This study uses morphological data relating to many aspects of the niche to study community organization in assemblages of stream fishes from three separate drainages. Mean values for all morphological features were compared statistically for coexisting species pairs, and those features which had significantly different means were assumed to indicate ecological differentiation that exists between the species under consideration. Average niche overlap as defined by the percentage of morphological features not differing significantly between species pairs was constant for these assemblages regardless of a nearly twofold difference in number of species present. Similarly, the average Euclidean distance between the centers of morphologically defined niches for all sympatric common species was approximately the same for all three assemblages. Moreover the distribution of Euclidean distances between species was the same in all three drainages and different than a distribution that would result from a random division of resources. Together, these results indicate that consistent patterns do exist in the organization of these stream communities, and that the species currently living together are not a random assortment of species and do not randomly divide their resources. The presence of higher numbers of species in a community seems not to be accompanied by increased packing of the niches, but rather by an occupation of more total niche space by the community as a whole.

We compared habitat use by rainbow trout sympatric (three streams) and allopatric (two streams) with brown trout to determine whether competition occurred between these two species in the southern Appalachian Mountains. We measured water depth, water velocity, substrate, distance to overhead vegetation, sunlight, and surface turbulence both where we collected trout and for the streams in general. This enabled us to separate the effects of habitat availability from possible competitive effects. The results provided strong evidence for asymmetrical interspecific competition. Habitat use varied significantly between allopatric and sympatric rainbow trout in 68% of the comparisons made. Portions of some differences refelected differences in habitats available in the several streams. However, for all habitat variables measured except sunlight, rainbow trout used their preferred habitats less in sympatry with brown trout than in allopatry if brown trout also preferred the same habitats. Multivariate analysis indicated that water velocity and its correlates (substrate particle size and surface turbulence) were the most critical habitat variables in the interaction between the species, cover in the form of shade and close overhead vegetation was second most important, and water depth was least important.

We studied the movements of redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris), largemouth brass (Micropterus salmoides), and warmouth (Lepomis gulosus) by tagging fishes with individually numbered tags. We sampled quarterly over a 3‐year period (1985–1988) at six 800‐ to 2300‐m‐long sites in 2 streams near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Overall, distances between successive captures were < 100 m for approximately two‐thirds of all fishes. Only rarely did we document movements over long distances; distances of 17.0‐17.6 km between successive captures were obtained for 5 fishes (1 redbreast sunfish, 1 largemouth bass and 3 bluegill), and only one other fish moved > 10 km. In general, all species were highly sedentary in both streams, with rock bass and redbreast sunfish being the most sedentary and bluegill and largemouth bass being the least. In most instances, redbreast sunfish showed the same distribution of distances between captures regardless of the interval between captures (1 week, 3 months, 6 months or more). This species also tended to be more mobile in the spring and less mobile in the winter, with large fish exibiting the greatest distances between captures. Some redbreast sunfish showed a very restricted home range, being captured 3 or more times over ≥ 6 months in the same 50‐m section of stream. A few individuals moved 4‐9 km only to return to their original location, but most fish exhibited behaviors intermediate between these extremes. For all species, upstream and downstream movements were equally common, although movements in one direction predominated at some sites for limited periods of time. Knowledge of movement patterns and differences in behavior among species is important not only in understanding the basic ecology of the species but also in designing, conducting and interpreting environmental monitoring studies.

Instantaneous growth rates were calculated for age‐1, −2, and −3 + wild rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) at each of eight stream sites on five streams in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Growth rates of individual trout that had been electroshocked with pulsed DC two to seven times within a 12‐month period were lower than the average growth rates for trout of the same age and species at their respective sites. This decrease in growth rate occurred significantly more often among age‐1 and −2 trout than among those 3 years and older, and more often among trout that had been electroshocked within the last 2.5 months than among trout that had 3 or more months to recover from electroshocking. These results indicated that fisheries management studies should be designed to avoid repeated electroshocking, especially at intervals of less than 3 months. Growth studies in which more than a small fraction (e.g., >20%) of the total population is repeatedly electroshocked at short (<3‐month) intervals are likely to underestimate growth rates.