Hydrology and Ecology of Low-Relief Blackwater Rivers
We have National Science Foundation funding to work in the Santa Fe River, a river in north Florida that adopts the character of a black-water system at times, and at other times is more similar to a spring-fed river. This dynamic means that, stoichiometrically, the organisms that live in the river are subject to enormous swings in environmental resource ratios. We've been using sensors to document the temporal variation in a suite of solutes that are both ecologically meaningful (nutrients, dissolved organic carbon), and that also serve as proxies for water source, such that their concentration can assist in deconvolving the provenance of water at all times. More information on this collaborative research project can be obtained upon request.
