North Carolina Project: Ecology and status of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon in North and South Carolina

North Carolina Project

Ecology and status of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon in North and South Carolina

September 2008 - August 2013

Personnel

Participating Agencies

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
South Carolina Dept of Natural Resources

Deployment of side-scan sonar in Pee Dee basin

The purpose of this project is to develop and test a multistage survey protocol for estimating presence or population density of sturgeon species in southeastern rivers. The initial phase will be done using a combination of side-scan sonar and DIDSON multibeam sonar.

Research Publications

Research Publications	Publication Date
Flowers, H. J., and J. E. Hightower. 2013. A Novel Approach to Surveying Sturgeon Using Side-scan Sonar and Occupancy Modeling. Coastal and Marine Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 5:211-223. \| Abstract \| Download \| Publisher Website	September 2013	Technological advances represent opportunities to enhance and supplement traditional fisheries sampling approaches. One example with growing importance for fisheries research is hydroacoustic technologies such as side-scan sonar. Advantages of side-scan sonar over traditional techniques include the ability to sample large areas efficiently and the potential to survey fish without physical handling—important for species of conservation concern, such as endangered sturgeons. Our objectives were to design an efficient survey methodology for sampling Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus by using side-scan sonar and to developmethods for analyzing these data. In North Carolina and South Carolina, we surveyed six rivers thought to contain varying abundances of sturgeon by using a combination of side-scan sonar, telemetry, and video cameras (i.e., to sample jumping sturgeon). Lower reaches of each river near the saltwater–freshwater interface were surveyed on three occasions (generally successive days), and we used occupancy modeling to analyze these data.We were able to detect sturgeon in five of six rivers by using these methods. Side-scan sonar was effective in detecting sturgeon, with estimated gear-specific detection probabilities ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 and river-specific occupancy estimates (per 2-km river segment) ranging from 0.0 to 0.8. Future extensions of this occupancy modeling framework will involve the use of side-scan sonar data to assess sturgeon habitat and abundance in different river systems.

Presentations

Presentations	Presentation Date
H. J. Flowers, and J. E. Hightower. 2009. Potential for the Use of Hydroacoustic Technologies in the Study of Sturgeons. 11th Annual Workshop on Gulf Sturgeon, Cedar Key, Florida	November 2009
Flowers, H. J., and J. E. Hightower. 2011. Developing hydroacoustic methods for the study of sturgeons and other large-bodied fishes. 141th Annual Meeting, American Fisheries Society, Seattle, WA, September 4-8, 2011.	September 2011
Flowers, H. J., and J. E. Hightower. 2012. A novel approach to surveying sturgeon using side-scan sonar and occupancy modeling. 142nd Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, St. Paul, Minnesota, August 19-23, 2012.	August 2012

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: North Carolina Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

North Carolina Project

Ecology and status of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon in North and South Carolina

September 2008 - August 2013

Personnel

Participating Agencies

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: North Carolina
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources