September 9, 2024–Recently, Riverkeeper Cameron Baxley conducted visual surveys and collected temperature recordings on the Brothers River. The area is a potential Gulf Sturgeon cold water resting spot where “thermocline” is present. Cameron explained, “thermocline is a layer in the water where the temperature changes with depth. It provides an important barrier for cooler water for fish, especially in the thick heat of summer.” She reported that initial readings showed a 10 degree drop at the bottom from the top surface temperatures.
Gulf Sturgeon are listed as a federally-threatened species found in the Apalachicola River and the connected Brothers.
According to FWC, “Gulf sturgeon migrate into brackish and salt water during the fall and feed there throughout the winter months. In the spring, they migrate into fresh water rivers and remain there through the summer months (Wakeford 2001).”
“Sturgeons are benthic feeders – they feed on organisms located in or on the bottom, such as crabs, grass shrimp, lancets, brachiopods, and marine worms. Gulf sturgeon typically gorge themselves during the fall-to-spring period when they are in brackish and saltwater habitats; they appear to fast during the spring-to-fall period when they are in freshwater.”
“Gulf sturgeons are considered homestream-spawners, which means they usually will return to the freshwater river that they were born in to spawn. Sturgeons spawn during the spring in freshwater rivers, when temperature, flow, and pH are optimum.”
Cameron is Riverkeeper at Apalachicola Riverkeeper. She can be reached at [email protected]
