An Attempt to Estimate Abundance of Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus) in the Altamaha River Estuary, Georgia, USA

Adam G. Fox^1,*, Alaina D.E. Davis¹, Hardin Waddle¹, Michael A. Baker¹, Maxwell J. Kleinhans¹, and David L. Higginbotham¹

¹Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 23, Issue 4 (2024): 474–480

First published early online: 18 December 2024

Abstract
The goal of this study was to gain an understanding of the abundance of Lepisosteus osseus (Longnose Gar) in the Altamaha River estuary, Georgia, USA. During the summers of 2019–2022, we marked 428 Longnose Gar that were captured as bycatch during gill- and trammel-net surveys for other species. No individuals were recaptured, so we could not estimate abundance. We also conducted a small study of tag retention on 3 captive Longnose Gar. Those individuals retained their marks for at least 24 weeks, suggesting that tag loss was not a viable explanation for our lack of wild Longnose Gar recaptures. Other potential explanations include trap aversion, delayed mortality, high mobility of individuals, or that the Altamaha River estuary supports a robust population of Longnose Gar.

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