Results of Fish Surveys 
in the Tennessee River Drainage, 1979-1981 
Joe C. Feeman, Jr. 
Office of Natural Resources, 
Tennessee Valley Authority, 
Norris, Tennessee 37828 
ABSTRACT. — From 1979 through 1981 the Tennessee Valley 
Authority (TV A) conducted extensive fish surveys on nine streams in 
the Tennessee River drainage. A total of 122 species of fish, represent- 
ing 18 families, were identified from more than 107,000 specimens. One 
hundred eighteen samples were taken at 32 localities. Findings include: 
new occurrences for Notropis heterolepis, Noturus elegans, Etheo- 
stoma cinereum, and Ammocrypta clara\ range extensions for Hybop- 
sis cahni, Pimephales vigilax, Ammocrypta clara, and Etheostoma tip- 
pecanoe\ numerous species with both state and federal protected 
status; and relative abundance estimates for selected species. 
In 1978 the Tennessee Valley Authority (TV A) was denied a U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers 404 permit for the Columbia Dam Project. 
The permit was denied because of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service con- 
cern about the probable impact on the endangered birdwing pearly 
mussel, Conradilla caelata (Conrad). During subsequent negotiations, 
TVA and the U.S.F.W.S. agreed upon a program to conserve this and 
other Cumberlandian mollusk species by establishing new populations 
in the Duck and other Tennessee valley streams. Success of the program 
would then constitute a basis for permission for TVA to be issued the 
permit. 
The life cycle of a freshwater mussel includes a parasitic stage in 
which the larval mussel (glochidium) has a fish host. When released 
from the gravid mussel, the glochidia attach to the gill filaments or fins 
of a passing fish and eventually embed themselves into the membrane. 
Two to four weeks later the glochidia drop off to the substrate, where 
they remain for the rest of their adult lives. 
Some species of mussel have a single species of fish as their host 
(Howard 1912, Surber 1912). Thus, a requirement for a suitable trans- 
plant site for this mussel is the presence of its fish host species. Fish 
populations in areas known to support, or to have supported, popula- 
tions of the endangerd mussel were sampled to aid in identification of 
the fish species most likely to serve as hosts. 
Streams of the Tennessee River drainage have been popular collect- 
ing sites since the beginning of American ichthyology. Their diverse 
faunas have attracted countless collectors for more than 150 years. 
Brimleyana No. 13:99-121, July 1987 
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