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  These are the headwaters of the Conasauga River in the Chattahoochee National Forest. This small cold stream originates in Georgia as a spring around 3,600 feet and flows north toward Tennessee. The banks are lined with rhododendrum and the stream is deeply shaded by the dense hardwood forest . This shading limits the growth of aquatic plants such as algae, so that very little energy is created in the stream through photosynthesis. The aquatic life in these small headwater streams receives much of its food supply from coarse vegetation materials produced outside the stream, e.g. terrestrial plant leaves. Plant parts are incorporated into the streams food chain by a group of aquatic insects, known as shredders, which forage on some of these downed leaves. Also see; |
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