Goldstripe Darters (Etheostoma parvipinne) Spawn in Isolated Vernal Pools and Seepages in Alabama

Bryson G. Hilburn^1,2,*, Zachariah D. Alley^3,4,David Pounders^3,5, Julia E. Wood^3,6,Caleb Mullins^3,7, Jason E. Dattilo⁸, and Michael W. Sandel^5,9

¹Fish Biodiversity Lab, School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849. ²Current address - Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. ³Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of West Alabama, Livingston, AL 35470. ⁴Edge Engineering and Science, Houston, TX 77084. ⁵Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762. ⁶Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8106. ⁷Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State University, 419 E College Street, Nacogdoches, TX 75962. ⁸Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, River and Stream Fisheries Program, 3608 Fairground Road, Montgomery, AL 36110. ⁹Fish and Wildlife Research Center, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 23, Issue 2 (2024): N13–N23

First published early online: 28 May 2024

Abstract
Etheostoma parvipinne (Goldstripe Darter) is an ecologically enigmatic percid native to lowland streams in the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. Our observations from 6 separate localities across Alabama suggest that Goldstripe Darters seasonally move from resident stream habitats to isolated seepages and vernal pools to spawn. Specifically, at 6 separate sites in Alabama we documented Goldstripe Darters inhabiting and reproducing in isolated seasonal pools and semi-isolated seeps with other vernal pool spawners including mole salamanders (Ambystoma spp.). Notably, some vernal pools used by Goldstripe Darters for reproduction were located >100 m away from the nearest creek with no observed aquatic connection or atop incised stream banks several meters tall. Similar behaviors have been documented in some members of the revised clade Psychromaster and Etheostoma trisella (Trispot Darter), which are listed as special concern, threatened, or endangered by federal and state agencies. While the Goldstripe Darter was previously hypothesized to spawn in seasonal floodplain and spring seepage habitats, we are the first to document this behavior; however, it is not yet clear if this behavior is range wide. Our observations will have implications on the understanding of the evolution of complex reproductive life histories in the North American darters.

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