Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1998

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Major Professor

David A. Etnier

Committee Members

Dewey Bunting, Richard Strange

Abstract

An investigation of the ecology and life history of the redband darter, Etheostoma luteovinctum, was conducted in Titan Creek of the Duck River system in Maury Co., Tennessee, from March 1996 through June 1997. In Titan Creek, a second order spring influenced tributary, adult and juvenile E. luteovinctum commonly inhabited pools and runs of silt, fine gravel, and sand. At one year of age, both sexes reached maturity and spawned. Sexual dimorphism in coloration persists after one year of age and intensified in nuptial males. Spawning occurred from February to May at water temperatures of 15 to 18 ° C. Spawning E. luteovinctum observed in the wild and held in aquaria buried eggs in sand or fine gravel. Female E. luteovinctum produced group-synchronous ova with a mean clutch size for mature and maturing ova of 85. Mean diameter for ripe ova was 1.27 mm. Aquarium held fertilized eggs hatched in six to nine days at a water temperature of 21°C. Larvae had concentrations of round melanophores on top of the head and along the dorsum. Modal myomere counts were 15 preanal, 19 postanal, and 34 total. Early growth was rapid, with males growing faster than females, and both sexes attained a maximum age of 2+ years. A three pass population estimate with 95 percent confidence intervals indicated that redband darters were the fourth most abundant species at the study site; the observed sex ratio was 1: 1. Redband darters were found to be opportunistic invertivores with dipteran larvae of the family Chironomidae dominating the diet numerically, seasonally, and by volume for all size classes of redband darters in Titan Creek.

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