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Aspects of the Life History of the Sand Shiner, Notropis stramineus (Cope), in the Smoky Hill River, Kansas
Author(s) -
Summerfelt Robert C.,
Minckley Charles O.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1969)98[444:aotlho]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - notropis , fecundity , zoology , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , ecology , population , demography , sociology
Seasonal changes in mean egg diameter and gonadal weights indicated that spawning of Smoky Hill River sand shiners occurred May through August, with a peak in August. Mean egg diameter varied seasonally from 207 to 747 µ; mature eggs 650 to 747 µ. Spawning in the hot‐dry portion of the summer, water temperature, 21–37 C, apparently enhances the survival of the young; flooding and heavy suspended solids usually characterize early summer river conditions. Spawning fish were of age‐classes I and II and averaged 49.1 mm total length. The positive direct‐proportion relationship between body weight and fecundity had the equation: E c = 223.2 + 0.601 W, where E c is the egg count, and W is the weight of the female in grams. In November‐December samples, age‐class‐0 fish were 31.6 mm mean total length and age‐class‐I 47.6 mm. The conversion factor for standard length to total length was 1.28 SL. The K factor did not differ significantly between sexes; the overall K factor and 95% confidence limits was 1.66 ± 0.05 for 235 shiners. The K factors were significantly larger for those taken in June and July 1966 compared to those in the June and July 1965 collections. Sizes of fish did not differ significantly between these dates and the differences may have been due to a depleted food supply in 1965 caused by flooding and suspension of large quantities of heavy solids. Variations among the numbers of shiners collected from three stations were correlated, not independent. Variation in population density of sand shiners coincides with that of other species collected. The habitat, like the vernacular name, is shallow, sandy, midstream portions of highly variable streams and rivers.