Reproductive Biology and Age and Growth of the Missouri Saddled Darter Etheostoma tetrazonum
- 1 April 1983
- journal article
- research article
- Published by JSTOR in The American Midland Naturalist
- Vol. 109 (2) , 222-229
- https://doi.org/10.2307/2425401
Abstract
Populations of Missouri saddled darters in the Niangua River and the Pomme de Terre River of southwestern Missouri were compared with respect to age and growth, reproductive cycles and fecundity. Females typically contained maturing clutches of 40-50 ova and spawned periodically from mid-March to July. Reproductive activity was interrupted in late April when heavy rains produced high stream flows. Darters in the smaller Pomme de Terre River were larger at a given age and in better condition than those in the Niangua River. The number of maturing ova present in females of both rivers was very similar. Maximum longevity for both sexes was 4 yr with sexual maturity attained at 1 yr in females and after 2 yr in males. The length of the spawning period and the production of many small clutches of eggs enhance the reproductive success of this species in an unpredictably fluctuating riffle habitat.This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Comparative Reproductive Behavior and Ecology of Fourteen Species of Darters (Pisces‐Percidae)Ecological Monographs, 1958