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5 <br />that seems appropriate. In many cases, the reproductive behavior <br />is not yet known. But one can make reasonable guesses about such <br />behavior, based on the general pattern of that family of fishes. <br />The one cyprinid and one characid probably broadcast their <br />eggs, perhaps on plants. It is unlikely that they engage in <br />parental care. The mating system itself could vary from pair to <br />group spawning, or even lekking (a remarkable mating system in <br />which males gather on an "arena" and are visited by females who <br />come to mate then depart). <br />I have observed one cyprinodontid, Cyprinodon bifasciatus, <br />spawning in a warm spring in November. Males defended <br />territories over small rocky outcrops on the silty bottom, and <br />females came to them and spawned there. That is typical of many <br />cyprinodontids, and the other two species there probably have <br />similar behavior. The males provide minimal care of the eggs by <br />driving away juveniles and nonspawning females. <br />Darters, the family Percidae, are diverse but most commonly <br />have a mating system similar to that of the Cyprinodontidae. <br />Males receive eggs of females, which are laid in gravel, under <br />rocks, and the likes. Paternal care is minimal but more <br />extensive than that of the cyprinodontids. <br />The mating systems of centrarchids are often lek-like, with <br />groups of males building nests together, as in the genus Lenomis. <br />Largemouth bass also build nests; but in keeping with their <br />feeding behavior of a roaming predator, they space their nests. <br />The two types of centrarchids receive one or more females and <br />provide some care of the eggs; the largemouth bass even protects <br />its fry. The two types of centrarchids occur in the basin.