30 David L. Penrose, David R. Lenat, K. W. Eagleson 



In addition to the four river stations, five tributary stations were 

 located on Cherryfield and Morgan Mill creeks, which are second order 

 streams. Two stations were established on Cherryfield Creek: a control 

 0.1 km above US 64 along SRR 1332, and a downstream station 1.0 km 

 below US 64 along SRR 1331. Three stations were located on Mor- 

 gan Mill Creek: a control 0.6 km above US 64 along SRR 1331, another 

 immediately below US 64, and a third at the SRR 1331 bridge. Cherry- 

 field and Morgan Mill creeks converge before flowing into the French 

 Broad near river mile 212. The Cherryfield Creek watershed is 7.04 km 2 

 while the Morgan Mill Creek watershed is 2.93 km 2 . 



Collection Methods 



Samples were collected using the "kick net" method. The net was 

 positioned upright on the streambed while an upstream area of approx- 

 imately 1 m 2 was physically disrupted. This technique is less quantitative 

 than others but may be used across a wide range of habitats. White and 

 Fox (1980) found that the kick technique was superior to other methods 

 by providing the largest number of species per unit time. The kick net 

 was constructed of window screening with 1 mm openings; smaller mesh 

 is available, but has a tendency to clog with organic debris and silt, 

 causing some flow to be diverted around the net. We had success col- 

 lecting even very small Chironomidae using this method. The samples 

 were then rinsed into a wash bucket (brass wire cloth mesh No. 30), 

 placed in quart freezer containers, and preserved in ethanol. Two sam- 

 ples were collected from each stream station and three from each river 

 station. 



Little time could be devoted to qualitative collections (pools, bank 

 sweeps, and others), as this study was being conducted to determine the 

 probable effects of road construction on stream and river fauna of this 

 geographic area. Therefore, samples were collected from habitats that 

 normally would produce the most diverse fauna. Ten collections were 

 made from the river stations over a twenty-five month period (June 

 1977-July 1979). Nine collections were made from the tributary stations 

 over a twenty-two month period (February 1978-December 1979). Col- 

 lection dates and locations were chosen to coincide with construction 

 activities. 



A list of taxonomic references used in our identifications is available 

 from the authors. 



RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 



Taxa Richness: Rivers 



Total taxa richness from the four French Broad River stations was 

 221. Five other surveys conducted on Appalachian mountain river sys- 

 tems were selected for comparison. They were conducted above most 



