Spawning Behavior and Nest Association by Dionda diaboli in the Devils River, Texas

Abstract Spawning behaviors of the Devils River minnow (Dionda diaboli) were observed in the Devils River, Val Verde County, Texas. Spawning in the wild was observed over active and inactive nests of centrarchids near openings of a spring. Nests consisted of cleaned gravel ca. 2–3 cm in maximum dimension. Males defended territories and occasionally spawned with receptive females over the nests. All behaviors observed in the laboratory were observed in wild fish and percentages of time that those behaviors were observed were similar.