Channel darter (Percina copelandi) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 6

Biology

General

Goodchild (1994) and Scott and Crossman (1973) summarized the general biology of the channel darter. Individuals spawn in spring or early summer; they move upstream to areas with moderate water flow, a gravel substrate and smooth rocks. Access to moderate current is essential for spawning success. Spawning is communal; males establish and defend breeding territories centred around a rock in the current. Females move from one territory to another, spawning with successive males and laying 4-10 eggs in each nest. Females lay between 350 and 700 eggs in total. There is no parental care. There is little information on generation time for this species, although eggs have been collected from 1-2 year old females (Page 1983). Channel darters are sensitive to fluctuations in water flow while spawning. Decreased water flow interrupts spawning activities resulting in fewer eggs being deposited (Goodchild 1994).

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) field collect records show that on June 21, 1999, in the Moira River, several channel darter specimens were captured in small, shallow pools behind boulders in riffle areas. The male specimens appeared to be in spawning condition, as they were very darkly coloured with bright green on the rear edge of their operculum. The water temperature was 21°C and the substrate was composed of rubble, gravel, and sand.

This species is frequently found in the same locations as the logperch, Percina caprodes and the mimic shiner, Notropis volucellus (Goodchild 1994). Lapointe (1997) noted that in Quebec, channel darters were captured with johnny darter Etheostoma nigrum, logperch Percina caprodes, trout perch Percopsis omiscomaycus, and white sucker Catostomus commersoni. Competition for spawning territory with Etheostoma nigrum and Percina caprodes may limit the abundance of Percina copelandi in Canada and possibly increase the likelihood of hybridization (Goodchild 1994).

Due to its scarcity and small size, the channel darter has not been extensively studied. Little is known about its movements or migrations.

Nutritional or Interspecific Interactions

The channel darter is a benthic feeder; it feeds on insects that live on the stream bottom. Reported foods include mayfly and midge larvae with large amounts of algae and debris (Goodchild 1994). Strange (1997) examined the stomach contents of 13 channel darters collected from the Ohio River in 1991 and found that their diet consisted of chironomid larvae and pupae with ostracods forming a minor component of their stomach contents. Channel darters have diurnal feeding habits. Strange (1997) reported that these diet items were from specimens collected two hours after dusk, which may differ from foods taken during the day.  

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