Eastern sand darter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eastern sand darter |
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The eastern sand darter (Ammocrypta pellucida) is a small, clear-bodied fish. It belongs to a group of fish called ray-finned fish. This darter is part of the Percidae family, which also includes perches.
You can find this fish mostly in the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. It also lives in Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes. The eastern sand darter loves streams with sandy bottoms. It also likes sandy areas in lakes. This fish eats tiny insects and their larvae. It also eats very small amounts of zooplankton. This is because its mouth is quite small. An average eastern sand darter is about 1.5 to 2 inches long. They lay their eggs in sandy waters during spring and summer.
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About the Eastern Sand Darter
What Does It Look Like?
The eastern sand darter is a small fish. It usually lives for about 2 to 3 years. However, if water pollution gets worse, their lifespan might become shorter. This fish has a body that is almost see-through. This helps it hide from other fish.
How Does It Reproduce?
Eastern sand darters lay eggs in sandy spots. They do this at the bottom of lakes and rivers. This happens in spring and summer. The water is warmest during these times. They can start having babies when they are about one year old. Male darters can mate once each breeding season. Females can mate twice. A female can lay about 350 eggs in total. The average number of eggs laid at one time is about 71.
If too much dirt and mud (called siltation) covers the sand, many eggs can be smothered. This means they won't get enough oxygen. This can lead to fewer baby darters. This then causes the number of eastern sand darters to go down.
Where Does It Live?
You can find the eastern sand darter in many parts of the United States. It also lives in southern Canada. Besides the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, it lives in the Great Lakes. These include Lakes Champlain, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Ontario. They are also found in the St. Lawrence River in Canada. You can find them from Vermont south to New York, Pennsylvania, and other states. Today, most of them live in northern Alabama and eastern Tennessee.
The number of eastern sand darters has slowly dropped. This has happened over the last few decades. Two main things cause this decline. First, these fish need clean sand. When sand gets covered with silt, it's bad for them. Siltation lowers the oxygen in the sand. This is bad for both eggs and adult darters. It makes it harder for them to bury themselves. This makes them use more energy.
Second, building dams also harms their homes. Dams change river levels and water flow. They lower oxygen levels in the water. They also change water temperatures. This makes it hard for the eastern sand darter to have babies.
What Does It Eat?
This fish finds its food in the sand. It searches along the bottom of streams or lakes. Their food items are usually very small. They are less than 3/16 inches in size. What they eat changes as they grow older. Young eastern sand darters eat small crustaceans. Adult darters prefer larvae of midges, blackflies, mayflies, and caddisflies.
Some fish like to eat eastern sand darters. These include rainbow trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and rock bass. But the eastern sand darter spends a lot of time buried in the sand. Its body is also clear. This helps it stay safe from predators. Minnows are the biggest food rivals for the eastern sand darter. But they don't fight much. This is because darters stay at the bottom of rivers and lakes. Minnows swim higher up in the water.
Who Discovered This Fish?
The eastern sand darter was first officially described in 1863. It was named Pleurolepsis pellucidus back then. An American fish expert named Frederic Ward Putnam described it. He found it in the Black River in Ohio. This fish is closely related to the scaly sand darter and the Southern sand darter.
