We examined relationships between catchment-scale disturbance from military training and two dominant fish species, Pteronotropis euryzonus (broadstripe shiner) and Semotilus thoreauianus (Dixie chub) in headwater streams at the Fort Benning Military Installation (FBMI), GA. Disturbance was estimated as the percent of the catchment that was bare ground and unpaved road cover. Relative abundance of broadstripe shiners and Dixie chubs were negatively and positively related to disturbance, respectively. This complementarity likely resulted from contrasting life histories, feeding behaviors, and habitat preferences between the two species. Absolute abundance of broadstripe shiners increased, whereas relative abundance of Dixie chubs decreased, with stream discharge, suggesting that both species were affected by local habitat conditions. Additionally, the average body size of both species was lower in high-disturbance streams, signifying that both species were affected by disturbance. Results also suggest a disturbance threshold, where streams with disturbance levels of ≈ 5–8.1% of the catchment had broadstripe shiner proportions below those in low-disturbance streams. About 71–88% of second-order catchments on FBMI lie below this threshold level, suggesting that many streams on FBMI are potentially suitable for the broadstripe shiner.