What is the natural ecological structure and function of mid-order rivers in the southeastern USA? This question is difficult to answer because hydrologically unaltered river systems are now rare. Their size and complexity also represent considerable challenges to conducting research.
The Sipsey River is one of the last unregulated mid-order rivers in the southeast and is situated just twenty minutes from the UA campus. The river's natural hydrological regime allows seasonal flooding of extensive floodplain forest every winter. For a temperate river, the Sipsey also supports staggering levels of biodiversity, including at least 80 fish species at the site pictured here. Physical and hydrological complexity combine with high species richness to make the Sipsey River a compelling model landscape in which to conduct research on the role of biocomplexity in ecosystem structure and function.
Work on the Sipsey is just getting going in our lab, but we hope to make floodplain ecosystems a major focus in the future. We are excited to have recently been awarded an NCALM grant, which will provide LIDAR data for our study site in the Forever Wild tract of the Sipsey near campus. LIDAR data will allow us to contruct a high-resolution digital elevation model of the floodplain habitat, paving the way for sophisticated spatial analyses of community structure and ecosystem function.
