Quantitative assessment of benthic food resources for juvenile Gulf sturgeon,Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi in the Suwannee River estuary, Florida, USA |
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| Authors: | R Allen Brooks Kenneth J Sulak |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, P.O. Box 5018, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5018, USA;(2) Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Museum of Natural Science, 2148 Riverside Drive, Jackson, MS 39202, USA;(3) Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, P.O. Box 1190, Lacombe, LA 70445, USA;(4) Department of Coastal Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, 703 East Beach Drive, Ocean Springs, MS 39564, USA;(5) Present address: Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology, MSC 03-2020 1, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USA;(6) Present address: Division of Inland Fisheries, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, 1142 I-85 Service Road, Creedmoor, NC 27522, USA;(7) Present address: Region VI Fisheries Management Section, Wildlife Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 108 Darling Avenue, Waycross, GA 31502, USA |
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| Abstract: | Gulf sturgeon,Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, forage extensively in the Suwannee River estuary following emigration out of the Suwannee River, Florida. While in the estuary,
juvenile Gulf sturgeon primarily feed on benthic infauna. In June–July 2002 and February–April 2003, random sites within the
estuary were sampled for benthic macrofauna (2002 n = 156; 2003 n = 103). A mean abundance of 2,562 ind m−2 (SE ± 204) was found in the summer, with significantly reduced macrofaunal abundance in the winter (mean density of 1,044
ind m−2, SE ± 117). Benthic biomass was significantly higher in the summer with an average summer sample dry weight of 5.92 g m−2 (SE ± 0.82) compared to 3.91 g m−2 (SE ± 0.67) in the winter. Amphipods and polychaetes were the dominant taxa collected during both sampling periods. Three
different estimates of food availability were examined taking into account principal food item information and biomass estimates.
All three estimates provided a slightly different view of potential resources but were consistent in indicating that food
resource values for juvenile Gulf sturgeon are spatially heterogeneous within the Suwannee River estuary. |
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