Keith Dunton, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, recently co-authored a study published in Marine Ecology Progress Series examining how Atlantic sturgeon, a federally endangered species, may shift their migration timing in response to climate change.
The paper, “Investigating the Plasticity of Atlantic Sturgeon Migration Timing in a Changing Climate,” informs conservation efforts in the Northeast U.S. by presenting a comprehensive analysis of how rising ocean temperatures could alter the seasonal movements of these fish.
The research team analyzed over four million acoustic detections from 718 tagged sturgeon recorded between 2010 and 2022 across the New York Bight where sturgeon aggregate seasonally. The study used machine learning techniques to identify which environmental variables, such as day length and water temperature, best predicted the timing of the fish’s arrival and departure from a key aggregation site near the Rockaways, New York.
The study found that Atlantic sturgeon have limited flexibility in adjusting their migration timing to climate change. While water temperature influences when they leave coastal areas, their arrival is strongly driven by photoperiod (day length), a fixed environmental cue. Simulations showed that warming could cause sturgeon to migrate up to 60 days earlier, but their reliance on photoperiod limits how much they can shift. This disparity between temperature and migration cues may pose challenges for their survival as oceans continue to warm.
Marine Ecology Progress Series (MEPS) is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal, and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances ecological understanding.