122 



John F. Pagels, Leonard A. Smock and Stephen H. Sklarew 



Table 1. Habitat parameters measured at streams where S. palustris was found 

 in Virginia, 1974-1993. General methodology follows that of Platts et al. (1983). 



Parameter 



Method 



Stream order 

 Elevation 

 Channel gradient 

 Channel width 

 Wetted width 

 Water depth 



Water velocity 



Substrate type 



Riffle-pool prevalence 



Bank undercutting 



Bank water depth 

 Wood abundance 



Debris dams 



PH 



Conductivity 

 Riparian vegetation 



method of Strahler (1964) 



U.S.G.S. 1:24,000 topographic maps 



altimeter 



bank-to-bank distance 



width of the flowing stream 



determined from measurements at points 



along each transect across a stream 



determined at points along each transect 



across a stream with a Marsh-McBirney 



impulse flow meter at six-tenths water 



depth 



visual estimate of the proportion of each of 



six sediment particle sizes in the channel 



(bedrock; boulder = >256 mm; cobble = 64- 



256 mm; pebble = 16-64 mm; gravel = 2-16 



mm; sand = 0.06-2 mm. 



proportion of the stream channel in riffles, 



pools and glides 



distance that the bank overhangs the 



channel 



depth of water at the bank 



volume of wood in the channel, calculated 



using the method of Wallace and 



Benke(1984) 



number of large accumulations of woody 



debris per 100 m of stream 



field pH meter 



conductivity meter 



percentage composition of canopy trees 



within 8 m of both banks 



HABITAT CHARACTERIZATION 



Two approaches were used to describe the in-stream and riparian habi- 

 tat at each stream where S. palustris was found. The first approach described 1 6 

 general geomorphic and physico-chemical characteristics deemed as potentially 

 significant habitat variables for the shrews (Table 1). Habitat characteristics 



