Spawning conditions - Nycthemeral period of oviposition

(Night, Dawn, Day, Dusk)


Species Primary Data Secondary Data Reference
Anguilla anguilla Only a few of our eels were direclty observed to spawn a significant amount of eggs. But no doubt several other eels at intervals (especially by night) have releaseed small amount of eggs Night Boetius and Boetius, 1980
Alosa alosa Night Night Acolas et al, 2004
Alosa alosa Night Night Billard, 1997
Alosa alosa Night : during 1 and 5 a.m. Night Bruslé and Quignard, 2001
Alosa alosa During the night Night Spillmann, 1961
Alosa alosa At the beginning of the night : chiefly during 2 to 3 hours [Longer in the Alosa alosa compared to other Alosa] Night Cassou-Leins et al, 2000
Alosa alosa Takes place at night Night Maitland and Hatton-Ellis, 2000
Alosa alosa During the night [Mostly around 2 hours in the morning] Day Boisneau et al, 1990
Alosa alosa Only during the night, mostly between 2 and 3h30 in the morning Day Belaud et al, 2001
Alosa alosa During the night Night Bensettiti and Gaudillat, 2002
Alosa alosa During 2001 and 2002, the hourly distribution of spawning acts fluctuated during the spawning period but 50% of the spawning acts were observed in a short period of time (2:00 to 4:00 U.T +2). Otherwise, water temperature reduced the length of the nocturnal spawning activity by progressively shifting the reproduction peak towards the end of the night (between 4:00 to 5:00 U.T. +2) Night Acolas et al, 2006
Alosa fallax Night Night Billard, 1997
Alosa fallax Night : between midnight and 2 a.m. Night Bruslé and Quignard, 2001
Alosa fallax At the beginning of the night : chiefly during 2 to 3 hours Night Cassou-Leins et al, 2000
Alosa fallax Night : between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Night Spillmann, 1961
Alosa fallax Spawning usually takes place at dusk Dusk Doherty et al, 2004
Alosa fallax Mainly nocturnal though has been reported during daylight Day Aprahamian et al, 2001
Alosa fallax Twaite shad accumulate in pools during the, moving out onto the shallow, sandy-gravel riffle areas of 30 cm or so in depth to spawn during the night. Night Maitland and Hatton-Ellis, 2000
Alosa fallax Spawning was observed to occur between 02:00 and 4:00 h No category Lopez et al, 2007
Alosa sapidissima Midnight to early morning Day Internet, 2005
Alosa sapidissima Spawning took place in the evening after sundown and continued until midnight or even later Night Scott and Crossman, 1973
Alosa sapidissima Mainly at night Night Everly and Boreman, 1999
Alosa sapidissima Most spawning occurs after dark, taking place between 2100 and 0700 hours, peaking at 2300-2400 Night Mills, 2004
Alosa sapidissima Spawning occurs from sunset to approximatively midnight Night Burdick and Hightower, 2005
Alosa sapidissima Spawning was seen only on dark afternoons and during the evening Day Marcy, 1972
Barbatula barbatula Night Night Skryabin, 1993
Barbatula barbatula It may be assumed with some certainty that spawning takes place in darkness either by night or on dark days Day Smyly, 1955
Barbatula barbatula Spawns at night Night Sauvonsaari, 1971
Cobitis taenia Second half of the night : between 0000 h and 0600 h Night Bohlen, 1999
Cobitis taenia Reproduction is achieved mainly at dawn but in some cases during the morning or at night [other studies indicated that eggs are mostly deposited and fertilized at dawn] Day Lodi and Malacarne, 1990
Cobitis taenia Nocturnal spawning habits Night Bohlen, 1999b
Abramis brama Night Night Spillmann, 1961
Abramis brama During the day but decrease slighy during the afternoon Day Poncin et al, 1996
Abramis brama Day and night, becoming more intensive at night [Most intensive spawning last from 10.00 to 11.00 and after a break at noon from 16.00 to 17.00] Day Backiel and Zawiska, 1968
Abramis brama Mass spawning has been observed in the evening, at sunset, during windless weather. In the case of strong winds, spawning occurs at night. After a break, it continues before sunrise. Also observed intensive spawning in shallow areas of the Vistula River mostly at night, another authors at high water temperatures in the afternoon or else later and hot and windless days Day Brylinska and Boron, 2004
Alburnus alburnus By night Night Carrell and Olivier, 2001
Aristichthys nobilis Any time of the day Day Jennigs, 1988
Barbus barbus Diurnal spawner but also daytime and night [Nocturnal spawning may thus be dependent on high daily thermal amplitudes] Day Baras, 1995
Barbus barbus During the day but avoid high light intensity : mainly during morning and then end of the day, and also during the night : 2-3 hours after darkness Day Bruslé and Quignard, 2001
Barbus barbus Takes place in the morning Day Baras and Philippart, 1999
Barbus barbus During the day, mainly in the morning Day Baras , 1993
Carassius auratus Spawning most often occurs in bright sunny mornings Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Carassius auratus The spawing and laying of eggs usually commences at dawn Dawn Horvath et al, 1992
Carassius auratus Over a period from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. [Spawning usually starts at daybreak and lasts till mid-afternoon] Day Battle, 1940
Carassius auratus Ovulation occurs near dawn Dawn Kobayashi et al, 2002
Carassius carassius Preferentially during the morning Day Bruslé and Quignard, 2001
Carassius carassius Mating itself is likely to take place at night or early in the morning, whencrucian carps are known to be most active Day Aho and Holopainen, 2000
Carassius carassius Spawning activity proceeds from midnight to dawn. If environmental conditions are favourable, however, these fish can spawn the whole day Day Naca, 1989
Ctenopharyngodon idella Occurs in the morning and evening during calm weather Day Krykhtin and Gorbach, 1982
Ctenopharyngodon idella Spawning of Tone river population occurs from early morning to early evening at dawn and twilight. In induced breeding, spawninfg was observed at all times of day with peak taking place at night. Also other demonstrated the possibility of nocturnal spawning in nature Day Shireman and Smith, 1983
Cyprinus carpio Ovulation and spawing usually occur between midnight and early morning Day Aida, 1988
Cyprinus carpio Dawn and less in dusk Dawn Bruslé and Quignard, 2001
Cyprinus carpio Courtship starts early in the morning, about 6-7 am and finishes about noon Day Mickaels, 1988
Cyprinus carpio Dawn Dawn Lafaille and Crivelli, 2001
Cyprinus carpio Warm sunny morning Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Cyprinus carpio Spawning occurred mainly early in the morning until 10.00 hours, although some carp were observed just before the sunset Day Crivelli, 1981
Cyprinus carpio Spawning activity proceeds from midnight to dawn. If environmental conditions are favourable, however, these fish can spawn the whole day Day Naca, 1989
Cyprinus carpio Spawning occurs during daylight Day Smith, 2004
Gobio gobio Night Night Spillmann, 1961
Gobio gobio Le goujon pond normalement au début de la nuit Night Brunet and Hoestlandt, 1972
Hypophthalmichthys molitrix Occurs in the morning and evening during calm weather Day Krykhtin and Gorbach, 1982
Leuciscus leuciscus Night Night Spillmann, 1961
Leuciscus leuciscus Night Night Persat, 2001
Phoxinus phoxinus Observation of spawning were made at about 4.30 p.m. Day Frost, 1943
Pimephales promelas Night and early morning, no spawning occurred between dusk and 2400 hours Night Gale and Buynak, 1982
Pimephales promelas Spawning usually takes place at night, but will spawn during daylight hours Day Kerr and Grant, 1999
Pimephales promelas Eggs were always deposited during the night Night Markus, 1934
Pseudorasbora parva Morning Day Coad, 2005
Pseudorasbora parva Spawning only occrured in the morning, about 8.00 Day Makeyeva and Mokamed, 1982
Pseudorasbora parva Mating does not occur during the night Night Katano and Maekawa, 1997
Rutilus rutilus Morning, most spawning took place before 1600 hours with infrequent spawning until 2100 hours Day Diamond, 1985
Tinca tinca Normally during the afternoon, or in the early morning if the temperature is too warm Day Horoszewicz, 1983
Vimba vimba The spawning itself begins most often in the early morning Day Trzebiatowski and Narozanski, 1973
Esox masquinongy Daytime Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Esox masquinongy They spawn at night Night Pennslylvania fishes, 2006
Esox niger Spawning usually takes place during the day Day Coffie, 1998
Esox niger Daytime Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Esox niger Daytime Day Anonymous, 2006
Esox niger Spawning usually occurs during daytime Day Wynne, 2006
Esox niger The first spawning was seen at 9:45 A.M. on April 10 […] On April 11, spawning was noted at 5 P.M. Day Armbruster, 1959
Esox lucius Early in the morning Day Spillmann, 1961
Esox lucius Intensively during calm and warm afternoons Day Souchon, 1983
Esox lucius During the hottest hour of the day [mainly witout wind and clouds] Day Bruslé and Quignard, 2001
Esox lucius Spawning take place on bright days, and cool nights tend to inhibit early morning spawning Day Franklin and Smith, 1963
Esox lucius During the hours of daylight Day Toner and Lawler, 1969
Esox lucius Genrally spawning occurs during the day Day Fishbase, 2006
Esox lucius Generally, spawns during daylight hours Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Esox lucius Greatly reduced nighttime activity Night Lucas, 1992
Lota lota Always occur at night Night Van Houdt, 2003
Lota lota Night Night Persat, 2001
Lota lota Spawning activity takes place only at night and the grounds are deserted in the daytime Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Lota lota Occurs at night Night Anonymous, 2003
Lota lota Burbot spawners avoid strong light, typically they spawn at night Night Kujawa et al, 2002
Gasterosteus aculeatus Courtship of females and fertilization of eggs generally occurred on warm sunny days Day Fitzgerald, 1983
Gasterosteus aculeatus After establishing a territory, building a nest, courting females, and then fertilizing the eggs laid in its nest by one or several females, a male enters the parental phase Day Rebs et al, 1984
Gasterosteus aculeatus Three-spined sticklebacks are typical long-day breeders, and increasing water temperature and the lengthening days in psring stimulate spawning in males and females Day Sokolowska and Sokolowska, 2006
Pungitius pungitius Courtship of females and fertilization of eggs generally occurred on warm sunny days Day Fitzgerald, 1983
Ambloplites rupestris Spawning occurred more often in early morning (0700-1100: n=10) than either mid-day (1100-1330: n=3) or late evening (2010-2045: n=2) suggesting a temporal preference Day Gross and Nowell, 1980
Ambloplites rupestris Spawning observed in 1981 began inearly afternoon at 1300 D.S.T. (n=43) and typically lasted about 1.5 h. Middle Thames rock bass spawned primarily in early afternoon, consistent with nest starts occuring in early morning and their completion soon after, followed by males beginning to accept the advances of females. This difference with other authors perhaps results from the more leisurely pace at which Lake Opinicon fish constructed their nests, a 2-day interval on average sperating nest start and spaning Day Noltie and Keenleyside, 1987
Micropterus salmoides Some bass lay their eggs during midday, but most spawning occurs at night near dusk or dawn Day Heidinger, 1976
Micropterus salmoides Late afternoon or early morning Day Williamson et al, 1993
Dicentrarchus labrax It does not seem that there is a specific hour, spawn all day long [in reared conditions, seem to spawn mostly during the morning] Day Zohar et al, 1984
Dicentrarchus labrax It does not seem that there is a specific hour, spawn all day long [in reared conditions, seem to spawn mostly during the morning] but in the wild, fish were observed spawing during the day Day Barnabé, 1980
Morone americana Egg release peaks at spawn No category Stanley and Danie, 1983
Morone americana On one occassion when the water was relatively clear at dusk in April, 1953, an audible splashing reveleaed the presence of a school of white perch consisting of several large individuals, presumably females, being trailed by more than a dozen smaller fish, presumably males. Dusk Mansuetti, 1961
Morone chrysops Daylight [But has been reported to occur at night also] Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Morone chrysops Spawning occurs during both day and night, but fish are most active crespuscularly Day Kohler, 1997
Morone saxatilis It remains unclear whether spawning occurs predominantly during the day or the night Day Sullivan et al, 1997
Morone saxatilis Over their entire range, accounts of stripped bass spawning span all times of the day. However, in North Carolina, striped bass have been reported to broadcast their eggs late in the afternoon and early in the evening Day Burdick and Hightower, 2005
Perca flavescens During the night and early morning Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Perca flavescens The time at which yellow perch spawning occurs has been reported as being both at night and during the day Day Kerr and Grant, 1999
Perca flavescens Spawning takes place in the night or early in the morning Day Anonymous, 2006 Chapter 3
Perca fluviatilis Day and night Day Thorpe, 1977
Perca fluviatilis Mostly during the dawn [mostly between 7-8 a.m.] Day Dalimier and Voss, 1982
Perca fluviatilis Eggs are released at dawn Dawn Bruslé and Quignard, 2001
Perca fluviatilis Day and night Day Craig, 2000
Sander lucioperca Dawn Dawn Craig, 2000
Sander lucioperca During night or early in the morning Day Lappaleinen et al, 2003
Sander lucioperca Most spawning occurs in the early morning hours Day Deeler and Willemsen, 1964
Sander lucioperca Pikeperch begin their spawing activities before the sunrise No category Lehtonen et al, 1996
Sander lucioperca Spawning takes place at night Night Schlumberger and Proteau, 1996
Sander vitreus Females can completely spawn in one night Night Malison and Held, 1996b
Sander vitreus Essentially nocturnal spawners, but walleye were seen spawning in daylight Day Corbett and Powles, 1986
Sander vitreus Night Night Scott and Crossman, 1973
Sander vitreus Deposition of eggs usually occurs in a single night Night Fishbase, 2006
Sander vitreus Spawing takes place most often at night Night Kerr and Grant, 1999
Coregonus lavaretus Spawning takes place at night Night Fishbase, 2006
Coregonus albula Night Night Bruslé and Quignard, 2001
Coregonus clupeaformis Spawning fish are active and may jump and thrash about, especially at night Night Scott and Crossman, 1973
Coregonus clupeaformis Spawning occurs at night Night Fishbase, 2006
Coregonus clupeaformis Spawning activity occurs at night Night Kerr and Grant, 1999
Coregonus clupeaformis Probably at night Night Mack and Billard, 1984
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Occur mainly at dusk and during darkness Dusk Groot, 1996
Oncorhynchus keta Chum salmon seem capable of spanwing at any time during the day or night. Activty seems to be associated more closely with time to next spawning than with the light cycle, i.e. there is a repeated sequence of events leading to oviposition, and initiation of each sequences seems independent of the light cycle. Day Tautz and Groot, 1975
Oncorhynchus mykiss Nest building takes place day and night Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Oncorhynchus mykiss Most spawning takes place in the morning and evening and nest may be adandonned the day Day Coad, 2006
Oncorhynchus mykiss Nest constrution occurs both day and night Day Kerr and Grant, 1999
Oncorhynchus mykiss Spawnig observations were as follows: 10:30 A.M (one record) and 4:30 to 6:45 P.M. (six records) Day Greeley, 1932
Oncorhynchus nerka Actual spawning occur after darkness until about midnight Night Groot, 1996
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Females paired with large males were observed to participate in a total of 28 spawning events, and 21 (43%) were estimated to have occurred overnight, compared with 26 observed and 18 night spawning events (41%) by females paired with small males Night Berejikian et al, 2000
Salmo salar Spawning act occur at night, rarely during the day Day Bruslé and Quignard, 2001
Salmo salar occurred principally at night Night Baglinière at al., 1990
Salmo salar The average time between two successive ovipositions was 9 h 22 min ± 3 j 5 min (N=12). However, females were generally inactive during the day, except for four fish whci hsometimes bred continuously throughout the photophase (14 out of the 75 ovitpositions were observed by day] Day de Gaudemar et Beall, 1999
Salmo trutta fario Night and day Day Bruslé and Quignard, 2001
Salmo trutta fario Spawning activity takes place during the day Day Kerr and Grant, 1999
Salmo trutta fario Species were more active during the mid-day period when the light was bright than in early morning and late evening Day Greeley, 1932
Salmo trutta fario Spawning took place exclusively at night in Själsöan. During the day, spawning were difficult to see as they generally hide under the streambanks Day Rubin et al, 2005
Salvelinus alpinus Spawning occurs primarily during the day Day Groot, 1996
Salvelinus alpinus Spawning takes place at almost any time of the day Day Fishbase, 2006
Salvelinus alpinus Actual spawning takes place during the day Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Salvelinus alpinus Occurs during the day: mating will go uninterrupted for several hours, except for periods of darkness or when the female begins to build a new nest Day Kerr and Grant, 1999
Salvelinus fontinalis Spawning occurs during the daytime Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Salvelinus fontinalis Primarily during daytime Day Groot, 1996
Salvelinus fontinalis Spawning generally occurs during the day with peaks in spawning activity occuring between 1300 and 1400 Day Kerr and Grant, 1999
Salvelinus fontinalis We observed spawning at all times of the day throughout both seasons, with a distinct peak in activity between 13:00 and 14:00. Eighthy-nine percent of all spawning toook place during the hours of daily observation (09:00-18:00), the remaining spawnings occurred either just prior to our arrival (3%) or sometime after our departure (8%) Day Blanchfield and Ridgway, 1997
Salvelinus fontinalis Species were more active during the mid-day period when the light was bright than in early morning and late evening Day Greeley, 1932
Salvelinus namaycush The spawning act occurs mostly at night, with peak spawning between dusk and 9 or 10 pm Night Fishbase, 2006
Salvelinus namaycush Spawning occur in the night, mostly from 19-22 Night Scott and Crossman, 1973
Salvelinus namaycush Most spawning takes place during the hours of darkness between dusk and 2300 hours Dusk Kerr and Grant, 1999
Stenodus leucichthys Spawning begins at dusk, and continuing well into the night Night Fishbase, 2006
Thymallus thymallus The intensity of the spawning reached its maximum at the beginning of the afternoon, when the temperature increase Day Poncin, 1996
Thymallus thymallus Most spawning acts occur in late afternoon and during night Night Sempeski and Gaudin, 1995
Thymallus thymallus Either in the middle of the day or at the end of the day until the beginning of night Day Bruslé and Quignard, 2001
Thymallus thymallus Spawning events were noted only during the day, spawning can extend throughout the night in favourable thermal conditions Day Parkinson et al, 1999
Thymallus thymallus Spawning usually occurs in the afternoon or in the evening when water temperature is at his highest Day Nykänen et al, 2004
Thymallus thymallus Latter part of the day near the diel temperature maximum Day Northcote, 1995
Thymallus thymallus Latter part of the day near the diel temperature maximum Day Northcote, 1993
Thymallus thymallus The maximum number of spawners were caught between 2100 and 2300 h No category Zaytsev, 1987
Thymallus arcticus There is no spawning at night and it is most active during warmer water temperatures of midday Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Thymallus arcticus Most spawning is said to take place in mid to late afternoon, but some said that most spawning occurred in evening or night Night Northcote, 1995
Thymallus arcticus Most spawning is said to take place in mid to late afternoon, but some said that most spawning occurred in evening or night Night Northcote, 1993
Thymallus arcticus Montana grayling slackened its spawning activities after 11 p.m. [Also noted that in the afternoon the intensity of the spawning rose, reached a maximum when the water was warmest, and then gradually decreased in the evening] Day Bishop, 1971
Ameiurus nebulosus Spawning apparently takes place in the daytime Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
Osmerus eperlanus As a rule smelt spawn at night Night Belyanina, 1969
Osmerus eperlanus Spawning activity had occurred overnight Night Hutchinson and Mills, 1987
Osmerus eperlanus In coastal waters, smelt spawn at night and most return to the estuary during the day, although some males may remain in the spawning area Day Buckley, 1989
Osmerus eperlanus Usually at night Night Maitland, 2003