Abundance of the Brook Darter, Etheostoma burri, in Selected Black River Tributaries

We determined the abundance of the recently described brook darter, Etheostoma buni, in three tributaries of the Black River, Missouri, utilizing Petersen mark-recapture methods. In tributaries located in Johnson\u27s Shut-Ins State Park and at Mill Spring, E. bum occurred at estimated densities of 2.18 and 1.58 fish/m2, respectively. These densities were similar to those reported for orangethroat darters in an Ohio stream and were intermediate-to-high in comparison to other darter species. However, no brook darters were observed at our third study site, suggesting that E. buri may also be absent from other Black River tributaries