Date of Award
8-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Forestry and Environmental Conservation
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Luke Bower
Committee Member
Dr. Troy Farmer
Committee Member
Dr. Catherine Jachowski
Abstract
Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) are a commercially and recreationally important fish native to the Atlantic Coast of the United States. They possess a diversity of life history strategies, with northern populations tending to be anadromous and southern populations being primarily river residents. In general, southern populations are less studied, posing challenges for effective management. Between 2019 and 2024, we tagged 37 Striped Bass with acoustic telemetry transmitters in order to study seasonal migration patterns and summer habitat selection. We estimated migration probability for both the spring and fall Striped Bass migrations using data from an array of passive acoustic receivers within the Edisto River and with generalized linear mixed models. We also manually tracked 14 Striped Bass on the Edisto River between June and August of 2024, collecting used and available microhabitat data in a discrete choice framework. . Our analysis found that warming water temperatures are the primary environmental factor cuing spring migrations, and that increases in river discharge can have a moderating effect on migration probability even when temperatures are otherwise warm enough to cue an upstream migration. Our results also indicated that the upstream forks of the Edisto River represent critical summer habitat for Striped Bass, and that preservation of these habitat areas is likely to be a focus of future management of the population
Recommended Citation
Hill, Jacob, "Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis) Movement and Habitat Selection in the Edisto River, South Carolina" (2025). All Theses. 4595.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4595