Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9471-1166
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2651-3328
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2863-3171
Document Type
Original Research Article
Abstract
Fish communities can be used to evaluate water quality and stream ecosystem health, helping resource managers understand the effects of anthropogenic disturbance. Fish species inform indexes of biological integrity through their ecological traits and tolerance to stressors (e.g. tolerant of disturbance, intolerant of disturbance), but these designations are difficult to determine without localized, species-specific information. The Upper Little Tennessee River watershed is subject to long-term aquatic biomonitoring, applying an index of biological integrity tailored to the region. In this index, the undescribed endemic Smoky Dace (Clinostomus sp.) is classified as intolerant based on a previous designation for the Rosyside Dace (Clinostomus funduloides). However, Smoky Dace have frequently been collected from impaired urban streams, warranting a re-examination of their status as an intolerant species. This study evaluated Smoky Dace’s intolerance designation in the Upper Little Tennessee watershed by assessing the relationship between smoky dace and catchment land cover, riparian zone quality, biological integrity scores, and water quality. These relationships were compared to those of Creek Chub, a well-established tolerant species, and Yellowfin Shiner (Hydrophlox lutipinnis), an introduced tolerant species that competes with Smoky Dace. To supplement these comparisons, historic fish community data was examined using non-metric multidimensional scaling to understand the relationship between fish community structure and index of biological integrity scores, and habitat surveys were performed to determine species habitat preferences. Smoky Dace and Creek Chub preferred small streams with fine substrates, and frequently co-occurred at similar densities. Yellowfin Shiner were present at a low number of sites and had no relationship with Smoky Dace, but were associated with sites with high percent agricultural land cover and low percent forest cover. Creek Chub and Yellowfin Shiner strongly correlated with multiple indicators of stream degradation, but Smoky Dace exhibited few significant correlations with any indicators of stream health and clustered alongside known tolerant species in ordinal space, failing to support their status as an intolerant species. This study illustrates how endemism does not necessarily equate to intolerance, and emphasizes the importance of integrating ecological and geographic contexts when assigning the tolerance designations.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Alvis, Tayton C.; McLarney, William O.; Petric, Radmila; and Love, Jason P.
(2026)
"Re-Examining Endemic Smoky Dace As An Indicator Species In The Upper Little Tennessee River Index Of Biological Integrity,"
Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings:
No.
67.
Available at:
https://voljournals.utk.edu/sfcproceedings/vol65/iss67/2