Multi-year reproduction in etheostoma blennioides in south-central Ohio

From April 1999 through August 2001 Etheostoma blennioides was collected from the Hocking River in south-central Ohio. Ovaries of adult females were classified by developmental stage and appropriate-stage ovaries were used to analyze clutch size, egg size and gonadosomatic index (GSI). Overall means for reproductive traits were similar to previously published estimates. No traits showed differences among years, though all traits showed significant differences across the breeding season. Clutch size was largest in the middle of the season, while egg size and GSI each declined across the season. These patterns were similar to those seen in a comparable study of E. zonale from the same stream.