Composition and abundance of drifting fish larvae in the Canadian River, Texas

We documented the species composition and abundance of drifting ichthyoplankton in the Canadian River, Texas during the 2000 and 2001 reproductive seasons. Eleven species of fishes representing four families were collected. Arkansas River shiner (Notropis girardi), red shiner (Cyprinella lutrensis), peppered chub (Macrhybopsis tetranema), and plains minnow (Hybognathus placitus) were the most abundant species in the drift. The density of drifting larvae ranged from 0 to 10 fish 100 m(-3) in 2000 and from 0 to 4 fish 100 m(-3) in 2001. However, density was typically less than 3 fish 100 m(-3) except for June in both years when the greatest peaks in density occurred. The overall abundance of drifting larvae was much greater during the 2000 reproductive season than it was during the 2001 reproductive season. This is likely a result of consistently greater stream discharge that occurred during 2000.