0' Fallon Creek to 2,500 feet at its mouth. 0' Fallon Creek and 

 tributaries are classified C-3 in the Montana Surface Water 

 Quality Standards. 



METHODS 



Periphyton samples were collected following standard 

 operating procedures of the Planning, Prevention, and Assistance 

 Division of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. 

 Using appropriate tools, microalgae were scraped, brushed, and/or 

 sucked from natural substrates in proportion to the rank of those 

 substrates at the study site. Macroalgae were picked by hand in 

 proportion to their abundance at the site. All collections of 

 microalgae and macroalgae were pooled into a common container and 

 preserved with Lugol's solution (APHA 1998) . 



Samples were examined to estimate the relative abundance of 

 cells and rank by biovolume of diatoms and genera of soft (non- 

 diatom) algae according to the method described in Bahls (1993) . 

 Soft algae were identified using Dillard (1999) , Prescott (1978) , 

 Smith (1950) , and Whitford and Schumacher (1984) . These books 

 also served as references on the ecology of the soft algae, along 

 with Palmer (1977) . 



After the identification of soft algae, raw periphyton 

 samples were cleaned of organic matter using sulfuric acid, and 

 permanent diatom slides were prepared using Naphrax, a high 

 refractive index mounting medium, following Standard Methods for 

 the Examination of Water and Wastewater (APHA 1998) . For each 

 slide, between 402 and 473 diatom cells (804 to 946 valves) were 

 counted at random and identified to species. The following were 

 used as the main taxonomic and autecological references for the 

 diatoms: Krammer and Lange-Bertalot 1986, 1988, 1991a, 1991b; 

 Patrick and Reimer 1966, 1975. 



