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Lein, G. M. and D. R. DeVries (1998). Paddlefish in the Alabama River drainage: population characteristics and the adult spawning migration. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 127:441-454.

Paddlefish Polyodon spathula were sampled by boat-mounted electrofishing and gill netting in the Tallapoosa and Cahaba rivers and in oxbow lakes of the Alabama River floodplain, Alabama, during January-June of 1992 and 1993. Tagging studies, characterization of spawning migrations, and comparative analyses of catches suggested that paddlefish in the Tallapoosa and Cahaba rivers represented functionally discrete populations that reside in the adjacent reservoirs. Variation in population characteristics appeared to be related to differences in the hydrologic and thermal regimes of the two study rivers and to differences in historical exploitation of populations in the two resident reservoirs. Growth (calculated via back-calculated body length at age) differed between populations in the upper and lower Alabama River, probably reflecting the relatively lentic (upper) and lotic (lower) nature of habitats in these two reaches. Life history characteristics of paddlefish in the Alabama River drainage differed from fish in the Mississippi River drainage. Growth, fecundity, spawning frequency, and age at maturity all were advanced for Alabama River fish relative to Mississippi River fish, whereas maximum age and size of Alabama River fish were less than had been previously reported for populations in the Mississippi River drainage. Differences between populations in the two drainages may reflect geographic variation in biotic and abiotic variables as well as long-term geographic and reproductive isolation.