Chronology of Appearance and Habitat Partitioning by Stream Larval Fishes

Abstract

Larval and juvenile representatives of 28 species were collected from a small stream in Kentucky in 1982 with light traps, push seine, and drift net. The majority of both larvae and juveniles were captured in the light trap; fewer than 1% were taken in drift samples. All but three species were taken at least once in the light traps. Most larvae and juveniles congregated along shoreline areas and used most of the eight habitat areas sampled to some extent. Sunfish species tended to stay in the same general shoreline areas where spawned, whereas riffle-current species left their nest sites as larvae and moved to shoreline nursery areas. Species captured as drift specimens were mostly channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus and flathead catfish Pylodictis olivaris. With exceptions, the order of species appearance was cottids, percids, catostomids, cyprinids, centrarchids, and ictalurids. There was considerable overlap of species and resource sharing was extensive. The duration of larva occurrences ranged from 16 weeks for logperch Percina caprodes to 3 weeks for catfish. Spawning duration was influenced by individual speciesˈ behavior and water influxes.