Post Construction Monitoring and Habitat Assessment of Gulf Sturgeon in Response to Ship Island Restoration Efforts by the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program

Agency Name: Dept. of the Army -- Corps of Engineers Description: Brief Description of Anticipated Work: Required Work Objectives: Post-restoration monitoring of both the benthos and Gulf Sturgeon occupancy around Ship Island will be conducted to determine whether agreement is maintained between predator and prey distributions and whether Dog Keys Pass remains a favorable foraging habitat. Acoustic telemetry arrays will be re-deployed similar to the pre-restoration effort and analyses of detection patterns will be evaluated accordingly to provide a robust pre- and post-restoration comparison. In addition, benthic sampling and subsequent analyses will be replicated during the post-restoration phase to evaluate potential changes in habitat condition and macrofaunal composition. Identified project tasks are: 1. Capture, process and telemetry tag late-stage juvenile and adult stage Gulf Sturgeon in the Pearl and/or Pascagoula rivers. Netting will occur during summer and fall months during 2022-2024. 2. Construct, deploy, maintain, and retrieve acoustic telemetry array at Ship Island. The array will be deployed 2022-2027 with the deployment period extending September-June. 3. Download the acoustic array at regular intervals and provide data summaries for upward reporting by ERDC. 4. Work collaboratively with ERDC to analyze data and develop occupancy trends between project phases (pre- and post-restoration) and project zones. Methods: Successful applicants should have expert knowledge of Gulf Sturgeon life history and extensive familiarity and experience with netting and handling of endangered fish species. Netting within riverine habitats and tagging will follow the general guidelines recommended by the USFWS and NOAA. The candidates should have sufficient experience with telemetry-based projects and a record that demonstrates research experience with collecting and analyzing these types of data. In addition, the candidates will secure all necessary permits (state and/or federal) required for conducting the proposed research. The candidates will be required to prepare a Statement of Work and Work Plan regarding the research to be conducted. The candidates will also be required to submit status reports to accompany billing invoices (monthly or quarterly) and one (1) annual report each year of the cooperative agreement to provide updates on data collection and analysis. Deliverables will include written products that address the following: 1. Timing and duration of Gulf Sturgeon occurrences within the Ship Island project area. 2. Occupancy patterns by Gulf Sturgeon in response to habitat changes at Ship Island. 3. Comparative timing and habitat use by Gulf Sturgeon from different natal drainages at Ship Island. 4. Correspondence between Gulf Sturgeon habitat associations at Ship Island and macrofaunal composition.