Synopsis
There was partial spatial and complete temporal overlap of spawning by Etheostoma flabellare and E. nigrum in Marsh Creek, Wisconsin. E. flabellare tended to spawn at shallower depths than E. nigrum. Both species spawned over a greater range of depths in an area with few spawning sites (cavities under rocks or logs) than in an area where spawning sites were abundant. In the laboratory E. flabellare were able to prevent E. nigrum from occupying cavities they would have otherwise occupied. E. nigrum appear to be competitively inferior to E. flabellare in terms of spawning-site acquisition and retention, but possess several attributes that may allow them to persist in the presence of the latter.
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Cochran, P.A., Lyons, J. Temporal and spatial patterns of spawning site use by two cavity-spawning darters in a Wisconsin stream. Environ Biol Fish 15, 131–139 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005428
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005428