Banded darter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Banded darter |
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| Genus: |
Etheostoma
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| Species: |
zonale
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The banded darter (Etheostoma zonale) is a small, colorful freshwater fish. It belongs to the same family as perches, called Percidae. You can find this fish only in the eastern United States. It lives mostly in the Mississippi River area, from Kansas to New York, and from Minnesota to Arkansas and Alabama.
Banded darters like to live in fast-moving parts of rivers called riffles. These areas have lots of rocks, gravel, and small boulders. They eat tiny insect larvae from the riverbed. Larger fish and birds often eat banded darters. When it's time to lay eggs in spring, male darters become very colorful. Females lay their eggs on water plants. This fish is quite common, so it is not considered in danger.
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What Does the Banded Darter Look Like?
The banded darter is a small fish. It usually grows to about 5.3 centimeters (about 2 inches) long. The longest ones can reach up to 7.8 centimeters (about 3 inches).
Where Do Banded Darters Live?
The banded darter is one of the most common darters in North America. There are about 250 different types of darters in total!
You can find the banded darter across much of the eastern United States. Its main home is the Mississippi Basin. This area stretches from the Verdigris River in Kansas to the Allegheny River in New York. It also goes from the Minnesota River in Minnesota down to the Ouachita River in Arkansas and the Tennessee River in Alabama.
Banded darters are also found in other rivers. These include the Savannah River and streams around Lake Michigan. Sometimes, these fish have been moved to new streams where they didn't live before. For example, they were introduced to the Susquehanna River in New York.
When the banded darter moved into the Susquehanna River, it started competing with a native fish. This native fish is called the tessellated darter. Scientists found that the banded darter was better at finding homes and food. This competition caused the tessellated darter to change its mouth shape over time. This change likely helped it find food differently.
How Do Banded Darters Live?
Banded darters prefer to live in swift, moving water. They like areas with medium to large cobble (round stones), gravel, or small boulders. They often live in water deeper than 25 centimeters (about 10 inches). This is usually in the middle of a river or creek.
What Do Banded Darters Eat?
The banded darter's diet includes small insect larvae. They especially like midge larvae, mayfly larvae, and caddisfly larvae. Studies show they prefer midges over mayflies or caddisflies. They also eat more during the day than at night.
What Temperatures Do They Like?
Banded darters can live in a wide range of water temperatures. They can survive in water from 32 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (0 to 27 degrees Celsius). However, they prefer water that is between 72 and 76 degrees Fahrenheit (22 to 24 degrees Celsius).
Who Eats Banded Darters?
Since they are small fish, banded darters have many predators. Larger fish, like smallmouth bass and largemouth bass, eat them. Birds that eat fish, such as herons and egrets, also hunt them.
Banded darters also compete with other darter species for living space. For example, they compete with the tessellated darter in the Susquehanna River.
How Do Humans Affect Them?
Human activities can impact where banded darters live. For instance, building dams slows down river flow. This can destroy the fast-moving habitats that darters need. On the other hand, climate change might help them. Warmer water could allow them to spread to new areas.
Banded Darter Life Cycle
The first banded darter was officially described in 1868. It was found by Edward Drinker Cope in the Holston River in Virginia.
When Do They Lay Eggs?
Banded darters usually lay their eggs in late spring, during April and May. Males start to get their bright breeding colors in February. A banded darter can start laying eggs when it is one year old. The bright colors help males attract females.
How Do They Lay Eggs?
When it's time to breed, male darters become territorial. They will chase away other banded darters from their chosen area. Most pairs will court and lay eggs in a small area, about 1 square meter.
The female banded darter attaches her sticky eggs to algae or other water plants. During breeding, the male will gently touch the female's head and neck with his head or fins. Once the female starts to wiggle, the male quickly gets on top of her. They both quiver together and move forward a short distance. This process usually takes less than one second. The eggs are fertilized outside the female's body. After the female lays her eggs, the male swims away.
Scientists have observed how long it takes pairs to mate. The shortest time was four minutes, while the longest was 54 minutes. A female banded darter can lay anywhere from 10 to about 100 eggs at a time.
Protecting Banded Darters
There isn't a lot of information about how to manage and protect the banded darter. Since it is one of the most common darters in North America, it is not on the federal endangered species list.
Most of the work to protect this fish is done by state agencies. For example, the banded darter is protected in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Some ideas for protecting banded darters include:
- Stopping the building of dams, which can destroy their habitat.
- Preventing pollution in the streams and rivers where they live.
Banded darters are sensitive to silt (fine dirt) and pollution. Run-off from nearby land can also affect them. In Michigan, state agencies are watching their habitats and checking the water quality. If a dam is built in a river where banded darters live, it can cause a lot of damage to their home.
