Food Habits of the Juvenile and Adult Orangebelly Darter, Etheostoma radiosum, In Glover Creek, Oklahoma

The orangebelly darter, Etheostoma radiosum radiosum, and benthic macroinvertebrates were collected from Glover Creek, Oklahoma, once each quarter from October 1979 to July 1980. The diet of the orangebelly darter consisted primarily of aquatic insect larvae, especially dipterans, although a wide variety of other organisms were also eaten. Food habits were similar to those of E. r. cyanorum in the Blue River. The orangebelly darter appeared to feed selectively. The relative frequency of major food items shifted noticeably between seasons but did not always correspond to the relative abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates in the stream. Juvenile and adult orangebelly darter had significantly (p ≤ 0.05) different diets except during March 1980