LOUGHRAN CABE GOES GLORIOUSLY UNDERWATER Another World This young photographer uses river snorkeling to raise awareness around Blue Ridge waterways. BY ERIC J. WALLACE | PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS BY LOUGHRAN CABE Bluehead Chub. Directly below a footbridge on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, a male bluehead chub (Nocomis leptocephalus) is in the process of building a nest mound, a giant pile of thousands of pebbles in which a female chub will lay her eggs. Each spring, male chub spend days on end collecting stones with their mouths and carefully piling them together, a behavior which is fascinating to watch. Numerous other species have also evolved to spawn in the chub's mound, and will swarm in the hundreds over the mounds. JULY/AUGUST 2024 57