Short-term movements and seasonal habitat suitability of Shovelnose Sturgeon in the lower Mississippi River

Shovelnose Sturgeon patterns of movement are unknown for the lower Mississippi River. Active acoustic telemetry was used to determine how Shovelnose Sturgeon moved throughout a section of river and what influenced those movements. Distance to habitat type, depth, surface current velocity, river stage, change in river stage, river bottom slope, and temperature were investigated. Shovelnose Sturgeon were found not to have random or goal-oriented movements using a straightness index. Movement rate was influenced by river stage and surface current velocity. Habitat suitability changed with river stage and distance to habitat type supported a suite of delineated river features that Shovelnose Sturgeon use at different river stages. Results of this study provide movement and selection methods that can be applied to a long-term dataset to identify movement characteristics of Shovelnose Sturgeon in the lower Mississippi River