Perdido River and Bay - Florida Department of Environmental ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

30 Water Quality Status Report: Perdido River and Bay Biological Resources Various researchers have devised stream classification systems in an effort to define and describe the natural system and its biological potential to support various organisms. Classification schemes are generally derived based on combinations of physical, chemical, and biological factors. Variations in velocity of flow, substratum, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, and water hardness are generally considered in the development of a classification scheme (Nordlie, 1991). Beck (as referenced in Nordlie, 1991) classified the Perdido River as a sand-bottomed stream. In general, this type of stream has moderate to swift currents and a streambed of shifting sand. Predominate stream fauna are species of immature insects; examples are mayflies, caddisflies, and blackflies. The Perdido, like the Escambia and Blackwater Rivers, is in close connection with the sand and gravel aquifer with much of the river’s baseflow supplied from the aquifer. The chemical characteristics of the sand and gravel aquifer influence the quality of water in the Perdido River. The Perdido River is characterized as having low pH and low buffering capacity, making it susceptible to disturbances and alterations in its watershed. The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) classifies the Perdido River as a blackwater system. This type of system is characterized as having tea-colored water with a high content of particulate and dissolved organic matter, iron, and low pH, but with a sandy bottom substrate. Much of the organic matter is derived by drainage from swamps and marshes. This type of system generally lacks a floodplain (FNAI and DNR, 1990). Vegetation and land cover were mapped for the entire state by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) using 2003 Landsat imagery (Gilbert and Stys, 2004, and Stys, Kautz, Reed, Keris, Kawula, Keller, and Davis, 2004). Vegetation and land cover were grouped into 26 categories of natural and seminatural communities, 1 category for water, and an additional 16 categories of disturbed land cover types. Information for the Perdido River and Bay is summarized in Table 2.2. Descriptions of the natural communities are contained in Table C.1 in Appendix C. By far, the largest acreage of natural community within the basin is pineland. This community type includes both forests managed for timber and natural pine forest. Second in area is the mixed hardwood-pine forest community type. Natural communities provide important habitat for many rare or imperiled species of plants and animals. In addition to the community types listed in Table 2.2, the FNAI identifies seepage slopes as one of the unique habitats found in this basin. Seepage slopes are wetlands at the base of a slope where moisture is maintained (FNAI and DNR, 1990). Within the basin, seepage slopes provide habitat for pitcher plants, including the state-listed endangered white top pitcher plant (Sarracenia leucophylla) and threatened sweet pitcher plant (Sarracenia rubra).
Water Quality Status Report: Perdido River and Bay 31 Table 2.2: Area of Natural Communities Description Acres Square miles Percent area Coastal strand 379.18 0.592 0.15 Sand/beach 1,146.22 1.791 0.45 Xeric oak 147.45 0.230 0.06 Sand pine scrub 281.77 0.440 0.11 Sandhill 93.85 0.147 0.04 Mixed hardwood pine forest 12,801 20.002 5.02 Hardwood hammock and forest 5,911.9 9.237 2.32 Pineland 87,154.45 136.179 34.21 Freshwater marsh and wet prairie 1,105.08 1.727 0.43 Shrub swamp 133.88 0.209 0.05 Bay swamp 5,968.39 9.326 2.34 Cypress swamp 709.44 1.108 0.28 Mixed wetland forest 14,213.2 22.208 5.58 Hardwood swamp 14,046.85 21.948 5.51 Salt marsh 267.1 0.417 0.10 Tables C.2 through C.4 in Appendix C contain lists of rare and imperiled plants and animals in the basin. There are 17 animal and 16 plant species that are listed at either the state and or federal level (FNAI, 2005a). The basin’s coastal beaches, scrub, and strand communities provide important habitat for many of the listed species. Scrub and strand communities west of Perdido Key State Recreation Area are important to migratory birds that utilize the coastal areas for feeding and resting during migration between the tropics and North America (Cox, Kautz, MacLaughlin, and Gilbert, 1994). From March to August, sandy beaches provide nesting habitat for the royal tern (Sterna maxima), state-listed snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), black skimmer (Rynchops niger), least tern (Sterna antillarum), and federally listed endangered piping plover (Charadrius melodus) (Gulf Islands National Seashore, 2006a; FNAI, 2005a). The Perdido Key beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis) is a federally endangered species limited in range to sand dunes located on Perdido Key (Gulf Islands National Seashore, 2006c). Four species of marine sea turtles—loggerhead (Caretta caretta), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), and green sea (Chelonia mydas)—utilize coastal beaches for nesting from May to September, though the most common sea turtles are loggerheads and green sea turtles (Gulf Island National Seashore, 2006b). Godfrey’s golden aster (Chrysopsis godfreyi) can be found on patches of scrub and coastal strand (Cox et al., 1994). Perdido Bay has three species of seagrasses: turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum), shoal grass (Halodule wrightii), and widgeon grass (Ruppia maritime). Eel grass (Vallisneria americana) is also present in fresh water and brackish water portions of the bay. Comparison of acreage of
Page 1: FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
Page 5 and 6: Water Quality Status Report: Perdid
Page 7: Water Quality Status Report: Perdid
Page 10 and 11: 10 Water Quality Status Report: Per
Page 21: Noteworthy Contents of This Report
Page 80 and 81:
80 Water Quality Status Report: Per
Page 82 and 83:
Page 84 and 85:
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
Page 90 and 91:
Page 93 and 94:
Water Quality Status Report: Perdid
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101:
Page 104 and 105:
104 Water Quality Status Report: Pe
Page 106 and 107:
Page 108 and 109:
Page 110 and 111:
Page 112 and 113:
Page 114 and 115:
Page 116 and 117:
Page 118 and 119:
Page 120 and 121:
Page 122 and 123:
Page 124 and 125:
Page 126 and 127:
Page 128 and 129:
Page 130 and 131:
Page 132 and 133:
Page 134 and 135:
Page 136 and 137:
Page 138 and 139:
Page 140 and 141:
Page 142 and 143:
Page 144 and 145:
Page 146 and 147:
Page 148 and 149:
Page 150 and 151:
Page 152 and 153:
Page 154 and 155:
Page 156 and 157:
Page 158 and 159:
Page 160 and 161:
Page 162 and 163:
Page 164 and 165:
Page 166 and 167:
Page 168 and 169:
Page 172:
Florida Department of Environmental
show all

Perdido River and Bay - Florida Department of Environmental ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?