Splendid darter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Splendid darter |
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The splendid darter (Etheostoma barrenense) is a small, colorful ray-finned fish. It's a type of darter fish, which belongs to the same family as perches.
This special fish lives only in the Barren River system. This river system is found in south-central Kentucky and north-central Tennessee. Splendid darters usually live in small, rocky pools on the sides of creeks and rivers.
Like many darters, the splendid darter needs a very specific environment to live and reproduce. This makes their river home sensitive to changes. Even small changes, whether natural or caused by people, can put these fish at risk. Things like how land is used and the type of soil can affect where E. barrenense lives. It's important to watch these things to keep the splendid darter and other animals in the Barren River system safe.
Building dams in rivers can also affect freshwater fish. Dams can stop fish from moving freely, which is a big problem for many species.
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Where the Splendid Darter Lives
The splendid darter is found only in the Barren River system. This area is in southern central Kentucky and northern central Tennessee. The Barren River system is part of the larger Ohio River drainage.
The area where this fish lives is quite small, between 5,000 and 20,000 square kilometers. Since it was first described in 1982, the splendid darter's home range doesn't seem to have changed much. We don't have a lot of information on how they move around. Young darters might drift with the current, but the species generally stays in its small home. Splendid darters like to spend most of their lives in deep, rocky pools and fast-moving parts of small creeks, rivers, and streams.
The specific places where E. barrenense and other darter species live are very important for how they pass on their genes. Many darter species live in the same areas. They have bright breeding colors and special behaviors that help them find mates of their own kind. This keeps the different species from mixing their genes. Without this, the unique features of each species could be lost.
What the Splendid Darter Eats
The splendid darter is a fish that lives near the bottom of freshwater habitats. Scientists haven't studied exactly what this darter eats, or what animals hunt it. However, studies on other darter species suggest that splendid darters likely eat insects. Larger fish might sometimes eat them. These fish spend most of their time feeding on the bottom and sides of streams.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Splendid darters become old enough to reproduce when they are about one year old. Most of the breeding fish found are two or three years old. Often, a two-year-old female will mate with a three-year-old male.
They breed once a year. This usually happens from March to June in Kentucky, and March to May in Tennessee. The average lifespan of a splendid darter is only three years. This means most individuals might breed only once or twice before they die. No splendid darters have been known to live longer than three years.
Many darter species have special colors during breeding season, and the splendid darter is no different. These bright colors help them find mates of their own species. This is important because different darter species often live in the same places.
Breeding is interesting to watch. Male darters set up floating territories in deep pools. Females then come to these spots. Both fish press against slanted stones to lay their eggs. Many eggs are laid at once. However, they are usually laid one by one on separate, vertical rocks in gently flowing water. Spreading out the eggs like this increases the chance that at least some of the young will survive. The eggs are round, clear, and sticky. This helps them stick to vertical surfaces and makes them hard to see, giving them a better chance to survive.
Protecting the Splendid Darter
When it comes to conservation, the splendid darter is generally considered safe worldwide. However, in Tennessee, it is seen as vulnerable. The International Union for Conservation of Nature hasn't officially checked its status, so there's some discussion about how threatened it really is. For now, we can assume the species is stable.
But, as people make more changes to the environment, it could harm the splendid darter. It could also harm other wildlife in this small ecosystem in the southeastern United States. E. barrenense is considered a species that needs protection in Tennessee. However, it is not protected everywhere it lives.
The splendid darter is considered very rare. This is based on how big its home range is, how specific its habitat needs are, and the size of its local populations. Being rare is enough reason to protect the species. Yet, there are no specific plans in place to help conserve the splendid darter.
Besides its rarity, other things could cause the splendid darter's numbers to drop. These include mixing with closely related species, damage to its habitat, and the threat of new species moving into its home. It's estimated that about 10,000 splendid darters live across their native range in Kentucky and Tennessee.
