Channel darter (Percina copelandi) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 5

Habitat

Definition

The habitat characteristics preferred by the channel darter were described by Goodchild (1994), McAllister and Coad (1974), and Scott and Crossman (1973). The channel darter prefers pools and margins of riffles of small to medium-sized rivers over sand and gravel substrate. This fish has been found in lakes along sand and gravel beaches with gentle wave action and slow current. In large rivers channel darters have been found in shallow water with slow current sufficient to remove sediment from the rock, sand or gravel substrate. Channel darters migrate short distances to spawning grounds in the spring and early summer to areas with moderate to fast current and a gravel or rubble substrate.

The sites where channel darters were captured in Quebec were described as located in undisturbed rivers along forested or agricultural areas with natural shorelines and good water quality (Lapointe 1997). Dumas (1996) also described the habitat characteristics of the channel darter in Quebec. Channel darters captured in the Rivière Truite were taken from locations where the river was wide and shallow. Water depth was less than 50 cm with a sand and gravel substrate. In the Rivière Anglais, channel darters were captured where the water depth was less than 1 m deep with slow to no current in agricultural areas with a sand and gravel substrate. There was vegetation along the shoreline and some vegetation in the water.

In Ontario, similar habitat descriptions were provided for channel darter specimens captured in the Trent River during 2001. Specimens were captured in shallow water along fast flowing gravel and rubble riffles with boulders and along shallow gravel shoals (Alan Dextrase, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR), personal communication). Habitat descriptions also were provided in the OMNR field collection records for the channel darter specimens that were captured in the St. Clair River during 1996, the Skootamatta River during 1997 and Moira Rivers during 1999. In the St. Clair River, maximum water depth was 1.6 m with no or slow current. The substrate was composed of sand, gravel, and clay with some submergent and emergent macrophytes. The Skootamatta River collection sites were sparsely vegetated with a sandy substrate with a small amount of gravel. The current was slow and the water depth was less than 1.2 m. In the Moira River, the substrate was composed of rubble, gravel, and sand. The channel darter specimens were captured in small shallow pools less than 0.5 m deep located behind boulders in riffle areas with medium current.

The recent descriptions of channel darter habitat provided for Quebec and Ontario are similar to the habitat description provided by Goodchild (1994) in the original status report.

Page details

Date modified: