Spawning Behavior in Seven 

 Species of Darters (Pisces: Percidae) 



Lawrence M. Page and Michael E. Retzer 



Illinois Natural History Survey, 



607 E. Peabody, Champaign, Illinois 61820 



AND 



Robert A. Stiles 



Department of Biology, 



Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama 35209 



ABSTRACT. — Recent observations reveal that Percina evides is an 

 egg-burier, Etheostoma duryi, E. asprigene, and E. chlorosomum are 

 egg-attachers, E. aquali and E. microlepidum are egg-clumpers, and E. 

 barbouri is an egg-clusterer. Etheostoma duryi attaches its eggs to 

 rocks; E. asprigene and E. chlorosomum attach their eggs to plants. 

 With documentation of egg-clumping in E. aquali and E. micro- 

 lepidum, three species of the subgenus Nothonotus now are known to 

 be egg-clumpers and three to be egg-buriers. Sites of egg-deposition 

 are known for 57 species of darters. 



Darters spawn in four general ways: (1) they bury their eggs in the 

 substrate and abandon them, (2) attach them over a relatively large area 

 to objects (usually plants or rocks) above the substrate and abandon 

 them, (3) clump them in the interface between a slanted stone and the 

 stream substrate and guard them until they hatch, or (4) cluster them on 

 the underside of an object (stone or log) and guard them until they 

 hatch. Winn (1958) discussed these modes of behavior in darters. Page 

 (in press) summarizes information on 48 species for which spawning 

 behavior or at least the site of egg deposition had been reported in the 

 literature. Page et al. (1981) provided data on spawning in two addi- 

 tional species — Etheostoma longimanum Jordan and Etheostoma 

 obeyense Kirsch, and O'Neil (1981) on a third species — Etheostoma 

 coosae (Fowler). Herein are presented data on six more species — 

 Percina evides (Jordan and Copeland), Etheostoma duryi Henshall, 

 Etheostoma asprigene (Forbes), Etheostoma barbouri Kuehne and 

 Small, Etheostoma aquali Williams and Etnier, and Etheostoma micro- 

 lepidum Raney and Zorach — and more detailed information on 

 Etheostoma chlorosomum (Hay). All species of darters for which the 

 site of egg deposition now is known are categorized in Table 1. 



Percina (Ericosma) evides. — As are all species of Percina reported 

 to date (Table 1), P. evides is an egg-burier. On 9 July 1971, 2 June 

 1972, and 17 June 1979, at water temperatures of 20°, 17°, and 18° C, 

 respectively, pairs of P. evides were observed spawning in Little River, 

 Blount County, Tennessee. All spawnings occurred over sand and gravel 

 interspersed with cobble and boulders in water 30 to 60 cm deep in the 

 upper parts of riffles. Current readings, taken on the bottom with a 

 Teledyne Gurley Pygmy Current Meter, were 0.20 to 0.61 m/sec. 



Brimleyana No. 8:135-143. December 1982 135 



