ABSTRACT
Similarity in evolutionary peaks and patterns in fishes enabled E. K. Balon to develop a framework for classifying reproductive styles. Balon’s concept built on Kryzhanovsky’s reasoning that “adaptations of fishes for spawning and development reflect not only the essential ecological factors of the embryonic period, but also the essential factors of all the other intervals of life.” This chapter examines the proper placement of midwestern North American species. One of the most significant problems with the reproductive guild classification is the definition of the ethnological sections. The original ethnological sections described by Balon did not adequately clarify the evolutionary progression to more derived reproductive behaviors. Reproductive guild development appears as evolutionary peaks in a landscape of reproductive styles. Balon, in an attempt to expand a previous ecological classification into reproductive styles of all fishes, designated 33 guilds based on form and function in early developmental intervals, on preferred spawning grounds, and on features of reproductive behavior.
