>hi pat...
>thinks for sharing your knowledge.
>
>so let me see...
>taking a redline darter.
>in a couple local sites all i seem to collect are 2" max individuals. tho
>very beautiful and healthy are both the males and females i dont see any
>larger ones. these 2 or 3 sites are small urban streams. shallow, clean.
>however at other larger, deeper, more flowing sites ( rivers ) i can collect 3 even 3.5" males.
>
Interesting. All from the same stream system? What do the small urban
sites look like in late summer/early fall? Is there enough flow for a
3" darter to stay wet?
One thing that I forgot to mention is to remember that folks are still
identifying new species. The redline darter is likely a complex of
species and, just like the orangethroat complex, different species reach
different maximum sizes (Rob Wood at St. Louis U is working on the
redlines). For example, Geoff could collect "normal" size orangethroats
from Jessamine or Hickman Creek (Kentucky River; but they're not
actually real orangethroats!), and then drive 10 miles and collect
monsters in the Dix River (the Sheltowee darter, which is endemic to the
Dix River). Yet another reason (reminder) for all of us to return
fishes only to their place of capture.
>perhaps i am just not lucky or maybe the big individuals in these urban
>streams have moved to a different site downstream... seeking larger flows.
>
Certainly possible.
>such as do redlines migrate? do they stay in a established range?
>
Good question. Some folks have actually started tagging darters (we now
have the technology) and following their movements, but as you can
imagine the recapture rates aren't too high yet. Give it a few more years.
>as a bit of humor ... ive never seen one bigger but there must
>be some monster redlines deep down that are 6 or 7 years old. lumbering
>beasts. :)
>
If they exist then don't stick out your finger or you'll lose it! ;)
Pat
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