Apalachicola River Research Articles

Accumulation of trace elements, pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls in sediments and the clam Corbicula manilensis of the Apalachicola River, Florida.

A survey of trace element and synthetic organic compound concentrations in bottom materials was conducted on the Apalachicola River in northwest Florida in 1979–80 as part of the Apalachicola River Quality Assessment. Substances analyzed included trace elements (predominantly heavy metals), organochlorine insecticides, organophosphorus insecticides, chlorinated phenoxy-acid herbicides, and poly chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Three kinds of materials were surveyed: finegrained sediments, whole-body tissue of the Asiatic clamCorbicula manilensis, and bottom-load organic detritus. No hazardous levels of any of the substances were found. Concentrations in the finegrained sediments and clams were generally at least ten times lower than maximum limits considered safe for biota of aquatic systems. A comparison of trace-substance data from the Apalachicola River with data from Lake Seminole (upstream) and Apalachicola Bay (downstream) showed lower concentrations in riverine clams. Sediment concentrations in all parts of the system were comparable. Most trace substances in the Apalachicola River enter the river from the upstream part of the basin (the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers in Georgia and Alabama) and from nonpoint sources throughout the basin. There are no major point discharges along the Apalachicola. Trend analysis was limited by the scope of the study, but did not reveal any spatial or temporal trends in concentrations of any of the substances analyzed. Concentrations of organic compounds and most metals inCorbicula manilensis did not correlate with those in sediments.

Biology, Population Estimates, and Movement of, Native and Introduced Striped Bass, Apalachicola River, Florida

Abstract Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in the Apalachicola River, Florida, were tagged from 1978 to 1982 to estimate population size, measure growth, monitor movement, and determine the exploitation rate. Native Gulf Coast striped bass (STB-G) and introduced striped bass from the Atlantic Ocean (STB-A) have occurred together in the Apalachicola River system since 1966 when STB-A were first stocked. Growth of both races was similar and comparable to growth in other waters. In 1981, the population estimate for all striped bass more than 381 mm long in the upper Apalachicola River was 1,500-2,000 fish, of which 43% were STB-G, 51% STB-A, and 6% intermediates. STB-G larger than 600 mm SL had statistically significant (P = 0.05) higher yearly average condition factors. Average percent weight loss during the summer was less (9.4 vs. 15%) in STB-G than in the STB-A race striped bass. The population of fish age 7 and older was composed of 29% STB-G and only 8% STB-A. Longevity of STB-G was greater (maximum age ...

CHROMOSOMAL EVIDENCE FOR PARALLEL EVOLUTION OF SHELL SCULPTURE PATTERN IN GONIOBASIS.

The complex patterns of geographic variation exhibited by many groups of freshwater molluscs present some extremely difficult evolutionary and taxonomic problems. A common pattern among members of the gastropod family Pleuroceridae (Mesogastropoda) is the downstream replacement of a relatively smooth-shelled form or by a more sculptured form or (Adams, 1915; Goodrich, 1934, 1935; Rosewater, 1960). This pattern is displayed by the pleurocerid Goniobasis fioridensis (Reeve) and Goniobasis dickinsoni Clench and Turner in the Chipola River drainage and Holmes Creek: two adjacent streams that occur in different river basins in the Florida panhandle. The Chipola River is in the Apalachicola River Basin, and Holmes Creek is in the Choctawhatchee River Basin. Goniobasis dickinsoni occurs in the upper reaches of the Chipola River and some upper tributaries of the Choctawhatchee River Basin, including Holmes Creek. Goniobasis fioridensis occurs in lower reaches of Holmes Creek and the Chipola River as well as in most Florida river systems lying to the east (Clench and Turner, 1956). The shells of G. dickinsoni are smooth or have faint to moderate ribs on the whorls. Goniobasis fioridensis shells are heavily sculptured with ribs intersecting spiral cords to form nodules (Fig. 1). These species intergrade where their ranges overlap within the Chipola River drainage. Adult shells with sculpture patterns varying between those of G. dickinsoni and G. floridensis are found in this intergrade zone; which, following the terminology of Woodruff (1973), may be called a zone of widespread sympatric hybridization. These do not intergrade in shell sculpture where their ranges overlap in Holmes Creek. An electrophoretic analysis of 18 allozyme loci (Chambers, 1980) indicated little divergence between these in the Choctawhatchee and Apalachicola river basins. Genetic distance values, as measured by the genetic distance index (D) of Nei (1972), between samples of these different ranged from 0.008 to 0.068. Genetic distances between samples of G. dickinsoni from the two different basins were 0.057 and 0.072. Genetic distances between G. floridensis samples from these different basins were 0.046 and 0.060. These values are comparable to the average values calculated for conspecific populations of other animal (Ayala, 1975). Since nearly all common alleles were shared by populations of the two species, there is little or no allozyme evidence for reproductive isolation between them. The present study was undertaken to determine if chromosomal differences might explain the different relationships of the two forms within the two different river basins. The results of the karyotypic analysis indicate that, although there is no evidence for chromosomal involvement in divergence between forms, there is chromosomal divergence between populations from Holmes Creek and the Chipola River drainage that suggests the parallel evolution of similar shell sculpture patterns.

Soils of Marshes in the Apalachicola, Florida Estuary

AbstractThe marshes of the Apalachicola, Florida estuary were traversed and the principal soils were described, sampled, and characterized. Cladium jamaicense (sawgrass) was the predominant plant of this ecosystem, but Juncus roemerianus (needlerush) was also common. Sulfihemists predominated in the delta of the Apalachicola River. In the eastern portion of the estuary, Sulfaquents and Fluvaquents were common. Sulfihemists were not saline, but some Sulfaquents and Fluvaquents were saline‐alkaline. Montmorillonite was the predominant clay‐sized mineral and mica was common in the sand fraction.

Black Flies of Florida I. Geographic and Seasonal Distribution

Eighteen species of black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) were represented in collections from 192 locations in 50 Florida counties. Two genera, Simulium Latreille and Cnephia Enderlein, and 6 subgenera, Cnephia Enderlein, Byssodon Enderlein, Eusimulium Roubaud, Phosterodoros Stone and Snoddy, Psilozia Enderlein, and Simulium Latreille, were included. Some species such as S. slossonae Dyar and Shannon and S. tuberosum (Lundstrom) were widely distributed about the State. Other species such as S. dixiense Stone and Snoddy and S. notiale Stone and Snoddy were found at only a small number of sites. Many species were collected all year while others such as C. ornithophilia Davies, Peterson and Wood and S. congareenarum (Dyar and Shannon) were not found during the warm summer months. Recent records for S. meridionale Riley indicated that this species occurred only in the counties bordering the Apalachicola River and was present only during April and May.

Zoogeography of the Aquatic Fauna of the St. Johns River System with Comments on Adjacent Peninsular Faunas

Zoogeography of the Aquatic Fauna of the St. Johns River System with Comments on Adjacent Peninsular Faunas

Presettlement Magnolia‐Beech Climax of the Gulf Coastal Plain: Quantitative Evidence From the Apalachicola River Bluffs, North‐Central Florida

The presettlement vegetation mosaic bordering the Apalachicola River in the Panhandle of Florida, reconstructed from General Land Office Survey records of 1824—1825, consisted of upland pine—oak forest, open pine flatwoods, mesic hardwood hammock, tributary stream hardwoods, and Apalachicola floodplain swamp. Longleaf pine forest interspersed with blackjack, red, and post oaks occupied the sandy uplands east of the Apalachicola River. Alluvial terraces west of the river supported pine stands probably dominated by longleaf and slash pines. The mesic hammock forest of the river bluffs was comprised of an admixture of hardwood species, dominated by magnolia and beech. The tributary bottomlands community consisted primarily of bay, holly, and beech; the Apalachicola floodplain forest was dominated by bay, gum, and oak. The magnolia—beech forest of the Apalachicola River bluffs represents the second mesic upland magnolia—beech forest quantitatively documented for the original vegetational of the Gulf Coastal Plain and is the first such record for Florida. The concept of the magnolia—beech climax forest is reinstated here for the original vegetation of the southern Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains (the region of overlap in distributions of Magnolia grandiflora and Fagus grandifolia). Modern forest—management practices that include fire suppression and selective lumbering are causing both a shift from pine to hardwood dominance on sandy upland sited and a change from magnolia—beech to mixed hardwood dominance on mesic sites throughout the southern coastal plains. The "southern mixed hardwood forest climax" (sensu Quarterman and Keever 1962) thus represents a converging trend of modern and future vegetation of the South toward a new climax different from that existing in the presettlement vegetation.

Speciation in Chorus Frogs. I. Reproductive Character Displacement in the Pseudacris Nigrita Complex

Fouquette, M. J., Jr. (Department of Zoology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85281) 1975. Speciation in Chorus Frogs. I. Reproductive in the Pseudacris nigrita complex. Syst. Zool. 24:16-22.-Analysis of mating calls of two cognate species of Pseudacris reveals divergence in two components, pulse rate and pulse number, which in at least one species seems best interpreted as reproductive Pulse rate is apparently the critical parameter upon which female discrimination of mating call is based, but pulse number appears to be involved too. [Anura; bioacoustics.] Brown and Wilson (1956) introduced the term character displacement to describe the phenomenon where two (usually cognate) species which are similar in allopatry, diverge in one or more characters where their ranges overlap. Grant (1972) redefined and broadened the term; the aspect confined to the original definition he called divergent displacement. Such divergence in zones of sympatry may result from a) reinforcement of incipient premating reproductive isolating mechanisms (Blair, 1955), or b) ecological displacement, or c) some other cause. On theoretical grounds both reproductive and ecological should be expected to occur frequently. However, while reports of the latter are rather abundant, well-documented examples of the former effect are scarce. Among anuran amphibians, mating call is of overriding importance in premating isolation among sympatric species of many groups (Mecham, 1961; Littlejohn, 1969; numerous others). Hence we might.expect to find abundant examples of reproductive represented in call differences; however, few amphibian studies have produced a compelling case for that effect. The best documented example is in Australian Litoria (= Hyla; Littlejohn, 1965). Other oft-cited examples among Gastrophryne (= Microhyla; Blair, 1955; Brown and Wilson, 1956) and Acris (Blair, 1958) may be criticized as readily explained as a result of other factors, or as supported by insufficient data. Some cognate species-pairs of chorus frogs (Pseudacris) differ markedly in mating call where they occur sympatrically, but in allopatry the calls may be similar, suggesting possible examples of reproductive To examine this critically, a study was undertaken of forms comprising the Pseudacris nigrita complex in the southeastern U.S. An important aspect of the study was analysis of mating calls sampled from populations of Pseudacris n. nigrita and Pseudacris triseriata feriarum (nomenclature of Schwartz, 1957), from areas of allopatry and sympatry. The two forms are hereinafter referred to as nigrita and feriarum, respectively. They are discrete biological species and, although morphologically similar, are readily separable (Crenshaw and Blair, 1959). Ranges of the two do not overlap extensively except along the Chattahoochee River drainage (forming the border between Alabama and Georgia), extending southward into western Florida as the Apalachicola River drainage. Broader analysis of the systematics of these forms and of the nature and significance of variation in their calls throughout their ranges will be reported elsewhere, as will similar findings for other species of the complex.

The bathymetry and sedimentation of Cape San Blas shoal and shelf off Saint Joseph Spit, Florida

ABSTRACT A total of 144 bottom dredge samples were collected on Cape San Bias Shoal and vicinity, west of Apalachicola Bay, Florida, in the Northeast Gulf of Mexico. On the basis of this investigation, four bathymetric-sedimentary provinces can be distinguished: (1) The Cape San Blas Shoal extends southwest approximately 14.5 km into the Gulf from the Cape. Characterized by a very rough ridge-and-swale topography, it can be divided into two general units by sediment type, mean grain size, and standard deviation. (2) A basin, located northeast of Cape San Blas Shoal and extending south to about 12.8 km offshore, contains very fine-grained sediments derived from the Apalachicola River. (3) To the south of this basin, and southeast of Cape San Blas Shoal is the ridge-and-swale province composed of a mixture of shell hash, medium to coarse sand and a low percentage of silt. (4) The shelf to the west of the shoal is basically composed of very-well sorted fine sand and shelly fine sand with some coarse sand on a smooth, gently seaward sloping topography. Thin mud layers, originating in Apalachicola Bay and transported around the shoal, overlie the sand in certain areas of the shelf. The doublet of geomorphic provinces consisting of Cape San Blas Shoal and the ridge-and-swale province are interpreted as a shoal-retreat massif. It was initiated as a cuspate delta of an Apalachicola River distributary during a low stand of seal level. At the present time it is maintained 'in line' through wave refraction, although sediment-budget calculations indicate that a shift to the east is taking place. The shoal grows landward through accretion at the base. Prominent cross-cutting depressions were initiated as spillways by hurricane-generated currents. Hurricane waves and surge-generated currents largely determine the ultimate shape of these provinces. Surface features of selected quartz grains were studied by differential-interference and scanning electron microscopy. The coarser grains of the shoal, ridge-and-swale and north shelf provinces, show V-shaped impact features and grooves characteristic of high-energy environments. The fine grained shelf and basin sands are smooth and relatively featureless. The sediments in the study area generally consist of a minor contribution of modern mud and shell hash, but mainly of quartz-sand which was originally laid down as a subaerial deposit during a low stand of the sea. Nearshore processes have produced from the original material the nearshore modern well-sorted, fine sand. This material is most prominent in, but not restricted to either the nearshore or the shoal regions of the study area. Lower Cape San Blas Shoal and the ridge-and-swale province consist of coarser sands with notable admixtures of shell hash. Although such sand is often referred to as relict, textural considerations and some (ill-developed) associations between textural parameters and topography suggest that the sediment continues to undergo transportational and depositional episodes, largely in response to hurricane conditions. The term 'palimpsest' is more properly applied to this kind of material.

Reproductive Biology of the Rough Shiner, Notropis baileyi, in Halawakee Creek, Alabama

Abstract Monthly changes in mean ova diameter and gonadal weights indicated that spawning of rough shiner, Notropis baileyi, a cyprinid recently introduced in Halawakee Creek (Apalachicola River Drainage), Alabama, occurred during early or middle May through late September or early October. Peak spawning occurred in early or middle June. Several complements of ova matured. Fecundity was linearly related to length and weight of the fish. No significant correlation existed between the diameter of ova and fork length of fish. Versatile food habits, a long successful spawning season and favorable habitat are believed to be the key to the success of this shiner in Halawakee Creek.

Some Aspects of Life History of the Blackbanded Darter, Percina nigrofasciata (Agassiz), in Halawakee Creek, Alabama

Specimens of Percina nigrofasciata were collected from February 1970 to March 1971 in Halawakee Creek, Lee Co., Alabama (Apalachicola River System), over several substrate types, but most commonly over gravel. Collections included representatives of 32 species, only 13 of which were strongly associated with P. nigrofasciata. Preference for gravel was substantiated by laboratory experiments. Sexual dimorphism and dichromatism were distinct. Melanophore pattern changed in response to the background color. Females dominated in size group less than 60 mm TL and males dominated in size group, greater than 60 mm TL. Maturity estimates were based on diameters of developing ova. Two sets of maturing ova were present, but only one spawning occurred. Spawning season extended from early May to June. Egg number was related exponentially to the fish length. Weight of the fish and egg number were linearly related. Length of fish and diameter of ova were not correlated. Length-weight regression lines of males and females differed only in their elevations (adjusted means). In both sexes weight increased significantly more than the cube of the length.

Post-Tampa, Pre-Chipola Sediments Exposed in Liberty, Gadsden, Leon, and Wakulla Counties, Florida: ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT A new stratigraphic unit, the Torreya Formation, is proposed, based on a revised cross-section along the Apalachicola River, including core holes near the river. A post-Tampa, pre-Chipola age for the unit is indicated by a study of its fauna. The new unit is erected for strata containing a macrofauna including Pododesmus scopelus Dall and a microfauna with Miogypsina globulina Michelotti. It includes beds now mapped as equivalents of either lower Hawthorn, upper Chattahoochee (=upper Tampa), or Fort Preston formations in Liberty and adjoining counties. The Torreya assemblage has little in common with the Tampa fauna, but is very closely affiliated with that of the Chipola formation. The pre-Chipola, post-Tampa stratigraphic position was determined by the presence in the fauna of miogypsinids, which to date have been reported only from sediments older than those containing the Chipola fauna, and by the superposition of the Chipola fauna on a weathered remnant of the Torreya formation. The data suggest that this new unit was deposited in a marine to brackish water bay that appears to have been centered in Georgia and open only to the Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf Trough into the Apalachicola Embayment was apparently closed by a land bridge presumed to be an exposed carbonate bank. Since deposition of the new unit, the presumed carbonate bank has wasted away, whereas the Torreya formation with similar elevation persisted as a highland area.

Research Opportunities in the Spanish Borderlands: West Florida, 1781-1821

Establishing Boundaries for Spanish West Florida is No Simple Matter. Under consideration is not the entire province of Spanish West Florida stretching to the Mississippi but the smaller region bounded on the west by the Perdido River, the Suwannee River on the east, the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and the uncertain boundary with the United States on the north. Pensacola and San Marcos are two principal settlements, and this area approximates the western panhandle of the present-day state of Florida. When Spain acquired West Florida in 1783 the British boundary was the Apalachicola River, but Spain in 1785 moved it eastward to the the Suwanee River. (Few maps indicate this eastward shift.) The purpose of making the Suwannee River the eastern boundary was to transfer San Marcos and the province of Apalachee from East Florida to West Florida. After the 1795 Pinckney Treaty Spain and the United States agreed that the northern boundary was the thirty-first parallel west from the Chattahoochee River and the parallel intersecting the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers running eastward. Until after the Pinckney Treaty went into effect in the late 1790s, Spanish West Florida's northern boundary was indefinite. Spain regarded the Yazoo parallel, the Tennessee, Cumberland, or even Ohio rivers as the northern limit. This meant that for well over a decade Spain considered the western part of Georgia, the eastern part of Alabama, along with bits of Tennessee and North Carolina, as part of West Florida.

History of Apalachicola River Delta Area, Florida: ABSTRACT

The Apalachicola River and its tributaries have delivered significant quantities of sediment into the northeastern corner of the Gulf of Mexico since early Tertiary time. The location of a major drainage outlet in the Alabama-Florida-Georgia tri-state area must be a matter of structural control, inasmuch as well-developed Cretaceous cuestas across southern Alabama and Georgia divert important drainages either toward the east (Atlantic Ocean) or the west (Alabama River system, draining into Mobile Bay). The early Tertiary predecessor of the Apalachicola River may have been located about 75 km. east of the present river. The modern gorge of the Apalachicola has been occupied since perhaps middle Miocene time, when a previous estuary (in an important graben or half-graben) was completely filled with sediment. The Mio-Pliocene river built three or four cuspate deltas, at elevations of about 80, 50, 35, and perhaps 25 m. Three of these still exhibit relic offshore-flat, barrier-island, and drained lagoon topography. Clear evidence is present in the area for Pleistocene sea-levels at 9, 6, 0, and -2 m. During the Pleistocene, the Apalachicola dammed the mouth of the Chipola River with sediment, forming Dead Lake, and almost completely filled a large estuary near the village of Apalachicola, leaving Lake Wimico and East Bay as remnants. Many of the features of the modern cuspate delta (including offshore shoals) have been formed, and reworked, as sea-level moved up and down during the Pleistocene. One of these features, an as yet inadequately explored and filled channel perhaps 35-40 m. deep, is under the present course of the river. The low wave-energy level in the northeastern corner of the Gulf of Mexico--much like that along geosynclinal coasts of the past--is responsible for preservation of many delta characteristics which probably would have been eliminated if breaker heights had been typical of an open ocean. Subtle structural deformation, still continuing in the delta area, partly controls the overall delta outline as well as many of the details. The prime structural trend in the area is N. 50°E.; there is less evidence for linears striking approximately N. 70°W. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1756------------

Sedimentary Environments in Apalachicola Bay and Vicinity, Florida

ABSTRACT The distribution patterns of the sediment and the various characteristics in Apalachicola Bay and vicinity, Florida, are clearly defined and greatly influenced by the submarine topography. Analysis shows a slight variability in the mean grain size and in the carbonate content between the basins and the shoals. The coarse fractions of the sediments consists of reworked relict quartz sands with negligible percentages of heavy mineral or calcareous material indigenous to the area. This coarse material is associated with topographic elevations, channel floors, and the most distant shelf areas. Distribution of the fine-grained sediment is related directly to the submarine physiography, which is essentially formed from the coarse sediments in the area. The bays, shoals, and intervening depr ssions inhibit the migration of the sediment by forming natural traps. In addition, these features cause a dissipation of the wave energy. All the fine-grained sediment in the area can be attributed to the Apalachicola River; the bulk of it is contained in Apalachicola Bay proper. The distribution of the mean grain size, the organic carbon content, and the standard-deviation patterns closely approximate the configuration of the bottom topography. The regional and residual aspects of these characteristics are also closely related.

RECENT SEDIMENTARY HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH BAY, FLORIDA1

SUMMARYThe history of St. Joseph Bay, on the west coast of Florida, begins with the last rise in sea level about 5,000 years ago. The formation of an extensive cuspate spit has formed a basin which is now in the process of being filled by detrital sands delivered via longshore drift from the eastern Apalachicola River. Prior to or during early stages of spit development, a wedge of fine material was deposited over the old terrace surface from an old distributary of the Apalachicola. Present sedimentation has as yet failed to obscure portions of this older surface within the lagoon.Clean quartz sand and biological carbonates comprise the bulk of the present sediment contribution. The typical East Gulf “kyanite‐staurolite” heavy mineral suite is present, as is the kaolinite‐montmorillonite‐illite clay mineral suite common to this coast.Sediments in this area have an average organic content of about 1.4%. A high organic carbon/organic nitrogen average of 15.4 has resulted from the accumulation of highly carbonaceo us plant debris under the restrictive environment of the lagoon.

Regional Clay-Mineral Facies—Products of Weathering Intensity and Current Distribution in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico

Three major rivers supply most of the clay-mineral detritus that the northeastern Gulf of Mexico receives. The mineralogy of the clay supplied by each river is a product of the weathering versus parent-rock interplay in the drainage basins. In the western drainage basins, erosion and transportation of essentially unaltered montmorillonitic sediments prevails. Eastward, weathering becomes more effective, and kaolinite gradually becomes more abundant in the soils and river clays. Consequently, the Mississippi River is contributing a montmorillonitic clay-mineral suite, and the Apalachicola River is contributing a kaolinitic suite. The Mobile River, between these two rivers, is contributing an intermediate clay-mineral suite. The river sediments pass through the various bays and estuaries with only minor alterations in their clay-mineral suite which are of too small a magnitude to affect significantly the gross regional distribution pattern. Within the Gulf of Mexico, that portion of the clay not flocculated by saline water at the river mouths is distributed first by the wind-driven shallow water currents and then by the semi-permanent oceanic currents. A gradational facies pattern is developed in which the sources of supply, their magnitudes, and the distributional directions are clearly evident. Clay-mineral distributional patterns in the modern Apalachicola River area are similar to those in the Texas lower Eocene (Wilcox) sediments. Similar weathering and current factors may have produced the analogous clay-mineral facies patterns.

Liatris provincialis, sp. nov., (Compositae), Endemic in Western Florida

Liatris provincialis is newly described from western Florida. It is allied with the three species of Series Pauciflorae and is most nearly like L. chapmanii. L. provincialis, so far as now known, is restricted to Franklin and Wakulla counties, Florida. (Illustrated.) Gaiser (1946) in her revision of 'the North American genus Liatris states that of the thirty-two species recognized by her the largest number for a single state, 12, occurrs in Florida. Three of the twelve are endemic in Florida: L. garberi A. Gray, L. pauciflora Pursh, and L. laevigata Nutt. L. garberi and L. laevigata are restricted to peninsular Florida, whereas, L. pauciflora occurs generally across rthe northern part of the state and in the upper peninsula. The distinctiveness of the plant described below was first noticed when it was observed in great abundance on sand dunes along the Gulf of Mexico between Lighthouse Point and Peninsular Point, Franklin County. There it occurred from the crest of the fore dunes shoreward on more stabilized dunes and into the evergreen oak-sand pine scrub adjacent. This area is a small narrow peninsula more or less paralleling the mainland on the seaward side of Alligator Harbor and is sometimes referred to as Alligator Peninsula. Later the plant was found to occur in evergreen oak-sand pine scrub along the coast from nearby Ochlockonee Bay generally southwestward to Carabelle and a little beyond, a distance of about 30 miles; also on sandy ridges of turkey oak-longleaf pline about two miles back from the coast in this vicinity and for about two milesnorth of Ochlockonee Bay in the vicinity of Panacea. Diligent search in areas of coastal dunes and evergreen oak-sand pine scrub near the Gulf westward of the Apalachicola River and on sandy ridges of turkey oak-longleaf pine elsewhere throughout the Florida Panhandle failed to reveal any other places of occurrence for this new Liatris. Liatris provincialis Godfrey, sp. nov. Fig. 1 Liatris chapmanii affinis, sed capitulis (plerumque lato-divaricatis nec anguste adscendentibus) flosculisque minoribus. Cormi variabilis globosi vel ovales vel unco-elongati. Caules solitarii vel plures ad 8 dm alti simplices vel pauci-vel multiramosi striati dense breviterque 1 This investigation was supported (in part) by a research grant, RG-6305, to the author from the Division of General Medical Sciences, Public Health

Possible masked heavy mineral deposit, Florida Panhandle

Analysis of about 400 sand samples, from the vicinity of the Apalachicola River delta (Florida Panhandle), raises the question of where the river-carried minerals are being accumulated. The river apparently has been delivering a larger quantity of heavy minerals than is found on the surface of the modern beaches and barrier islands. Coastal energy conditions are such, however, that a relative increase in heavy mineral content should be observed on the rim of, or immediately offshore from, the delta. In the light of an anomalous distribution of coarse and fine quartz sands, on the offshore shoals of the area, the hypothesis is developed that the heavy mineral content of the shoals increases significantly with depth. If the reasoning is correct, the shoals might be attractive ventures for commercial development.

Offshore Shoals in Area of Energy Deficit

ABSTRACT The coastal energy level off the Apalachicola River Delta (panhandle coast of Florida) appears to be adequate to handle approximately 2 104m3 of sand and coarse silt per year. The river, through much of its recent history, has probably been delivering approximately 5 105m3 of bed load per year. Over a 5000 year period, this projects to an excess of approximately 2.5 109m3. The beach ridges, barrier islands, and furrowed offshore shoals in the area may have been formed as severe storm waves redistributed this load. The amount of sand stored in these geomorphic feat res is estimated to be approximately equal to the projected 5000-year excess. An energy-vs-load chart is presented as an aid in the evaluation of coastal features.