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Abstract
Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) populations have experienced significant declines because of human activity since the early 20th century, leading to their listing as threatened in 1991. Increased hurricane activity presents an additional threat to fragile Gulf Sturgeon populations. In 2018, Hurricane Michael struck the Apalachicola River and caused a hypoxic event, which caused a fish kill that included adult sturgeon. We used a variety of data sources to estimate the effect of the hurricane on Gulf Sturgeon recruitment, mortality, and migration behavior. Juvenile recruitment remained stable following the hurricane; however, apparent annual adult mortality was 4-5 times greater than the preceding 2 years. There was also a rapid out-migration of the surviving adults after the storm, but subsequent migrations returned to normal. These findings suggest that hurricanes pose a major threat to Gulf Sturgeon, and that an increase in hurricane frequency may threaten species recovery and population stability.