Home > Science Seminar > Fall 2004 Seminar Schedule > Aquatic Habitats
The Science Seminar Series: December 2, 2004
Evaluation of Aquatic Habitats and Fish Assemblages in the Forested Floodplain of the Apalachicola River in Relation to Altered Hydrology
Dr. Stephen Walsh
U.S. Geological SurveyGainesville, FL
Place: Powell Hall
Time: 4:00 -5:00pm
The Apalachicola River is Florida’s largest river by discharge and represents the lowermost segment of the large Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) drainage, one of the major watersheds of the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Historically, the ACF drainage has been highly modified by reservoirs, sedimentation, altered flows, navigational dredging, and other changes associated with hydro-regulation and land use. The Apalachicola River also has one of the most extensive forested floodplains of the eastern Gulf Slope, yet landscape-scale physical changes and availability of water resources have elicited concern over the fate of aquatic habitats and communities associated with the floodplain. In an effort to assess relationships between hydrology, biological impacts, and prospects for restoration, USGS investigators are examining fish communities and habitats of the forested floodplain. This presentation will provide a general overview of the problems associated with decreased floodplain habitats for fish communities. This project is supported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, with technical and logistic support from the Northwest Florida Water Management District and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.