138 Lawrence M. Page, Michael E. Retzer, Robert A. Stiles 



Prespawning activities typically consisted of a female swimming 

 fairly rapidly over the bottom, examining the substrate to locate a 

 spawning site, closely followed by a male. When the female stopped, the 

 male mounted and, if the female did not swim away, vibrated his head 

 and body. If not ready to spawn, the female swam away. Once the 

 female selected the spawning location, vibrations of the male and female 

 became intense, and as eggs and sperm were released the female's genital 

 region pushed into the substrate displacing sand and gravel (Fig. 1A). 

 Once the spawning act was completed, the female rested on the bottom 

 for up to three minutes before seeking a new site. 



Males twice were observed reversing their positions during mount- 

 ing. In the first instance, the female had stopped in a sand-gravel 

 depression among cobble with her head pointing downstream. The 

 courting male mounted with his head over hers and vibrated several 

 times. She quivered in response, then after about one minute he turned 

 and positioned himself with his head upstream over her tail. They 

 remained head-to-tail for about another minute, then the female turned 

 to face upstream for a few seconds before returning to a head-to-tail 

 position. The male turned to put his head over the female's, but soon 

 returned to a head-to-tail position. The female then turned to face 

 upstream, and head-to-head, spawned. Shortly thereafter the male was 

 displaced by a larger male and the female moved a short distance to a 

 new site between two rocks. The second male mounted with his head 

 over the female's, but soon turned to a head-to-tail position. After 

 about one minute he returned to the head-to-head position and then 

 back to head-to-tail. The female left the area with the male in pursuit. 



By aligning head-to-tail, the males appeared to have been attempt- 

 ing to induce the female to turn around; alternatively, by positioning his 

 tail over the female's head, the male may have been stimulating her nape 

 with tubercles on his anal fin. The first explanation seems to be 

 supported by the fact that, of the four pairs of P. evides observed 

 courting, only two males, courting the same female, displayed this head- 

 to-tail maneuver. The female changed her positions, in one instance 

 turning around to spawn facing upstream, and in the other seeking 

 another spawning site. Additional observations may yield a more defini- 

 tive explanation for head-to-tail maneuvering. 



Etheostoma (Nanostoma) duryi. — Etheostoma duryi inhabits runs 

 and pools of streams with moderate current and a rocky substrate. On 

 seven dates between early March and late May, E.duryi was observed 

 spawning in Butler and Factory creeks, Lauderdale County, Alabama, 

 and Lawrence County, Tennessee. The reproductive behavior of E. 

 duryi is essentially the same as that reported for the closely related 

 Etheostoma simoterum (Cope) (Page and Mayden 1981). Eggs usually 

 are deposited individually in slight depressions on the sides, or less often 

 on the tops, of rocks. 



Prior to spawning, females swam slowly over the substrate, exam- 

 ining the sides of rocks for sites on which to attach eggs. Typically, as a 



