French Broad River Macroinvertebrates 47 



Table 8. Number of taxa by group, showing spatial preferences for second 

 order streams (S), Upper River-Montane (UR), Upper River-Lowland 

 (LR), streams and Upper River-Montane (S-UR) and Upper River- 

 Montane and Upper River-Lowland (UR-LR). 



# with spatial preference 



Total Taxa S UR LR S-UR UR-LR 



Ephemeroptera 



52 



8 



4 



3 



2 



8 



Plecoptera 



25 



4 



- 



1 



- 



2 



Odonata 



6 



- 



- 



- 



- 



- 



Coleoptera 



14 



1 



1 



1 



- 



- 



Trichoptera 



40 



4 



2 



3 



3 



1 



Megaloptera 



3 



- 



1 



- 



- 



- 



Hemiptera 



3 



- 



- 



- 



- 



- 



Diptera: General 



25 



5 



- 



- 



1 



1 



Diptera: Chironomidae 



74 



10 



1 



3 



6 



4 



Oligochaeta 



11 



1 



- 



1 



- 



- 



Crustacea 



3 



1 



- 



- 



- 



- 



Mollusca 



5 



1 



1 



- 



- 



- 



Miscellaneous 



6 



- 



- 



1 



- 



- 



Totals 



267 



35 



10 



14 



12 



15 



and Kirchner (1978). Several specimens were collected at our stream 

 stations. 



Many stream/ river surveys neglect the Chironomidae, citing taxo- 

 nomic difficulties. However, recent work in this important group has 

 made identifications much easier. Mozley (1980) provided a generic key 

 to North Carolina Orthocladiinae that should further reduce the diffi- 

 culty of identifications within this subfamily. We identified 74 taxa 

 within the Chironomidae, which probably included more than 85 spe- 

 cies. This number of taxa agrees well with many other intensive surveys 

 of lotic chironomids (see data cited by Lindegaard-Peterson 1972). 

 However, many more species might be expected with more precise tax- 

 onomy (especially if pupae and adults are used). Coffman (1973) identi- 

 fied 143 chironomids from a single Pennsylvania stream, and Lehmann 

 (1971) recorded 245 species from the Fulda River. The latter study 

 included data from many stations along a 220-km river segment. 



The chironomid fauna of the upper French Broad River is domi- 

 nated by the Orthocladiinae and Diamesinae, a trend expected for cool 

 lotic systems (Oliver 1971). The Tanytarsini were also important, espe- 

 cially Micropsectra (stream stations) and Rheotanytarsus (river sta- 

 tions). Several unusual Diamesinae were collected, especially Pagastia 

 sp. These specimens were verified by D. T. Oliver (pers. comm.), who 

 stated they were "similar to an undescribed species near P. orthogonia" 

 Most recent chironomid keys omit this genus, but it is illustrated in 

 Mason (1973) under the name Pseudodiamesa pertinax. 



