Behavioral and Morphological Development of Immature Hawaiian Freshwater Fishes
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1995 Behavioral and Morphological Development of Immature Hawaiian Freshwater Fishes. David Chestine Tate Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Tate, David Chestine, "Behavioral and Morphological Development of Immature Hawaiian Freshwater Fishes." (1995). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 5987. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/5987 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced frommicrofilm the master. 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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 NorthZeeb Road. Ann Arbor.Ml 48106*1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 BEHAVIORAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF IMMATURE HAWAIIAN FRESHWATER FISHES A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Zoology and Physiology by David Chestine Tate B.S., Middle Tennessee State University, 1967 M.S., Middle Tennessee State University, 1974 May 1995 OHI Number: 9538767 UMI Microform 9538767 Copyright 1995, by DMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful for the support of my wife, Anne Moore Tate, whose help and encouragement have been invaluable in completing this project. I thank Dr. J. M. Fitzsimons for his expert guidance in directing my studies and for teaching me the skills of a field biologist. I value his friendship. I am grateful to Dr. Fred Bryan for sparking my interest in larval fishes and freshwater biology, and for many hours of stimulating conversation. For their guidance and encouragement I thank the other members of my advisory committee, Dr. Earl Wiedner, Dr. Douglas Rossman, and Dr. Mark Hafner. My work in Hawai'i could not have been completed without the advice, direction, and hospitality of Dr. R. T. Nishimoto. Thanks to Darrell Kuamo'o for sharing his ideas, his samples, his pictures, and especially his stories during those 24-hour collecting sessions. Wade Ishikawa and Skippy Hau provided essential instruction about Hawaiian stream biology and ecology that contributed to the completion of my research. Thanks to William Devick whose diligence in conserving Hawai'i's streams has been inspirational. Dr. William Font’s lessons on stream fish parasites are greatly appreciated. I could not have survived the early years without Brooksie Aucoin's typing. I am grateful to Fr. Robert Nielsen and the Board of Trustees at the Episcopal School of Acadiana for granting me a sabbatical leave to begin my doctoral program, and to Hiram Goza and Lynn Blevins for their continuing support of ii my studies. Finally, for her unflagging support in over four decades of schooling, I thank Mrs. Ann Ruth Marlow Tate. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................... ii LIST OF TABLES ........................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ....................................... vii ABSTRACT ............................................. ix INTRODUCTION .......................................... 1 STUDY SITES ........................................... 6 METHODS ..... 24 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ................................ 29 Species Descriptions ............................. 29 Myomeres ......................................... 39 Recruitment Into Fresh Water ..................... 40 Schooling ........................................ 53 Predation ........................................ 58 Upstream Movement ................................ 63 APPLICATION OF RESEARCH ............................... 75 HURRICANE INIKI ....................................... 76 Introduction ..................................... 76 Materials and Methods ............................ 77 Results and Discussion ........................... 82 SUMMARY ................................................ 89 LITERATURE CITED ...................................... 92 APPENDIX A: LETTER OF PERMISSION ...................... 96 APPENDIX B: HAWAIIAN FISH NAMES ....................... 97 VITA ................................................... 98 LIST OF TABLES 1. Streams on the Hawaiian high islands in which freshwater fishes were studied .............. 19 2. Myomere counts for postlarval Hawaiian freshwater fish recruits ...................................... 40 3. Numbers of each species of gobioid postlarvae trapped at the stream-ocean interface during their recruitment into fresh water. L* concolor (LC), S. stimpsoni (SS), A. ouamengis (AG), S. hawaiiensis (SH), E. sandwicensis (ES) ....'42 4. Frequency of migration routes taken by Hawaiian freshwater fish recruits swimming into streams from the ocean. L. concolor (LC), S. stimpsoni (SS), A. au amen sis (AG) ............... 46 5. Frequency of diurnal periods and mode of onshore transport employed by Hawaiian freshwater fish recruits: L. concolor (LC), S. stimpsoni (SS), A. quamensis (AG), S. hawaiiensis (SH), E. sandwicensis (ES) ......... 47 6. Species composition of postlarval freshwater fish shoals observed in Hawaiian stream estuaries. L. concolor (LC), s. stimpsoni (SS), A. quamensis (AG), S. hawaiiensis (SH) ...... 55 7. Densities of the benthic freshwater predator, E. sandwicensis. in 2-m x 6-m plots in Honoli'i and Hakalau streams ....................... 60 8. Predation frequency on postlarval freshwater fishes by 1. sandwicensis and K. sandvicensis determined by gut examination ...................... 61 9. Size of feeding areas defended by size classes of juvenile A. quamensis and S. stimpsoni....................................... 65 10. Aggressive encounters (contests) of two S. stimpsoni juvenile morphological types with each other and with adults in Hakalau Stream ..................................... 67 11. Agonistic responses of three size classes of L. concolor to encounters with conspecifics and other gobioid species in Hakalau Stream (14 hours of observation) .......................... 70 v 12. Mean rainfall in inches from stations on Kaua'i's Na Pali Coast (Kilauea, Koloko [sic], Mohihi, Wainiha Intake) and Hawai'i's Hamakua Coast (Hakalau, Honohina, Kuka'iau, 'O'okala) (Owenby and Ezell 1992; Record of River and Climatological Observation, National Weather Service, February, 1993- June, 1994) ......................................... 87 vi LIST OF FIGURES 1. Hawaiian Islands in the mid-Pacific Ocean ....... 2 2. Southeast to northwest orientation of the Hawaiian Archipelago ...... 3 3. Kalalau Stream mouth, Kaua’i ............... 7 4. Terminal waterfall of Umauma Stream, Hawai'i .... 8 5. Hanakapi'ai Stream mouth, Kaua’i ................ 9 6. Waimea River estuary, Kaua'i ..................... 10 7. Hakalau Stream valley, Hawai'i .................. 12 8. Upper Wainiha River, Kaua'i ...................... 13 9. Midreaches of the Hanapepe River, Kaua'i ........ 14 10. Location of stream study sites on Hawai'i ........ 15 11. Location of stream study sites on Kaua’i ......... 16 12. Location of stream study sites on Maui ........... 17 13. Location of stream study site on O'ahu ........... 18 14. Estuary at Hakalau S t r e a m ........................ 22 15. Low-water bridge at the head of the estuary at Hakalau S t r e a m ................................. 23 16. Ventral view of melanophore distribution in Hawaiian freshwater fish postlarvae (drawings by Darrell Kuamo'o) ............................ 30 17. Composite graph of seasonality in postlarvae recruitment into fresh water by all five species of Hawaiian freshwater fishes ......... 43 18. Seasonal recruitment rates into fresh water by native Hawaiian stream fishes .............. 44 19. Diel periodicity of recruitment into