Cambarus ectopistes sp. nov., a new stream-dwelling crayfish (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from the French Broad, Pigeon, and Nolichucky River watersheds in the Appalachian Mountain region of North Carolina and Tennessee, USA

The Cataloochee Crayfish, Cambarus ectopistes sp. nov., is a large, stream-dwelling crayfish that occupies a narrow noncontiguous distribution within the Appalachian Mountain region running through the Upper Tennessee River basin, in the French Broad, Pigeon, and Nolichucky watersheds along the Tennessee and North Carolina border. It is split from the southernmost extent of the C. robustus species complex, and is morphologically and genetically most similar to a second undescribed member of the group endemic to the upper Nolichucky River watershed in North Carolina. Cambarus ectopistes sp. nov. can be distinguished from other members of the C. robustus complex and co-distributed congeners by a combination of characters, including body size, coloration, and morphology of the chela and rostrum. The new species is typically found in channel and edge habitats of moderate to large perennial streams with large cobbles and boulders.

The Tullahoma and Chickamauga Campaigns

This chapter explores the origins, conduct, and consequences of the 1863 Tullahoma and Chickamauga campaigns, part of the Union strategy to capture the critical Confederate transportation hub at Chattanooga. These campaigns turned on the politics of command, with discord on both sides shaping events and the personalities of commanders Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans and Gen. Braxton Bragg playing important roles in the outcome of these conflicts. The campaigns also resulted in widespread disruption in Georgia, Alabama, and middle and east Tennessee as widespread foraging, food shortages, and a growing number of refugees and displaced persons felt its effects. Guerrillas ranged through the Tennessee River Valley, preying upon soldiers and civilians alike. Unionists in the region found themselves in complicated and painful situations as they negotiated the difficult environment of invasion and military occupation. Both sides also experienced significant defeats in these campaigns; the Confederates, who lost most of Tennessee during the Tullahoma Campaign, and the Union, losing at the Battle of Chickamauga. These issues of discord, disruption, and defeat also played out against the backdrops of emancipation and national political consequences bearing on the coming 1864 U.S. presidential election. As the chapter demonstrates, the consequences of these campaigns were important for the Union’s continuing effort to secure Chattanooga and carry the war deep into the Confederate heartland in 1864.

Remote Sensing of Turbidity in the Tennessee River Using Landsat 8 Satellite

The Tennessee River in the United States is one of the most ecologically distinct rivers in the world and serves as a great resource for local residents. However, it is also one of the most polluted rivers in the world, and a leading cause of this pollution is storm water runoff. Satellite remote sensing technology, which has been used successfully to study surface water quality parameters for many years, could be very useful to study and monitor the quality of water in the Tennessee River. This study developed a numerical turbidity estimation model for the Tennessee River and its tributaries in Southeast Tennessee using Landsat 8 satellite imagery coupled with near real-time in situ measurements. The obtained results suggest that a nonlinear regression-based numerical model can be developed using Band 4 (red) surface reflectance values of the Landsat 8 OLI sensor to estimate turbidity in these water bodies with the potential of high accuracy. The accuracy assessment of the estimated turbidity achieved a coefficient of determination (R2) value and root mean square error (RMSE) as high as 0.97 and 1.41 NTU, respectively. The model was also tested on imagery acquired on a different date to assess its potential for routine remote estimation of turbidity and produced encouraging results with R2 value of 0.94 and relatively high RMSE.