Water distribution, minimum flows, and freshwater fish resources
Dr. Bill Pine, Assistant Professor
Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida
In Florida, freshwater resources appear to be everywhere as over 7000 lakes and 1700 miles of rivers and streams can be found within the state’s borders. Florida receives some of the highest annual rainfall levels in the US. However, these freshwater resources are becoming threatened due to rapidly increasing demands to meet both human consumption and agricultural needs- particularly in south Florida where the majority of the state’s citizens live, but where freshwater resources are relatively scarce. Legislation passed in 1997 mandated the development of minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for water bodies within the state, but how aquatic organisms respond to water withdrawals and changes in flow are questions needing substantial research? While this question is new in Florida, western states such as Arizona, California, and Colorado have been wrestling with these issues for many years and their experiences can offer important lessons to citizens, water managers, and scientists in Florida. Modifications to riverine flow regimes in Florida should be viewed as a large-scale experiment and research efforts should be directed at developing techniques to predict and test ecosystem responses to flow modifications and associated changes in available habitat. In the Florida Rivers Lab (http://floridarivers.ifas.ufl.edu), we are drawing from our experiences with the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program and the associated fish monitoring programs in the Grand Canyon reach of the Colorado River to develop new insight into how fish populations in Florida rivers respond to changes in riverine flow. Currently, we are working in cooperation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and US Fish and Wildlife Service to evaluate movement patterns, habitat selection, feeding patterns, and relative abundance of fish in several coastal Florida rivers ranging from the Apalachicola River in the panhandle to the Chassahowitzka River in southwest Florida. Our goal is to develop rapid evaluation techniques to identify relationships between fish populations, habitat availability, and riverine flow. This information could then be used by resource managers to develop flow regulations that protect riverine aquatic resources while trying to meet the needs of Florida’s citizens on the state’s limited freshwater.