Distribution of Fishes and Changes in Biotic Integrity in the New River, Tennessee

Electrofishing samples of fishes were obtained from forty-two localities in the New River system, Tennessee during summer and fall 1996. Eight of forty-two species collected represent new records from the New River: Notropis telescopus, Moxostoma macrolepidotum breviceps, M. carinatum, Lepomis auritus, L. gulosus, L. microlophus, Etheostoma cinereum, and Stizostedion vitreum. Temporal changes in the distribution of fishes were detected by comparing historical collection records with fish samples from 1996. Older records were also employed in the compilation of a modified index of biotic integrity (IBI) that was used to assess changes in fish assemblage health during the past twenty years. Positive changes in the distribution of fishes and the IBI indicate that water quality and fish assemblages have improved in the New River over the past two decades, subsequent to federal legislation that required decreased input of sediment and mine drainage into the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River system.