Description
Potentially Misidentified Species - Etheostoma sellare- (Maryland Darter), known only from streams adjacent to the lower Susquehanna River, is endangered, and possibly extinct (Page and Burr 1991; Raesly 1995).
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animalia | Chordata | Osteichthyes | Perciformes | Percidae | Etheostoma |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
| First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Established | Expanding | Introduced | Boundary Resident | North America | North America | Fisheries(Discarded Bait) |
History of Spread
Etheostoma zonale (Banded Darter) is native to the Lake Michigan and Mississippi Basins, NY to MN, and GA to AR (Lee et al. 1980; Page and Burr 1991). In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, it was first collected in Little Pine Creek, Lycoming County PA in 1971, and was not in found there in earlier (1963-64) collections (Kneib 1972). It rapidly spread through the Susquehanna River Basin. By 1973, perhaps aided by floods from Hurricane Agnes in 1972, it reached Conowingo Reservoir, in the lower Susquehanna, a range extension of 400 km (Denoncourt et al. 1975a), and by 1984 it was established below the Conowingo Dam near the tidal waters of the Susquehanna. It has colonized Deer Creek, which enters the Susquehanna at the tideline (McKeown 1984), and at least one stream downriver of that (Raesly 1995). It has become the most abundant darter in many parts of the Susquehanna basin (Raesly et al. 1990).
One specimen of Etheostoma zonale was collected from the headwaters of the Savannah River Basin, in 1962. This may have been an introduction, but there are no further records from this region (Tsai and Raney 1974; Lee et al. 1980; Florida Caribbean Science Center 2000).
History References - Denoncourt et al. 1975b; Florida Caribbean Science Center 2000; McKeown 1984; Lee et al. 1980; ; Raesly et al. 1990; Raesly 1995; Rodhe et al. 1994; Tsai and Raney 1974
Invasion Comments
Range Status- Etheostoma zonale may be only a stray in tidal fresh waters of Chesapeake Bay due to its preference for flowing water. However, this species has spread through a reservoir (Conowingo Reservoir), so colonization of some Upper Bay streams is possible (Raesly personal communication 1995).
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
| For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| Temperature (ºC) | 11.0 | 21.0 | ||
| Salinity (‰) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Oxygen | well-oxygenated | |||
| pH | ||||
| Salinity Range | fresh-oligo |
Age and Growth
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Adult Size (mm) | 36.0 | 36.0 |
| Typical Adult Size (mm) | 59.0 | 59.0 |
| Maximum Adult Size (mm) | 81.0 | 81.0 |
| Maximum Longevity (yrs) | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Typical Longevity (yrs | 3.0 | 3.0 |
Reproduction
| Start | Peak | End | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive Season | |||
| Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event |
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| Sexuality Mode(s) | |||
| Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction |
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| Fertilization Type(s) | |||
| More than One Reproduction Event per Year |
|||
| Reproductive Startegy | |||
| Egg/Seed Form |
Impacts
Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay
Etheostoma zonale (Banded Darter) probably has no economic impacts in Chesapeake Bay or its watershed. It is not sold commercially as a baitfish. It is a likely prey for game fish, but owing to its rarity, is probably not a major forage species.
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
Etheostoma zonale (Banded Darter) probably has no economic impacts in North America. It is not sold commercially as a baitfish. It is a likely prey for game fish, but owing to its rarity, is probably not a major forage species.
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
Introduced populations of Etheostoma zonale (Banded Darter) in Chesapeake Bay are restricted to waters near the head of tide in the Susquehanna River, below Conowingo Dam (McKeown 1984).
Competition - Etheostoma zonale's colonization of Deer Creek, the last known site of the endangered Maryland Darter (Etheostoma sellare), preceded the latter's disappearance and possible extinction. E. sellare was last seen in 1988. However, in 1989, all fish species in Deer Creek declined sharply in abundance, possibly due to poor water quality, so that E. sellare's disappearance cannot be attributed solely to E. zonale's invasion (Raesly 1995). The habitat spectrum of another likely competitor, the native tessellated darter E. olmstedi, overlaps with E. zonale, but also extends to still water including lake shores (Page and Burr 1991) and vegetated tidal fresh-brackish waters of Chesapeake Bay (Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928; Musick 1972a). E. zonale may have affected E. olmstedi's abundance in the nontidal Susquehanna, since it has become the most abundant darter in many parts of the basin (Raesly et al. 1990). Diet habits of other species of darters coexisting with E. zonale (E. blennoides, E. coerulum, E. microperca) in IL and OH overlapped somewhat, but the most preferred items differed among species (Cordes and Page 1980; Wynes and Wissing 1984).
Hybridization - During the early stages of the invasion, E. zonale hybridized frequently with E. olmstedi (Raesly et al. 1990). However, this apparently did not greatly affect abundance; E. olmstedi remained abundant in the Susquehanna (Raesly 1995). E. olmstedi is abundant through most of the Chesapeake drainage, and elsewhere on the Atlantic coastal plain; as well as the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence drainage (Page and Burr 1991).
References - Cordes and Page 1980; Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928; McKeown 1984; Musick 1972a; Page and Burr 1991; Raesly et al. 1990; Raesly 1995; Wynes and Wissing 1984
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
Introduced populations of Etheostoma zonale (Banded Darter) in Chesapeake Bay are restricted to waters near the head of tide in the Susquehanna River, below Conowingo Dam (McKeown 1984). Etheostoma zonale probably has minimal impacts on other introduced fishes, except possibly as a food item for predatory fishes.
References- McKeown 1984
References
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Cordes, Lynn E., Page, Lawrence M. (1980) Feeding chronology and diet composition of two darters (Percidae) in the Iroquois River system, Illinois, American Midland Naturalist 104: 202-206
Denoncourt, Robert F.; Robbins, Timothy W.; Hesser, Robert (1975) Recent introductions and reintroductions to the Pennsylvania fish fauna of the Susquehanna River drainage above Conowingo Dam, Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science 49: 57-58
Denoncourt, Robert F.; Hocutt, Charles H.; Stauffer, Jay R. (1975) Extensions of the known ranges of Ericymba buccata Cope and Etheostoma zonale (Cope) in the Susquehanna River drainage, Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science 49: 45-46
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Tsai, C. ; Raney, E. C. (1974) Systematics of the banded darter, Etheostoma zonale (Pisces-Percidae), Copeia 1974: 1-24
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