Eastern sand darter

Last updated

Eastern sand darter
Ammocrypta pellucida.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percidae
Genus: Ammocrypta
Species:
A. pellucida
Binomial name
Ammocrypta pellucida
(Putnam, 1863)
Synonyms [2]
  • Pleurolepis pellucidusPutnam, 1863
  • Etheostoma pellucidum(Putnam, 1863)

The eastern sand darter (Ammocrypta pellucida) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. The eastern sand darter is a relatively small fish, most plentiful in the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, as well as Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes. It prefers sandy-bottomed streams and sandy shoals in the lakes. [3] The eastern sand darter feeds on larvae of black flies and other small insects in the water. They also feed on zooplankton in small portions since their small mouth size limits their gape ability. [4] Its average body size is around 1.5-2 in long, and it breeds in the spring and summer in sandy-bottomed waters. [5]

Contents

Description

The average lifespan for the eastern sand darter is about 2–3 years, but if the siltation and pollution continue to worsen, the lifespan will gradually decrease.

A. pellucida reproduces in the sandy shoals at the bottom of the lakes and rivers it inhabits during the spring and summer when the water is at its warmest temperature. It reaches sexual maturity around age one and the males are able to mate once during the breeding season, while females mate twice, producing about 350 eggs with an average clutch size of 71 eggs. [3] If siltation continues to worsen, many of the eggs will be smothered, resulting in reduced reproduction, further hindering the eastern sand darters' population count. [6]

Distribution and habitat

The eastern sand darter can be found in many areas throughout the United States and into southern Canada. In addition to the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, it can be found in great concentration in Lakes Champlain, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Ontario. They can also be found in the St. Lawrence River drainage in Canada along with the Lake Champlain drainage in Vermont south into New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana. [5] Currently, the greatest concentration occurs in northern Alabama and eastern Tennessee.

Distribution has slowly decreased over the last few decades, and two key factors could be the cause. The eastern sand darter requires clean sand substrates; hence, siltation is a major factor in their decline. Siltation decreases the quality of habitat for both egg development and adult darters by decreasing the oxygen levels within the sand in which they bury themselves. Furthermore, silted habitats can cause adult darters to not fully burrow or decrease their time burrowed which then causes them to waste energy reserves. Channel or water flow alterations, nutrient enrichment, or any other habitat modification can completely change the amount and quality of the shifting sand bars which can then turn detrimental for the eastern sand darter. [6] The increased construction of dams also has been a major factor contributing to the reduction of their habitats. Dams reduce river levels and flow, decrease oxygen levels in reservoir waters, and alter water temperatures, making it difficult for the eastern sand darter to reproduce at a comfortable temperature. [7] Dam construction adds a whole new dimension to decreasing the reproduction and survival rate for A. pellucida.

Feeding

This fish seeks its prey from the sand along the bottom of the stream or lake. Their prey items usually range in size up to 3/16 inches, but prey selection varies depending on the age of the darter. Juvenile eastern sand darters consume small crustaceans, while adults prefer midge larvae, blackfly larvae, mayflies, and caddisflies. [6] It has several species of fish predators, including rainbow trout, largemouth and smallmouth bass, and rock bass. However, since it spends extensive time buried in the sand and it has a translucent body, the eastern sand darter usually tends to be protected from predators. [7] Minnows are the eastern sand darters' biggest competitor for food, but little conflict arises between the two since the darter occupies the lowest depths of the rivers and lakes while the minnows occupy the upper water column. [8]

Taxonomy

The Eastern sand darter was first formally described as Pleurolepsis pellucidus in 1863 by the American ichthyologist Frederic Ward Putnam (1839-1915) with the type locality given as the Black River at Elyria, Ohio. [9] This species forms a clade with the scaly sand darter (A. vivax) and the Southern sand darter (A. meridiana). [10]

Related Research Articles

The Sydenham River is a river in Chatham-Kent, Lambton County and Middlesex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, flowing southwest from its source west of London, Ontario and emptying into Lake Saint Clair. The length of the river is 165 kilometres (103 mi) and it drains a watershed of approximately 2,700 square kilometres (1,000 sq mi). The river flows through the towns of Strathroy and Wallaceburg. It was named after Lord Sydenham, governor of Canada from 1839 to 1841.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snail darter</span> Species of fish

The snail darter is a small species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is found in East Tennessee freshwater in the United States. First recorded in 1973, the snail darter was listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 by 1975. The species was at the center of a major environmental law controversy that involved a lawsuit seeking to halt the completion of Tellico Dam, which posed a risk of extinction for the snail darter by blocking its migratory route. The case was eventually appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled on it in its 1978 decision Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill.

<i>Ammocrypta</i> Genus of fishes

Ammocrypta is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish, commonly known as the sand darters, which is classified in the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae which also includes the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. The species in the genus occur in eastern North America in Canada and the continental United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal darter</span> Species of fish

The crystal darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. This small North American fish is found in small, moderate, and swift rivers in the drainage basins of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. It is now extirpated from a majority of its range along the Ohio River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand shiner</span> Species of fish

The sand shiner is a widespread North American species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. Sand shiners live in open clear water streams with sandy bottoms where they feed in schools on aquatic and terrestrial insects, bottom ooze and diatoms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spottail shiner</span> Species of fish

The spottail shiner or spottail minnow is a small- to medium-sized freshwater minnow. It can be found as far north as Canada and as far south as the Chattahoochee River in Georgia. These shiners live in lakes, rivers, and creeks. They occupy the rocky or sandy shorelines and bottoms of the water. One of the defining features of a spottail shiner is the black spot found at the base of the caudal fin. These shiners generally spawn from late June through July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaly sand darter</span> Species of fish

The scaly sand darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is endemic to the southeastern United States. It is found in the coastal plain area of the Mississippi River basin, typically in medium-sized streams with slow currents over sandy substrates where it feeds on midge larvae and other small invertebrates. The slender body is semi-translucent, yellowish with a dozen or so dark bars. This fish has a wide range and is relatively common, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as a "least-concern species".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red shiner</span> Species of fish

The red shiner or red-horse minnow is a North American species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. They are deep-bodied and laterally compressed, and can grow to about three inches in length. For most of the year, both males and females have silver sides and whitish abdomens. Males in breeding coloration, though, have iridescent pink-purple-blue sides and a red crown and fins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brassy minnow</span> Species of fish

The brassy minnow is a species of fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. The family Cyprinidae consists of mainly freshwater minnows and carps. The fish gets its scientific name from the Greek word Hybognathus, meaning bulging jaw, and hankinsoni from the American scientist, T.L. Hankinson. It is commonly found throughout the northern United States and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creek chubsucker</span> Species of freshwater fish

The creek chubsucker is a freshwater fish of the sucker family (Catostomidae).

The naked sand darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is found in the south-eastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western sand darter</span> Species of fish

The western sand darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is native to the central United States.

The cypress darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is endemic to fresh waters of the central and eastern United States. Its range includes drainages from the Choctawhatchee River, Florida, to the San Jacinto River, Texas, as well as the Mississippi River basin from southern Illinois and eastern Oklahoma to the Gulf of Mexico. It inhabits vegetated margins of swamps and lakes, and backwater habitats during the summer, while in winter it moves to flooded riffles and backwater bayous. It feeds mostly on small crustaceans, as well as insects and their larvae. Spawning takes place during spring and summer, with clusters of up to three eggs being laid, often stuck to the surface of dead leaves. The cypress darter has a very wide range and its population trend seems to be stable. It is a common species with numerous sub-populations, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orangethroat darter</span> Species of fish

The orangethroat darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is endemic to the central and eastern United States where it is native to parts of the Mississippi River Basin and Lake Erie Basin. Its typical habitat includes shallow gravel riffles in cooler streams and rocky runs and pools in headwaters, creeks, and small rivers, with sand, gravel, rubble, or rock substrates. It forages on the bottom for the aquatic larvae of midges, blackfly, mayfly and caddisfly, as well as isopods and amphipods. Spawning takes place in spring, the selected sites often being the upper stretches of riffles with sandy and gravelly bottoms interspersed with larger cobble. Reproductive success is high in this species. No particular threats have been identified, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackbanded darter</span> Species of fish

The blackbanded darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is native to the river systems of the southeastern United States where it is found in the states of South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. It lives over sandy or gravelly bottoms in smaller rivers and streams and its color varies depending on the different habitats in which it lives. It feeds on small insect larvae and is itself preyed on by larger fish. It spawns between February and June depending on locality. It is a common fish throughout most of its range but is rare in the Altamaha River in Georgia.

The saddleback darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is native to the eastern United States. This darter species is widespread, occurring from the Escambia River drainage west to the Mississippi River basin and as far north as the Wabash River historically. Some populations have been reported in the Tennessee River drainage. The saddleback darter is aptly named as it has 5 saddle-like patterns on its dorsum, with the first occurring near the first dorsal fin and the fifth near the caudal penduncle. Adults can attain a maximum size of about 3 inches or 7.8 centimeters. The saddleback darter typically occurs over sand and gravel runs of creeks and small to medium-sized rivers and is sometimes found in very shallow water. This darter's diet consists of invertebrates such as caddisfly larvae, beetles, mayflies, and stoneflies. The saddleback darter deposits eggs over sand and gravel shoals during the spring. This species has an average lifespan between 2 and 3 years.

The sickle darter is a recently identified freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is closely related to a well-known darter, Percina macrocephala. Discovered in 2007 in the upper Tennessee River drainage, the sickle darter is a small ,slender bodied, freshwater and benthopelagic fish that most likely feeds on small crayfish and mayflies since it shares a large mouth and long snout with its sister species. The known distribution of the sickle darter is the upper drainage of the Tennessee River of Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. It is distinguished from all other Percina darters except its sister species P. macrocephala by a dark suborbital bar and a black bar subtending a medial black spot on the base of the caudal fin. It stays in mostly rocky, sandy, or silty substrates in clear creeks or small rivers in the Appalachian Mountains. The sickle darter spawns in late winter in gravel shoals. It also has large scales which make it different from macrocephala. It's known to be extirpated from most of its home habitat mainly because of agricultural practices that cause siltation and turbidity which causes most populations of the sickle darter to be widely scattered. But where it is found, it can be observed with regularity. Taking all this into consideration, the sickle darter does not have a formal conservation status under any federal or state law although its closely related species is considered a species of concern by the TWRA. Future management plans should include finding more locations of the sickle darter and decreasing further habitat destruction in known distributions by stating it as a fish of concern by state law.

<i>Percopsis omiscomaycus</i> Species of fish

Percopsis omiscomaycus, also known as the trout-perch, the grounder or the sand minnow, is one of two species in the family Percopsidae. Its name comes from the Greek root words perc, meaning perch and opsi meaning appearance. The species name omiscomaycus is thought to be derived from a Native American word meaning trout. These are freshwater fish that prefer clear to slightly turbid water, and are found in rivers and lakes throughout North America. They are a generally small fish found in deep waters by day, but which migrate to shallower waters at night.They are most often seen washed up on beaches and are rarely seen alive or correctly identified. The trout-perch possess characteristics similar to both the trout and the perch. They are an important source of food for many predator fish such as walleye, northern pike, and lake trout. They are not a major human fishery, but are occasionally used as a bait fish.

The southern sand darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is found in the rivers draining into Mobile Bay in the southeastern United States where it inhabits sandy sections of flowing waters from streams to large rivers.

References

  1. NatureServe (2013). "Ammocrypta pellucida". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T8134A2757535. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T8134A2757535.en . Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Ammocrypta pellucida" in FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. 1 2 Daniels, R.A. (1993). "Habitat of the Eastern Sand Darter, Ammocrypta-Pellucida". Journal of Freshwater Ecology. 8 (4): 462–479. doi:10.1080/02705060.1993.9664868.
  4. Drake, D.A.R.; M. Power; M.A. Koops; S.E. Doka & N.E. Mandrak (2008). "Environmental Factors affecting growth of eastern sand darter (Ammocrypta pellucida)". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 86 (7): 714–722. doi:10.1139/Z08-037.
  5. 1 2 O'Brien, Shannon M. & Douglas E. Facey (2008). "Habitat Use by the Eastern Sand Darter, Ammocrypta pellucida, in Two Lake Champlain Tributaries". Canadian Field-Naturalist. 122 (3): 239–246. doi: 10.22621/cfn.v122i3.606 .
  6. 1 2 3 Holm, E. & N.E. Mandrak (1996). "The status of the Eastern sand darter,Ammocrypta Pellucida, in Canada". Canadian Field-Naturalist. 110: 462–469.
  7. 1 2 Daniels, R.A. (1989). "Significance in Burying in Ammocrypta-Pellucida.". Copeia. 79: 92–94.
  8. Simon, T.P. (1993). "Assessment of the range of the threatened darter, Ammocrypta pellucida, from the Maumee River basin, Indiana". Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science. 102: 139–145.
  9. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Pleurolepsis pellucidus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  10. James D. Williams (1975). "Systematics of the Percid Fishes of the Subgenus Ammocrypta, Genus Ammocrypta, with Descriptions of Two New Species". Bulletin of the Alabama Museum of Natural History (1): 1–56.