The Life History of the Flame Chub, Hemitremia flammea (Jordan and Gilbert), in Pond Creek, Loudon County, Tennessee

Life history data were obtained from 243 preserved specimens of the flame chub, Hemitremia flammea, collected from June 1989 to June 1990 at Pond Creek in Loudon County, Tennessee. Flame chubs had a life expectancy of 1.5 years, and some individual reached 2 years. Length-weight relationships showed that as the length of the flame chubs increased, their weight did not increase as much as most other fish. During the spawning season, females averaged larger than males and outnumbered them. Flame chubs spawned between January and June, peaking in March. Fecundity generally increased as the total length of the female increased. The stomachs of Hemitremia specimens most frequently contained dipteran larvae. Other food items included flatworms, aquatic earthworms, crustaceans, aquatic insects, snails, seeds, and detritus. Flame chubs were associated with aquatic vegetation consisting most often of swamp smartweed and small pondweed.

The Abrams Creek population in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was very small, and appeared to be declining. The population there should be monitored, and other sustainable habitat in the area should be sampled in hopes of locating other populations in the system, and in the National Park.