Aquatic habitats in relation to river flow in the Apalachicola River floodplain, Florida

Light, Helen M.; Darst, Melanie R.; Grubbs, J.W.

doi:10.3133/ofr97665

Cited by 14 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The Apalachicola River is formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and is a wide meandering Coastal Plain river with extensive floodplains. The channel has been dredged since 1954 to allow for barge traffic and the resulting channel degradation has reduced the connectivity between the river and its floodplain (Light et al, 1998).…”

Section: Case Study 2: Apalachicola-chattahoochee-flint River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We chose these sites because of their location on the river and the length of the gauging station records available. In addition, Light et al (1998) have extensive data on flows needed to connect the floodplain and the channel for the Apalachicola River at Chattahoochee, Florida.…”

Section: Case Study 2: Apalachicola-chattahoochee-flint River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Error bars are mean AE1 standard error be driven by the future climate scenario rather than the increased demand, since the increased demand did not have a noticeable impact on system variability ( Figure 9). Seventy-three of the 91 species of fishes known to inhabit the Apalachicola River have been collected in river floodplains under a variety of hydrologic conditions (Light et al, 1998). Fishes in the Apalachicola River system primarily spawn from April to July, and therefore the extent of connected aquatic habitats during this time period represents the potential availability of spawning habitat (Light et al, 1998;Freeman, 1998).…”

Section: Apalachicola River At Chattahoochee Floridamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Flow regime alterations under changing climate in two river basins: implications for freshwater ecosystems

et al. 2005

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We examined impacts of future climate scenarios on flow regimes and how predicted changes might affect river ecosystems. We examined two case studies: Cle Elum River, Washington, and Chattahoochee-Apalachicola River Basin, Georgia and Florida. These rivers had available downscaled global circulation model (GCM) data and allowed us to analyse the effects of future climate scenarios on rivers with (1) different hydrographs, (2) high future water demands, and (3) a river-floodplain system. We compared observed flow regimes to those predicted under future climate scenarios to describe the extent and type of changes predicted to occur. Daily stream flow under future climate scenarios was created by either statistically downscaling GCMs (Cle Elum) or creating a regression model between climatological parameters predicted from GCMs and stream flow (Chattahoochee-Apalachicola). Flow regimes were examined for changes from current conditions with respect to ecologically relevant features including the magnitude and timing of minimum and maximum flows. The Cle Elum's hydrograph under future climate scenarios showed a dramatic shift in the timing of peak flows and lower low flow of a longer duration. These changes could mean higher summer water temperatures, lower summer dissolved oxygen, and reduced survival of larval fishes. The Chattahoochee-Apalachicola basin is heavily impacted by dams and water withdrawals for human consumption; therefore, we made comparisons between pre-large dam conditions, current conditions, current conditions with future demand, and future climate scenarios with future demand to separate climate change effects and other anthropogenic impacts. Dam construction, future climate, and future demand decreased the flow variability of the river. In addition, minimum flows were lower under future climate scenarios. These changes could decrease the connectivity of the channel and the floodplain, decrease habitat availability, and potentially lower the ability of the river to assimilate wastewater treatment plant effluent. Our study illustrates the types of changes that river ecosystems might experience under future climates.

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Section: Case Study 2: Apalachicola-chattahoochee-flint River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Case Study 2: Apalachicola-chattahoochee-flint River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Apalachicola River At Chattahoochee Floridamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Flow regime alterations under changing climate in two river basins: implications for freshwater ecosystems

et al. 2005

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“…Such discontinuity is greatest at low flow (Light et al 1998). Lack of confluence leads to stagnant conditions in the sloughs and tends to reduce water and sediment quality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lack of confluence leads to stagnant conditions in the sloughs and tends to reduce water and sediment quality. Dredging of selected slough mouths may help restore aquatic habitat and enhance connectivity of tributaries that provide important refugia and spawning habitat for the diverse assemblage offish in the Apalachicola River (see Light et al 1998). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mussels Associated with Floodplain Channels Connected to the Apalachicola River

Payne¹,

Miller²

2002

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Channel and vegetation recovery from dredging of a large river in the Gulf coastal plain, USA

Mossa

Chen

Kondolf

et al. 2020

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Anthropogenic impacts in large rivers are widely studied, but studies of recovery once a disturbance has stopped are uncommon. This study examines the biogeomorphic recovery of a 40‐km river corridor on the mid‐Apalachicola River, Florida following the cessation of dredging, disposal, and snag removal in 2002. This failed navigation project resulted in vegetation losses (~166 ha between 1941 and 2004), river widening, and increased point bar areas. We used paired sets of imagery for a 10‐year period during the recovery process at two different flow levels to assess sand bar change, land cover change, and their spatial variations. Most large sand bars decreased significantly in area due to growth of pioneer species, typically from the bankside of the bar. Mean bar area shrank 0.17 and 0.20 ha for the 30th and 1st percentile flows, respectively. For the entire study area, both water‐level comparisons showed gains in vegetation (23.36 and 15.83 ha), compensated by losses in the extent of water (16.83 and 8.55 ha) and sand bar losses (6.53 and 7.28 ha). Overall, these gains during the 10‐year passive recovery period are equivalent to ~15% of the vegetation losses that resulted from the navigational dredging. As found in other studies, most of the pioneer vegetation grew approximately 2 m relative elevation above the low‐water surface. The initial length of the tree line and the area of herbaceous growth both had a significant and positive relationship with the area of new vegetation growth over the study interval. As parts of the river are healing, reduced channel capacity from narrowing and tree growth will benefit the floodplain. As elsewhere, understanding of a river's biogeomorphology, hydrology, and disturbance history can help in selecting appropriate recovery metrics to further advance the understanding and management of disturbed floodplains. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Aquatic habitats in relation to river flow in the Apalachicola River floodplain, Florida

Cited by 14 publications

References 15 publications

Flow regime alterations under changing climate in two river basins: implications for freshwater ecosystems

Flow regime alterations under changing climate in two river basins: implications for freshwater ecosystems

Mussels Associated with Floodplain Channels Connected to the Apalachicola River

Channel and vegetation recovery from dredging of a large river in the Gulf coastal plain, USA

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