![]() Smallmouth Bass Tennessee River: A total of 178 species have been documented in the Alabama section of the Tennessee River system. Some of Alabama's rarest fish species are found only in those springs that discharge large quantities of cool groundwater. Different bottom materials, such as gravel or sand, provide perfect spawning habitats. Alabama's geologic formations are important factors in the diversity of the state's fish communities in several ways. This sustained discharge rate is very important to the long-term health of Alabama's many fish species, especially during prolonged periods of drought. The average discharge of the Mobile basin is about 0.94 million gallons of water per day per square mile, Southern Redbelly Dacegreater than the average discharge of either the Mississippi River basin (0.34 million gallons), which drains most of the central United States, or the Columbia River (0.7 million gallons), which drains the northwestern United States. About 33.5 trillion gallons of fresh water flow into and out of Alabama's rivers every year. More than 3.6 million acres of freshwater and salty wetlands support numerous freshwater and estuarine species, some of which are not found anywhere else in the state. The total surface area of Alabama's major freshwater rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and ponds is about 563,000 acres. PaddlefishAlabama's rich diversity of fishes is directly influenced by a temperate climate relatively high year-round rainfall (averaging about 60 inches annually for the state as a whole) a large network of rivers, streams, springs, and lakes and a diverse geological setting. Three species-Alabama shad, ashy darter, and boulder darter-have disappeared from their type localities, but individuals of all three still exist at other locations within their known ranges. The scientific descriptions of 71 of Alabama's fish species were based on fishes that were collected at specific sites, known as type localities, within Alabama and Mobile basin tributaries in adjacent states. The Mobile basin has 41 endemic species, the Tennessee River has 14, and several coastal river systems located on either side of the Mobile basin have eight. Most fish species are represented by large numbers of individuals scattered across several river systems, but a few, known as endemic species, are restricted to a single river system, stream, spring, or cave. Alabama's fish species are spread across 16 river systems in three major drainage groups. This total not only includes about 325 described (formally named) and undescribed (recognized but not formally named) native freshwater species, but also 15 introduced (nonnative) freshwater species, and 100 or more marine species. Watercress DarterAlabama's numerous freshwater rivers, reservoirs, streams, springs, and lakes are home to more than 450 fish species in 29 families-the most found in any other state or province in North America.
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