Range and natural history
Habitat use changes through the breeding season. Reproductive adults often occupy swift runs over gravel and cobble, usually at depths of a meter or less. Males were also collected in shallow fast riffles in late spring. Summer adults occur in runs and pools with little silt.
Subadults in the cited study were found in pools, often with adult females. Dark saddles and large side blotches help characterize the body, while breeding males develop richer gold-green and blue-green colors. The combination of drainage, habitat and diagnostic pattern is more useful than any one feature alone.
Sources: Percina apina species summary
