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Whirligig
beetles
Whirligig
beetles can be found swirling in groups on the top of still water. Each
whirligig eye is split in half; the lower portion sees well under water
while the upper portion is adapted for seeing above the water.
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Backswimmer
Like
the water scorpions and giant water bugs, backswimmers are true bugs, are
predators, possess piercing mouthparts and breath air. Backswimmers have
the unique behavior of swimming upside down, aided by their keel-shaped back and
oar-like hind legs. A bubble of air under their wings allows them to
breath air underwater.
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Longear
sunfish Lepomis megalotis
The
strikingly-colored longear sunfish are most abundant in moving steams and rivers
with sandy or rock bottoms. It is found in a wide range of streams located
as far north as the Ozarks and as far south as the Gulf of Mexico.
Longears will eat most any insect (adult or larvae), small fish, fish eggs, or
fry (including it's own) that it can fi tin it's mouth. Males guard the
nests of eggs after mating, chasing the mother and other females away.
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Why
don't we have more fish in this tank?
Longear
sunfish individuals aggressively defend space form other longears and from
other sunfish. This is especially true of males at breeding time.
In
nature, longear males either nest solitarily or in "colonies" of
various sizes. Recent evidence suggests that these colonies form
because the males prefer to be in colonies, not because females prefer
colonial males. Solitary males get more matings than colonial males
and large males tend to have solitary nests.
Colonial
males frequently have mates stolen by neighboring males.
Some
biologists have suggested that longear breeding colonies form because group
nesting allows subordinate males to obtain access to females, perhaps by grouping
around a large, preferred male.
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Big
ears are sexy
A
recent study found that longear females prefer males with longer
"ears" (opercular flaps) -- females spent more time with and displayed
longer to males with longer flaps.
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Sneaky
sneaky
In
some populations, not all longear males defend a nest. Rather, like
several other sunfish (e.g., bluegill), some males become reproductively mature
at a smaller size than the territorial males. They fertilize eggs by
dashing into a territorial male's nest when a female is present. These
males are referred to as "sneaker males."
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