Open Water

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Posted on June 16, 2026 by Alumni

Alumni

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Near Mobile's causeway, Aleah Dokter and a fellow researcher maneuver an electrofishing boat through the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, collecting fish samples that could help scientists better understand one of the Gulf Coast’s most complex ecosystems.

Dokter, a first-year Ph.D. student in the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, is studying the relationships between aquatic plants, water quality and marine life along the Causeway.

The research comes as Alabama considers changes to the Causeway, the 7-mile land-and-bridge crossing between Mobile’s western shore and Baldwin County. A proposed bridge would open a passage between Justin’s Bay to the north of the Causeway and Bay John to the south, replacing a solid section of the Causeway to allow water and marine life to move naturally through the estuary. Dokter and other researchers are studying the possible impacts.

The Stokes School offers deep expertise in Gulf Coast ecology and research with broad, even global applications, facilitated by a partnership with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. The school’s research portfolio is funded by $28 million in state and federal grants; individual donors also support its work. 

Dokter spends long days collecting samples and tracking seasonal changes in fish populations and habitats. Her work aims to better understand how development and environmental change can shape delicate coastal food webs.

She came to South from Minnesota expecting salt water and dolphins. Instead, she found herself immersed in the rich, ever-changing estuary where fresh water from inland rivers meets the Gulf.

 “It’s a huge biodiversity hot spot,” she says. “There’s so much to study and so much to appreciate about it.”

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