Tennessee Shiner - Life History

Life History

The Tennessee shiner reaches a maximum length of 82 millimetres (3.2 in). The Tennessee shiner has been classified as high resiliency, and is capable of doubling its population in an estimated 15 months. This species breeds from mid-May to late June in water temperatures that range from 17 to 25°C, and individuals in breeding color have been collected in May and June. How often an individual can breed during a breeding season is unknown. The Tennessee shiner reaches reproductive maturity in 1–2 years. The average clutch size for the Tennessee shiner is also unknown. There are conflicting ideas on the spawning process of this species; Outten reports Tennessee shiner holding territories over a river chub nest, whereas Etnier and Starnes report spawning over stoneroller nests. Another paper states that N. leucoidus utilizes the primitive form of spawning classified as broadcasting. This process involves the scattering of eggs and sperm with no prior preparation of the substrate . This is characterized as the most common path of reproduction in North American minnows, shiners, and darters. The exact reproductive strategy of the Tennessee shiner is not defined. This is due to the lack of research that has been conducted on this freshwater species. The average life span of the Tennessee shiner has been estimated at 3–5 years in the wild. There are no documented human impacts on the life history of this species in its range, with the exception of the Pigeon River.