A spatially-explicit bioenergetics model of habitat suitability for striped bass in a Mississippi coastal river

A bioenergetics model is a useful tool to predict fish growth rate potential as an indicator of habitat quality.  Growth rate potential is related to the fish’s well-being and potential survival and is a useful metric for assessing spatial and seasonal variability in habitat suitability.  The purpose of this study was to develop a bioenergetics model of habitat suitability for striped bass, Morone saxatilis, incorporating seasonal and spatial variability in temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen (DO) in an index coastal river system along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  The Biloxi Bay estuary and tributaries were divided into three salinity regions; polyhaline, mesohaline and oligohaline-freshwater.  Twenty random locations were selected in each region and water quality (temperature, DO and salinity) was collected at 1-m increments from surface to bottom.  Environmental data were incorporated into a bioenergetics model and the predicted growth rates were analyzed by season in a geographic information system (GIS) framework.  Analyses demonstrated significant differences in growth rate patterns by season and by salinity zone.  Analytical results indicate that habitat suitability is greatly reduced during the summer period and concentrated in specific parts of the river system suggesting there are habitat hotspots potentially important to population viability.