Sipsey River Facts

 

Major Physical Features

Relief (m)

          229

 

Basin area (km2)

       2,044

 

Mean discharge (m3/s) (1929-1999)

            23

 

River order

              5

 

Mean precipitation/yr (cm)

          139

 

Physiographic province

Southeastern Coastal Plain

 

Major Biological Features

Terrestrial biome

Eastern Deciduous Forest

# of fish species

         83

 

# of endangered species

           0

 

 

Major fishes:  Spotted and longnose gars, American eel, gizzard and threadfin shads, blacktail shiner, pretty shiner, silver chub, mimic shiner, bluntnose and bullhead minnows, quillback, smallmouth buffalo, Alabama hog sucker spotted sucker, river, golden and blacktail redhorses, channel catfish, redfin and chain pickerels, shadow bass, warmouth, bluegill, longear, redear, and redspotted sunfishes, spotted and largemouth basses, naked sand darter, southern sand darter, rock darter, blackbanded darter, dusky darter, saddleback darter, Mobile logperch, and freshwater drum

 

Major invertebrates:  Mussels – 34 species, including southern fatmucket, yellow sandshell, little spectaclecase, Alabama orb, bleufer; Trichoptera – 51 species, including Cheumatopsyche pasella, Hydroptila quinola, Ceraclera flava, Oecetis sphyra, Chimarra moselyi

           

Non-native fish species:  Eleven species of freshwater fishes have been introduced; three species (goldfish and grass and common carps) are exotic species.

 

Major riparian plants:  bald cypress, eastern cottonwood, swamp cottonwood, mockernut hickory, river birch, American hornbeam, American beech, southern red oak water oak, live oak, American elm, yellow-poplar, sweetgum, American sycamore, American holly, red maple, backgum, water tupelo, swamp tupelo, carolina ash

 

 

From: Ward, G.M., P. Harris, and A. K. Ward. 2003. Eastern Gulf Region (Mobile, Pearl, Apalachicola, Suwanee, Cahaba Rivers).  In: Rivers of North America (A. C. Benke and C. E. Cushing, eds.).  Academic Press. In Press.