Silver Shiner & Banded Darter Manuscript Submitted To Southeastern Naturalist

I just sent the manuscript, "First Records of Notropis photogenis (Silver Shiner) and Etheostoma zonale (Banded Darter) in the Flint River, Alabama", to the journal Southeastern Naturalist. It's formatted as a Note, a short article, in this case describing finding these two species in the Flint River, and briefly why it's significant. Brian Thompson is the co-author. As always, I hope they like it. The Abstract follows:

Notropis photogenis (Silver Shiner) and Etheostoma zonale (Banded Darter) were collected from the Flint River in Madison County, Alabama, a northern tributary to the Tennessee River. Both species have been found in other northern tributaries to the Tennessee River in Alabama, but have never been reported from the Flint River. Because of its sensitivity to anthropogenic pollution, the Silver Shiner deserves Special Concern status in Alabama.

New Dissecting Microscope

I now have a new Olympus SZX7 dissecting microscope with a high-quality camera built in to it, and a dedicated PC to handle the images. I hope to use this both on another driftnet project at Borden Creek in the Sipsey Wilderness, and also with gonadal tissues of silver shiners and blotched chubs. Hopefully the learning curve won't be too long.

The 11-KT Paper Has Been Accepted

The paper by Jennifer and me, "Investigation of the Relationship Between the Steroid Hormone 11-Ketotestosterone and Reproductive Status in the Fish Lythrurus fasciolaris", has been fully accepted by American Midland Naturalist. It will be in the July 2012 issue. I'm glad to be able to get it into print, since it was a lot of work and shows some interesting things about the scarlet shiner. With any luck I can do some more work along these lines, but it takes some money and even more importantly someone willing to do a lot of detail-oriented work. Anyway, here's the final Abstract for the piece:

In teleost fishes, 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) is a critical androgen regulating primary and secondary sex characteristics. In the sexually dimorphic Lythrurus fasciolaris (Cyprinidae), dominant nuptial males display heavy tuberculation on the head and nape, dark dorsolateral vertical bars, and dramatic red coloration in the fins, venter, and operculum area. This study aimed to quantify 11KT circulating levels in males and females, and determine any correlation with key male reproductive status indicators such as nuptial coloration, size, and gonadosomatic index (GSI). Thirty-one wild-caught L. fasciolaris were divided into three groups according to reproductive status: dominant males (D), non-dominant males (ND) and females (F). Physical measurements, digital imaging, and blood samples were used to quantify body size, GSI, nuptial coloration, and 11KT circulating levels. Dominant males had higher 11KT levels and nuptial coloration traits compared to ND males and females (red area, hue, saturation), and a higher GSI than ND males. Non-dominant males had more 11KT and coloration than females. Increased 11KT levels corresponded to increased coloration, size and GSI.