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Variation in Clutch Size and Ovum Size of the Snubnose Darter, Etheostoma simoterum (Cope), from Two Populations in Tennessee

Abstract I studied variation in clutch size and ovum size of the snubnose darter Etheostoma simoterum from three sites in Bluewater Creek in southern Tennessee which I compared to published data for a population from Brush Creek in northern Tennessee. Females 29–44 mm standard length (SL) from Bluewater Creek (n = 54) produced 25–96 (x̄ = 63) eggs per clutch. SL-adjusted clutch sizes varied among the localities within Bluewater Creek with the largest mean clutch size being 1.14 times greater than the smallest. Mean diameter of unovulated ripe eggs in individual females ranged from 1.15–1.34 mm (x̄ = 1.24 mm diam) and mean egg mass ranged from 251–380 (x̄ = 312) μg. Both metrics showed significant correlations with SL. Females from Brush Creek produced significantly larger SL-adjusted clutches than females from Bluewater Creek, but egg diameters did not differ significantly between populations. Comparison of the two populations shows interesting geographic variation in clutch size that may result from racial or ecotypic differences. An alternative explanation is that food availability caused proximal nongenetic variation in clutch size.