Scarlet shiner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Scarlet shiner |
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The scarlet shiner (Lythrurus fasciolaris) is a freshwater fish. It lives naturally in the eastern parts of the United States.
Contents
Appearance and Colors
Scarlet shiners are named for the bright red color of the males during breeding season. Their fins – top, tail, bottom, and side fins – turn a vibrant red. The fin on their back often has a dark spot near its base. Females and males not ready to breed are usually less colorful. They might have a faint red on their fins.
Adult scarlet shiners are usually about 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.5 cm) long. The biggest ones can reach about 4 inches (10 cm).
You can tell scarlet shiners apart from a similar fish called the redfin shiner. Scarlet shiners have four to eleven dark stripes, like tiger stripes, across their back and upper sides. These stripes are easier to see on males. Scarlet shiners also have thinner bodies that are flattened from side to side. They have fewer rays in their anal fin, usually nine to eleven. Even without the bright red, non-breeding males and females have a shiny silver-blue color. Their backs are dark, and their bellies are lighter, white or cream-colored.
Where They Live
Scarlet shiners live in freshwater environments that are warm, like subtropical areas. They prefer clear water and streams with a faster flow. They like stream bottoms made of rocks, pebbles, or gravel.
You can mostly find scarlet shiners around the Ohio River basin. Their range goes as far south as Eagle Creek in Kentucky. They live in southwestern Ohio, reaching the Scioto River and areas further west. They are also found in the Little River basin in Tennessee, which connects to the Tennessee River. From there, they go down into northern Alabama and parts of West Virginia and Virginia.
Sometimes, scarlet shiners have been moved by humans to new places. For example, they have been introduced into parts of the Ohio River basin, like the Muskingum River drainage. You might also find them in the Cumberland River areas in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.
Their Environment and Food
Adult scarlet shiners mostly eat small creatures without backbones that live in the water. These are called aquatic invertebrates. Scarlet shiners can also be hosts for tiny young mussels, like the Pyramid Pigtoe mollusk in Kentucky.
Scarlet shiners live in small to medium-sized streams. These streams can be slow-moving or have clear, flowing water. They prefer stream bottoms with rougher materials like rocks, pebbles, or gravel, and a medium current. They can handle a little cloudy water. However, they cannot survive in water with a lot of silt or mud. Too much silt can block oxygen for them and their eggs. They do not do well with very cloudy water, heavy silt, or low oxygen levels. In the middle of winter, scarlet shiners move to deeper, calmer pools of water.
Bigger fish, like trout, often eat scarlet shiners. These predators live in the same streams. Because of this, scarlet shiners are often missing from streams where trout live, especially in high mountain areas.
Other fish that live in the same streams compete with scarlet shiners for food and space. Some examples include the striped shiner, bluntnose minnow, and telescope shiner. The main competitor is the redfin shiner, which is a close relative. They tend to live in similar types of waterways. However, redfin shiners often prefer clearer streams that are located lower down.
The number of scarlet shiners goes down when human activities near streams cause too much silt to enter the water. Silt is mud or dirt that settles at the bottom. Also, when new species, like rainbow trout, are introduced by humans into streams, it can cause scarlet shiner populations to shrink or become separated. However, scarlet shiners have also been introduced into areas where they are not native, especially in Ohio.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Scarlet shiners lay their eggs once a year, usually in late spring and summer. They lay their eggs on clean sand or fine gravel in faster currents of shallow, rocky areas called riffles, or in pools. Sometimes, scarlet shiners will use the nests of larger minnows for their own eggs. Their nests are similar to those of other Lythrurus fish species.
During the breeding months, male scarlet shiners look very different from females. This is called sexual dimorphism. Breeding males often have a bright blue, shiny body with their vibrant red fins. Females have red fins too, but they are much less noticeable than the males'.
Scarlet shiners usually live for about three years. After their first year, they are old enough to reproduce. However, how well they reproduce depends on the environment. Scarlet shiners can change their bodies and breeding habits based on these conditions.
The number of scarlet shiners usually stays stable or drops a little after they lay their eggs. A decrease in their numbers can happen if they are introduced into larger bodies of water, where their groups are often smaller. An increase in predators or new species that compete for food can also cause their numbers to drop. Silt in stream waters also reduces the number of scarlet shiners. Heavy silt can suffocate their eggs, meaning fewer baby fish survive. Another reason their numbers might decline is a change in the environment. If the water is not the right temperature during their breeding season, they will wait to lay eggs until the water warms up.
Conservation Status
Currently, the scarlet shiner is considered a "least concern" species. This means they are not in danger of disappearing. States where scarlet shiners live, like Kentucky and Ohio, are actively studying them to learn more.
Scarlet shiners have never been listed as endangered or threatened. Their numbers have been quite stable or even growing in places where they naturally live or where they have been introduced. In some areas, they have even become very common. For example, in Lake Barkley in Kentucky, which is a lake made by humans, scarlet shiner populations can become very large. This happens because the new lake can increase the variety of living things at certain times of the year. However, at other times, the lake can cause problems for many species due to changes in water flow, shape of channels, high silt, too many nutrients, low oxygen, and cloudy water. Many species cannot handle these conditions.
Even though they are a "least concern" species, scarlet shiners can sometimes breed with their close relative, the redfin shiner. This happens in areas where their populations mix, like the Little River basin in Kentucky. This cross-breeding happens when scarlet shiners are introduced into streams where they did not live before. Scientists are still studying if this cross-breeding will cause either species' numbers to drop. For now, both species can be found in separate areas where their numbers are stable or plentiful.
Taxonomy
The scarlet shiner, Lythrurus fasciolaris, was first named by Gilbert in 1891. At first, it was thought to be a subspecies of another fish. But in 1996, it was officially recognized as its own unique species.
See also
In Spanish: Lythrurus fasciolaris para niños
