South Fork Holston River basin 1988 biomonitoring

Technical Report · Fri Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6403970· OSTI ID:6403970

Saylor, C F; Ahlstedt, S A

There is concern over the effects of shifts in land use use practices on the aquatic fauna of streams in the South Fork Holston River basin in northwestern North Carolina and southwestern Virginia. Trout reproduction has noticeably declined in the Watauga River subbasin. The Watauga River and Elk River subbasins have been subjected to commercial and resort development. The Middle fork Holston River and the upper South Fork Holston River subbasins have been affected by agricultural and mining activities, respectively (Cox, 1986). To aid reclamation and management of the South Fork Holston basin, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) biologists conducted biomonitoring--including index of biotic integrity and macroinvertebrate sampling--on the Middle Fork Holston, South Fork Holston, Watauga, and Elk Rivers to assess cumulative impairment related to changes in habitat and pollutant loading in these subbasins. Biomonitoring can detect environmental degradation, help document problem areas, and assist in development of strategies for managing water quality. This report discusses the methods and materials and results of the biomonitoring of South Fork Holston River Basin. 13 refs., 5 figs., 12 tabs.

• Research Organization: Tennessee Valley Authority, Norris, TN (USA). Div. of Water Resources
• Sponsoring Organization: TVA
• OSTI ID: 6403970
• Report Number(s): TVA/WR/WQ-90/12; ON: DE91005477
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540350* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
BIOLOGY
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
FEDERAL REGION IV
FISHES
INVERTEBRATES
LAND USE
MANAGEMENT
MONITORING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
POLLUTANTS
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
RESOURCES
SAMPLING
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
VERTEBRATES
WATER QUALITY
WATER RESOURCES
WATER USE
WATERSHEDS