Paul F. Mickle

First Record of Agonostomus monticola (Family: Mugilidae) in Mississippi Freshwaters with Notes of its Distribution in the Southern United States

Abstract An individual of Agonostomus monticola (Mountain Mullet) was collected in southern Mississippi while conducting a series of community surveys on 7 November 2007. This is the first documented report of Mountain Mullet in Mississippi freshwaters, even though there are reports of three specimens collected in Mississippi estuarine waters in 1937. Given its life history and difficulties in sampling, it is likely that Mountain Mullet has a broader distribution and more frequently occurs in Gulf Coast drainages in the southern US than was previously thought.

Diet of Juvenile Alabama Shad (Alosa alabamae) in Two Northern Gulf of Mexico Drainages

Abstract Understanding food-web ecology is valuable to conservation by linking interactions of multiple species together and illustrating the functionality of trophic exchange. Alosa alabamae (Alabama Shad), an anadromous species, reproduces in northern Gulf of Mexico drainages from February through May, and for this study, the Pascagoula and Apalachicola rivers were chosen to sample juvenile Alabama Shad. The age-0 fish mature within these rivers and have the potential to impact the food web of the systems in which maturation occurs. The focus was to determine if diet changes as Alabama Shad mature, and to identify diet differences between drainages. Diets of Alabama Shad <50 mm standard length (SL) consisted primarily of a dark, almost black material labeled as unidentifiable organics, while larger Alabama Shad, >50 mm SL, fed almost exclusively on insects. Many groups of aquatic and terrestrial insects were found in the stomachs of this species. Alabama Shad diets also differed among drainages, with the Apalachicola River being dominated by terrestrial insects, and the Pascagoula River having both terrestrial and aquatic insects. Diet and trophic placement of Alabama Shad may allow managers to understand the importance of this fish within its natal rivers.

Environmental conditions of 2 river drainages into the Northern Gulf of Mexico during successful hatching of Alabama shad (Alosa alabamae)

1 Department of Biological Sciences The University of Southern Mississippi 118 College Drive, #5018 Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406-5018 2 Southern Research Station U.S. Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture 1000 Front Street Oxford, Mississippi 38655 3 Waterways Experiment Station EE-A Engineer Research and Development Center U.S. Army Corp of Engineers 3909 Halls Ferry Road Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180-6199