The Ohio Journal of Science 



Vol. XXII December, 1921 No. 2 



FOOD OF THE COMMON OHIO DARTERS 



CLARENCE L. TURNER 

 Zoological Laboratory, Beloit College 



INTRODUCTION. 



This paper constitutes one unit of a report of a fish survey 

 of Ohio undertaken by the Ohio Bureau of Fish and Game 

 and directed by Professor R. C. Osburn, of Ohio State Univer- 

 sity. It was the main purpose of this survey to determine the 

 status of the game and food fishes in the various waters of 

 the state. In the environmental conditions responsible for the 

 production of game fishes the food plays an important role and 

 in order to have all the factors governing the food conditions it 

 is necessary to determine also the food and feeding habits of 

 those animals which are themselves used as food by the game 

 fishes. During their younger stages perch and darters, as well as 

 the young of many other kinds of fish, furnish food for the 

 young, yearling and older basses. A report has already been 

 made upon the food and feeding habits of the young perch 

 (Turner, 1920) and this report offers a similar study of the 

 darters. 



A part of the work was done at the Lake Laboratory of 

 Ohio State University at Put-in-Bay during July of 1919 and 

 the writer is greatly indebted to Director R. C. Osburn, who 

 with his keen interest and long experience in fish problems, lent 

 encouragement and advice. During the summer of 1920 

 Professor Osburn, L. H. Tiffany, E. L. Wickhff and W. C. 

 Kraatz of Ohio State University, and the writer made extensive 

 collections from all the larger lakes and reservoirs of the state 

 as well as from some of the streams of central Ohio. Several 

 thousands of darters were collected, comprising eleven different 



41 



