Desmognathus Distribution and Ecology 
129 
shown in Figure 1. The species appears limited to the Cumberland 
Mountains and northern half of the Cumberland Plateau. The 
southernmost locality is on the south slope of Brady Mountain at the 
northern end of the Sequatchie Valley, Cumberland County. This locality 
is approximately 16 km south of Crab Orchard Mountain, which 
Caldwell and Trauth (1979) speculated to be the southern distributional 
limit of the species. In Tennessee, D. welteri was commonly found along 
small- to medium-size streams flowing through mesophytic forests. In- 
habited streams were typically permanent, and D. welteri usually oc- 
curred in areas with steep to moderate gradients and with bedrock to 
coarse gravel substrates. Specimens were taken from 305 to 805 m eleva- 
tion. 
The factors responsible for the apparent absence of D. welteri from 
the southern half of the Cumberland Plateau are obscure. Seemingly 
suitable habitats occur in several gorges and along stream courses on the 
eastern and western escarpments of the region. Caplenor (1979) described 
these gorge forests and contrasted them with the more xeric forests of the 
Plateau’s tablelands. A general observation made during this study was 
that most seemingly suitable streams on the southern Plateau were often 
dry during extended droughts, especially in late summer and fall. 
Desmognathus welteri has been characterized as a semiaquatic species 
which seldom ventures far from water (Juterbock 1975; Caldwell 1977). 
Juterbock (1975) noted that, in a given stream, D. welteri was found in 
lower numbers in late summer when streamflow was decreased than dur- 
ing periods of higher flow. The observed seasonal intermittent nature of 
southern Plateau streams, combined with the strong aquatic tendencies 
of the species, may be responsible for the apparent absence of D. welteri 
in this region. 
Listed in order of abundance, the desmognathine species found 
closely associated with D. welteri were D. fuscus, D. monticola, and D. 
ochrophaeus (Table 1). Where they were found together, D. welteri and D. 
fuscus were seldom in the same habitats. Desmognathus fuscus was 
typically taken along those sections of stream where the gradient was 
gentle to moderate and where the substrate was silt, sand, or small gravel; 
it was often found several meters from the stream. Desmognathus welteri 
was most frequently found in areas with steep to moderate gradient 
where the stream substrate was predominantly large rock, gravel, or 
bedrock; it was seldom found more than a meter from the stream. In 
Alabama, Folkerts (1968) described a similar phenomenon involving D. 
fuscus and D. monticola, where D. monticola was the typical inhabitant of 
the rocky, swift areas of a stream. 
During this study, D. welteri and D. monticola were taken from 
remarkably similar areas along the streams surveyed. Desmognathus 
welteri was usually the more abundant in habitats where both species 
were found. Based on these cursory observations, it appears that D. mon- 
ticola and D. welteri may be competitors, with D. welteri being the domi- 
