Research Workshop, Mobile, AL, October Randall, M. and K. J. Sulak Year-class structure of the Gulf sturgeon population of the Suwannee River, Florida, Oral paper presented at 5th Gulf Sturgeon Research Workshop, Mobile, AL, October Randall, M. and K. J. Sulak Year-class structure of the Gulf sturgeon population of the Suwannee River, Florida. Oral paper presented at Symposium on Anadromous Sturgeons, American Fisheries Society, Annual Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec, August Smith, T. I. J. and J. P. Clugston Status and management of Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus, in North America. Environmental Biology of Fishes 48: Sulak, K. J Invited Paper: Management implications of the release of hatchery Gulf sturgeon into the Suwannee River. Propagated Fishes in Resource Management, Submitted to: Proceedings of Special Symposium of the American Fisheries Society, Boise, ID, June 2003 (to be published as an AFS Special Publication). 26. Sulak, K. J Thermal refugia and trophic dormancy in sturgeons. Symposium on Anadromous Sturgeons, Oral paper presented at 5th Gulf Sturgeon Research Workshop, Mobile, AL, October Sulak, K. J Thermal refugia and trophic dormancy in sturgeons. Oral paper presented at Symposium on Anadromous Sturgeons, American Fisheries Society, Annual Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec, August Sulak, K. J Thermal refugia and trophic dormancy in sturgeons. Oral paper presented at Symposium on Anadromous Sturgeons, American Fisheries Society, Annual Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec, August Sulak, K. J New insights into the life history of the Gulf of Mexico sturgeon in the Suwannee River. Oral paper presented at: Four Rivers, Two States, One Basin: A Research Symposium for the Suwannee Basin, Suwannee Basin Interagency Alliance, Cerveny Conference Center, Live Oak, FL, April Sulak, K. J Synopsis of life history, population biology and habitat affinities of Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River. Presented at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Sturgeon Workshop, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, 12 June 1998.

USGS/NBS/USFWS, Gainesville Suwannee Sturgeon Publications 31. Sulak, K. J Early life history and critical spawning habitat of Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River. Oral paper presented at: Sturgeon Workshop, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southeast Region, Folly Beach, SC, March, Sulak, K. J Need and rationale for application of standards for long-term estuarine ecosystem monitoring. Estuarine Workshop, Southeastern Biological Science Center, National Biological Survey, Gainesville, FL. 33. Sulak, K. J., R. A. Brooks, and M. Randall Seasonal refugia and trophic dormancy in Gulf sturgeon: Test and refutation of the thermal barrier hypothesis. (submitted August 2003 to American Fisheries Society Special Publication: The Biology of Anadromous Sturgeons). 34. Sulak, K. J. and J. P. Clugston Survival of experimentally released cultured Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River, Florida. (submitted September 2002 to North American Journal of Fisheries Management). 35. Sulak, K. J. and J. P. Clugston Recent advances in life history of Gulf of Mexico sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee River, Florida, USA: A synopsis, IN: Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Sturgeon (Rosenthal, H., P. Bronzi, D. J. McKenzie, G. Arlati and R. Rossi, eds.). Journal of Applied Ichthyology 15(4- 5, Special Issue): Sulak, K. J. and J. P. Clugston Evaluation of the potential effectiveness of hatchery stock enhancement versus habitat-based alternatives in the restoration of Gulf sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee River, Florida. Annual Meetings of the American Fisheries Society, Florida Chapter, Brooksville, FL, 10 March Sulak, K. J. and J. P. Clugston Early life history stages of Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) in the Suwannee River, Florida Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 127: Sulak, K. J. and J. P. Clugston Life history of the Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee/Big Bend Ecosystem. Presented at the University of Florida Big Bend Workshop, Steinhatchee, FL, 8 May Sulak, K. J. and J. P. Clugston Early life history, population structure, and seasonal movements of Gulf sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee River, Florida, USA. INVITED oral paper presented at: Third International Symposium on Sturgeon, Piacenza, Italy, July 1997.

USGS/NBS/USFWS, Gainesville Suwannee Sturgeon Publications 40. Sulak, K. J. and J. P. Clugston Synopsis of USGS research progress into early life history on the Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River. Suwannee Basin Interagency Alliance Meeting, Okefenokee NWR, Waycross, GA, 3 October Sulak, K. J., R. E. Edwards, G. W. Hill, and M. Randall Why do sturgeon jump? Insights from acoustic investigations of the Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River, Florida Journal of Applied Ichthyology 18: Sulak, K. J., and M. Randall Critical spawning habitat, early life history requirements, and other life history and population aspects of the Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River. Final Report, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Project NG95-125, 105 pp., Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Published Report Series, Tallahassee, FL. 43. Sulak, K. J., and M. Randall Understanding sturgeon life history: Enigmas, myths and new insights. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 18: Sulak, K. J. and M. Randall Understanding sturgeon life history: Enigmas, myths and facts. Oral paper presented at: Fourth International Sturgeon

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35, 37, 38, 39

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Suwannee River Gulf Sturgeon Data Base 19 Years (from 1985 to present) 19 Years (from 1985 to present) Almost 12,000 records Almost 12,000 records Recently Adding Data from All Gulf Rivers Recently Adding Data from All Gulf Rivers 21, 22, 23

Rkm 220 WithlacootcheeRiver 1818

WithlacoocheeRiver Suwannee River AlapahaRiver CodyScarpCodyScarp 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41

Edwards, Sulak, Randall and Grimes Movements of Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) in Nearshore Habitat as Determined by Acoustic Telemetry. Gulf of Mexico Science. In Press. 11, 12, 13

~17 cm Pop-Up Satellite Archival Tag (PAT) 10, 11, 12

2 Suwannee to Apalachicola Movements Inter-System Movements 7 Apalachicola to Suwannee 14

Hatch Bend Santa Fe River OldtownTrestle ManateeSprings 8, 16, 17, 39

Sulak et al., J. Appl. Ichthyol. 18 (2002), 1–

26, 27, 33

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Questions and Issues Protection of spawning sitesProtection of spawning sites Ecology of YOY (including eutrophication, low flow and benthic algal blooms)Ecology of YOY (including eutrophication, low flow and benthic algal blooms) Juvenile and subadult estuarine critical habitatsJuvenile and subadult estuarine critical habitats

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