Life History
The yellowfin madtom has a relatively short lifespan and an even shorter reproduction span. Generally, the yellowfin madtom lives 3–4 years, the recorded maximum of 4 years, and are most often found in the pools and streams in which they were born. The yellowfin madtom’s breeding season begins in late May and continues through late July. The males are able to mate once during the breeding season and build and guard the nests containing between 30-100 eggs. Females on the other hand are able to reproduce twice in one breeding season and produce 121-278 eggs per breeding season, with an average of 89 hatching. Hatching usually takes eight days and the male guards the eggs and hatchlings for two weeks. N.flavipinnis reaches sexual maturity at 2 years of and usually lives through two breeding seasons. Oftentimes the yellowfin madtom uses backwater pools and streams that are as clean and siltless as possible to breed and bury their eggs beneath slabs of rock. Human interference on yellowfin madtom populations includes man made dams and bad agricultural practices. The dams are able to separate yellowfin madtom populations from coming into contact with one another and possibly could separate a population from itself if placed just right. Another human inhibitor on yellowfin madtom populations is the increase is cattle near the streams that yellowfin madtom inhabits, which increases siltation in the water. The increased siltation in the streams of the yellowfin madtom has proven to be a strong opponent for population growth among the species.
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