Darter Reproductive Seasons Author(S): Clark Hubbs Reviewed Work(S): Source: Copeia, Vol
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Darter Reproductive Seasons Author(s): Clark Hubbs Reviewed work(s): Source: Copeia, Vol. 1985, No. 1 (Feb. 11, 1985), pp. 56-68 Published by: American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1444790 . Accessed: 10/01/2012 14:26 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Copeia. http://www.jstor.org 56 COPEIA, 1985, NO. 1 changes in kinosternid turtles. J. Herpetol. 6:183- . 1938. Seasonal changes in the testes of the 189. musk turtle Sternotherusodoratus L. J. Morphol. 63: MCPHERSON, R. J., AND K. R. MARION. 1981. Sea- 301-317. sonal testicular cycle of the stinkpot turtle (Ster- SAINTGIRONS, H. 1982. Reproductive cycles of male notherus odoratus) in central Alabama. Herpetolog- snakes and their relationships with climate and fe- ica 37:33-40. male reproductive cycles. Herpetologica 38:5-16. MITCHELL, J. C. 1982. Population ecology and de- SPEAT, R. H. 1973. Seasonal variation in the tubular mography of the freshwater turtles Chrysemyspicta and interstitial areas of the testes in Sternothaerus and Sternotherusodoratus. Unpubl. PhD Dissertation odoratus L. Unpubl. MS Thesis, East. Ill. Univ., Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville. Charleston. (in press). Variation in the male reproductive STEEL,R. G. D., ANDJ. H. TORRIE. 1960. Principles cycle in a population of painted turtles, Chrysemys and procedures of statistics. McGraw-Hill Book Co., picta, from Virginia. Herpetologica. New York. MOLL, E. 0. 1973. Latitudinal and intersubspecific TINKLE, D. W. 1961. Geographic variation in repro- variation in reproduction of the painted turtle, duction, size, sex ratio and maturity of Sternotherus Chrysemyspicta. Herpetologica 29:307-318. odoratus(Testudinata: Chelydridae). Ecology 42:68- . 1979. Reproductive cycles and adaptations, 76. p. 305-331. In: Turtles perspectives and research. ZAR,J. H. 1974. Biostatistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, M. Harless and H. Morelock (eds.). John Wiley and Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Sons, New York. ZUG, G. R. 1972. Walk pattern analysis of crypto- NIE, N. H., C. H. HULL, J. G. JENKINS, K. STEIN- diran turtle gaits. Anim. Behav. 20:439-443. BRENNERAND D. H. BENT. 1975. Statistical package for the social sciences. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF York. RICHMOND, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23173. Ac- RISLEY,P. L. 1933. Observations on the natural his- cepted 20 April 1984. tory of the common musk turtle, Sternotherusodor- atus (Latreille). Pap. Mich. Acad. Sci. Arts Lett. 17: 685-711. Copeia, 1985(1), pp. 56-68 Darter Reproductive Seasons CLARK HUBBS Twenty-nine darters have reproductive intervals demonstrated and geographic variation is shown for three species based on ten or more populations. The data from most populations are in accord with an hypothesis of multiple spawning by individual females. The length of darter reproductive seasons varies with latitude. Populations from the southern United States breed over longer intervals than those from more northern locations. Most of the difference is based on earlier initiation in southern than in northern regions; whereas, the end of the breeding season tends to be similar at different latitudes. The spawning season is longer in stenothermal habitats than it is in eurythermal habitats (of various latitudes). The data are in accord with hypotheses that photoperiod plays a major role in reproductive initiation and temperature is important in reproductive termination. REPRODUCTIVE seasons have been ascer- peated efforts. Although Page (1983) opined tained for many darters (Page, 1983; that only one clutch was produced each season, Kuehne and Barbour, 1983); however, most re- my data suggest long reproductive seasons with relate ports to observations of spawning occur- multiple spawnings (Hubbs, 1983). Addition- rence during collection intervals with few re- ally, Gale and Deutsch (1985) provide data dem- ? 1985 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists HUBBS-DARTER REPRODUCTIVE SEASONS 57 onstrating multiple spawnings for Etheostoma females; it is presumed that females in natural olmstedi in Pennsylvania. My opinion that most populations were equally ripe at additional in- darters have multiple clutches has been ex- termediate dates as all samples from within the pressed in several papers but the data base has appropriate reproductive seasons had numer- been presented in detail only in Hubbs and ous reproductive females. The data reported Strawn (1957a) who showed that groups of ova are for occurrence of reproductive females, thus sequentially differentiated from the pool of im- the seasons recorded may be shorter than those mature ova. Herein, I report known dates of that occur in nature as some females may have reproduction for several populations of three been reproductive before and/or after those darters and for one or more populations of 26 dates recorded in my data. additional species. Those data are in general The localities reported here are the same as agreement with "Natural History" data pre- those reported in Hubbs (1967). Commonly, sented by Page (1983) and Kuehne and Barbour adjacent localities are pooled. Most sampling (1983) except that my information often sub- was from the years 1954 through 1967. As sev- stantially extends the previously reported re- eral leap years occurred within that time frame, productive seasons. Feb. is considered to have 29 days. MATERIALS AND METHODS ETHEOSTOMA LEPIDUM The data reported here are derived primarily The greenthroat darter reproductive season from my previous hybridization experiments has been reported as Oct. or Nov. through May (Hubbs, 1967). The procedures were to obtain with populations in stenothermal environments darters from a variety of geographic locations having a longer spawning season than those in and return them to Austin. The stocks were more eurythermal environments (Hubbs and maintained without feeding at ca 15 C. Females Strawn, 1957a). These data reported here (Fig. with clear, translucent eggs were considered to 1) corroborate that report. It should be noted be ripe and used for hybridization (or control) that the more stenothermal environments (S. experiments. During most experiments some Concho, Mt. Home, S. Guadalupe) have longer eggs developed embryos that hatched into suc- recorded reproductive seasons than the more cessful larvae; therefore, this conservative mea- eurythermal extensively collected environ- sure of reproduction is used here. Only those ments (Hunt, Ingram, Junction). The green- females whose eggs were fertilized are reported. throat darter is basically a springrun species. If I were to use clear, translucent eggs as the Thus, it is scarce or absent from very eury- index for reproduction, an occasional addition- thermal locations. Collectively (all populations al reproductive day would have been reported pooled) greenthroat darter eggs are shown to (especially for species that were tested infre- have been fertilized on 178 of 181 days in Nov. quently and their reproductive criteria not as through April (the exceptions are 20 Feb., 31 well understood). Females held under those lab- March, 25 April). Thus the species is intensively oratory conditions ceased producing eggs in 4 reproductive for six months and reproduction to 5 days after 50 to 90% of them had ovulated. is also recorded for Sept., Oct., May and June, Consequently, it is apparent that at least half, or at least some level of reproduction demon- and presumably all, females were in reproduc- strated for 10 months. Additionally, I record tive cycle at the times of capture. Samples early translucent eggs from females obtained in Blue or late in the reproductive seasons reported here Spring, New Mexico, in Aug. 1983; Hubbs and or of poorly understood species may have had Strawn (1957a) recorded breeding females smaller fractions of females reproductive, but (based on translucent eggs) in July. this occurred in fewer than 1% of the samples. At the South Guadalupe locality, greenthroat For the data reported here female capture was darter females were reported to be reproduc- up to five days prior to the recorded date. Each tive in June, July and Aug. (Hubbs and Strawn, date is considered as a datum even though that 1957a) (the present report records fertilized eggs date may have been represented by 50 ripe fe- from that locality in the other nine months). males on each of three separate years. Each year That paper also reported spawning (the number had similar reproductive seasons, thus pooling of eggs spawned was equivalent to the number of years did not distort the data base. of ripe eggs in dissected females) in the labo- The data are for known occurrence of ripe ratory (with densities equivalent to those on 58 COPEIA, 1985, NO. 1 Etheosfoma lepidum I I I I I I I I I S. Concho- emoemoem. ? - - " - * - San Saba- Junction- Austin- Kerrville- Mt.Home- N. Guad - Ingram- Sept Oct Nov Dec Jon Feb Mar Apr May Jun Hunt- S. Guod- Frio - Fig. 1. Known reproductive dates for Etheostoma lepdum from 12 regons. Nueces- Fig ] Known. reproductivedates for Etheostomalepidum from ]2 regions. spawning riffles) every 4.9 days at 19.6 C and are seldom collected and thus seldom recorded every 4.8 days at 20.4 C [the average temper- as ripe. The data reported here parallel those ature of central Texas springs is ca 20 C (Hubbs, previously reported for the same species in Tex- 1971)]. As Hubbs and Martin (1965) showed as by Hubbs (1961) and by Hubbs et al. (1968). that greenthroat darter females lay eggs pri- They do extend the initiation of reproduction marily in daylight, it is assumed that the clutches into late Oct.