Redbreast Sunfish Research Articles

Ergasilus rhinos sp. n. (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) from the Nasal Fossae of Three Centrarchid Fishes of North Carolina

Ergasilus rhinos sp. n. is described from 3 centrarchid fishes: Centrarchus macropterus, the flier; Lepomis gibbosus, pumpkinseed; Lepomis auritus, redbreast; collected from the Black River, a tributary of the Cape Fear River, North Carolina. All specimens were recovered from the nasal fossae. E. rhinos differs from all other members of the genus Ergasilus in the armature of the antenna. It differs from all other North American species except Ergasilus megaceros in its location on the host. While surveying the parasitic copepods of some North Carolina fishes, 27 female specimens, belonging to the genus Ergasilus, were collected from the nasal fossae of three centrarchid fishes: Centrarchus macropterus, flier; Lepomis gibbosus, pumpkinseed; and Lepomis auritus, redbreast. Centrarchus macropterus was found to be regularly infested and is considered the type host. The new species is designated as Ergasilus rhinos, the specific name referring to its location in the nasal fossa. In each instance only one specimen was recovered from each fossa. Specimens were cleared in potassium hydroxide and lactic acid and mounted unstained in Hoyer's medium. Drawings were made with the aid of a camera lucida. Ergasilus rhinos sp. n. (Figs. 1-9)

Changes in Fish Populations and Migration in Relation to Increased Sewage Pollution in Little Patuxent River, Maryland

Increased sewage pollution in the Little Patuxent River, Maryland, from 1958 to 1967, brought about changes in fish migration, in abundance of resident species, and in the fish community in the stream. The upstream migration of white catfish, white perch, white sucker, and northern redhorse was apparently adversely affected by the increased sewage pollution. The downstream ranges and abundance of resident smallmouth bass and northern hog sucker decreased as did the upstream ranges and abundance of black crappie. Brown bullhead, golden shiner, redbreast sunfish, and bluegill showed different degrees of changes in abundance without reduction in their distribution ranges. Number of species and fish abundance decreased drastically in the area immediately below the chlorinated sewage effluents. Downstream, in the organically enriched areas, the fish community composition changed although there were no changes in number of species.

Food Habits and Distribution of the Fishes of Tuckahoe Creek, Virginia, with Special Emphasis on the Bluegill, Lepomis m. macrochirus Rafinesque

The food habits (1,773 individuals) and the distribution (2,056 individuals) of 9 families, 26 genera, and 32 species of fishes, were determined for Tuckahoe Creek, a lower piedmont tributary of the James River, Virginia. These species represent 41% of the freshwater fishes known for the entire river basin. Five species accounted for 69% of the col- lection: Etheostoma nigrum (20%), Lepomis macrochirus (18%), Hybopsis leptocephala (15%), Notropis cornutus (11%), and Aphredoderus sayanus (5%). Within the upper two- thirds of the creek there was a trend for the number of species to increase in a downstream direction. Stomach contents of 273 L. macrochirus were mainly insects (65%) and crustaceans (29%). Tendipedids and copepods were particularly important food items although the bluegill consumed a wide variety of animal forms. The selection was a probable reflection of the general availability of potential food. Young fish (0 and 1 age-groups) fed more often on microcrustaceans and dipteran larvae while older fish consumed a higher percentage of coleopterans and hymenopterans. Analysis of stomach contents of other centrarchids showed significant differences. Hemip- terans dominated the diet of Centrarchus macropterus and were important food items for Chaenobryttus gulosus. Entomostracans formed the bulk of the diet of Enneacanthus gloriosus and decapods were eaten primarily by C. gulosus. The largest percentage of coleopterans was taken by Lepomis auritus. The cyprinids were represented by all types of feeders. Notropis cornutus was a true omni- vore (feeding equally on plant and animal matter) and H. leptocephala selected a diet pri- marily of plant material. Dipteran larvae dominated the diet of the percid, E. nigrum (78% of total items) and the pirate perch, A. sayanus (53%). Gambusia affinis fed mainly on Hemiptera (34%). The catostomids consumed predominantly microscopic plants. Specimens of Esox niger less than 74 mm SL ate insects more often (48% as opposed to 16% in larger fish), whereas larger

The Behavior of the Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Lepomis Gibbosus (Linneaus), With Notes On the Behavior of Other Species of Lepomis and the Pigmy Sunfish, Elassoma Evergladei

The Behavior of the Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Lepomis Gibbosus (Linneaus), With Notes On the Behavior of Other Species of Lepomis and the Pigmy Sunfish, Elassoma Evergladei

Artificial Propagation of Sunfishes, with Meristic Comparisons of Three Species of Lepomis and Five of Their Hybrids

All possible crosses among three species of sunfishes—the bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque; the redear, Lepomis microlophus (Günther); and the redbreast, Lepomis auritus (Linnaeus)—were successfully produced. One cross, female redbreast X male bluegill, was made by placing one adult of each species in a plastic pool and allowing them to spawn. The five remaining crosses were produced two to nine times each by stripping and artificial insemination. Progeny from five of the six possible crosses were stocked in plastic and/or concrete pools and allowed to grow for approximately 2 months. Samples from each cross were examined, and 10 meristic counts were recorded for each fish. Corresponding counts were made on samples from each parent species. The data provide characterizations of parent species and their hybrids as well as comparisons among them. The comparisons showed that hybrids were generally intermediate between their parent species in most taxonomic characters. A blending or multiple allelic inheritance rather than simple Mendelian inheritance was indicated in the determination of these characters. Other sunfish crosses were successfully made, but the progeny were not reared. The fertility of hybrid males from the F1 cross of female bluegill X male redbreast was established in crosses with female green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus Rafinesque, female bluegill, and female redear. Reciprocal crosses between the green sunfish and redear were made. Female green sunfish were also successfully crossed with a male redbreast and with a male bluegill.

Results of Stocking Largemouth Black Bass and Channel Catfish in Experimental Texas Farm Ponds

Abstract Twenty-two experimental farm ponds were operated at the A. E. Wood State Fish Hatchery, San Marcos, Texas, during the period 1948–50. Various stocking ratios and species combinations were employed for both fry and fingerlings of largemouth black bass (Micropterus salmoides) and fingerling channel catfish (Ictalurus lacustris). Forage fish including bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), redear (Lepomis microlophus), and yellowbelly (Lepomis auritus) sunfish were used in these combinations. Black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) were stocked in two ponds. Ponds were compared on basis of pounds per acre per year. High production in total pounds of edible fish was not dependent on stocking ratio alone: 50 catfish, 100 bluegill, and 50 crappie per acre (152.4 pounds), 100 catfish only (116.2 pounds), 100 bass fingerlings and 1,500 bluegill (100.3 pounds), 100 bass fingerlings, 100 bluegill and 50 crappie (96.4 pounds), and 250 bass fingerlings only per acre (94.1 pounds) were high combinations. Fertilizatio...

Additional Oklahoma Fishes with Validation of Poecilichthys parvipinnis (Gilbert and Swain)

DURING the past two years collections of fishes from Oklahoma have yielded thirteen previously unrecorded species. Six of these-Cycleptus elongatus, Moxostoma aureolum, Carassius auratus, Schilbeades mollis, Poecilichthys jessiae, and P. cragini-were included by Hubbs in a manuscript supplementary list of fishes known from adjacent regions and consequently to be expected in Oklahoma. P. cragini was taken in northeastern Oklahoma from the Grand (Neosho) River system. Archosargus probatocephalus is reported on the basis of specimens seen from the Arkansas and Red River systems. Lepomis auritus, Perca flavescens, Menidia audens, Notropis atrocaudalis, Poecilichthys jessiae, P. parvipinnis, and Lepomis symmetricus were taken exclusively in the Red River system, the last four only in southeastern Oklahoma. Notes on the various species follow. The following abbreviations are used. OAM_:Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College; UOMZ=University of Oklahoma Museum of Zoology; UMMZ=University of Michigan Museum of Zoology; USNM= United States National Museum, and MCZ=Museum of Comparative Zoology. Cycleptus elongatus (LeSueur). Three blue suckers (OAM 2073) were taken Feb. 28, 1948, by W. H. Thompson in a 1 '2-inch mesh gill net in Love County near the mouth of Hickory Creek in Lake Texoma, a large Red River impoundment completed in 1944. The length in millimeters followed by the weight in grams of each specimen is 365, 709; 370, 723; and 387, 735. Scale samples indicate that these fish belong to the 1946-year class and, therefore, must have been born above the dam. Collections made in May, 1948, from the Washita River, a Lake Texoma tributary, at Daugherty, failed to yield any blue suckers. Two young Cycleptus (UOMZ 25815, 35.5 and 50 mm.) were seined by Thompson in Carey Bay, Grand Lake, June 17, 1948. George Harry informed us that a blue sucker was taken in southwestern Missouri in Elk River, which flows into Grand Lake in Delaware County, Oklahoma. Characters of the Oklahoma specimens are as follows: lateral line scales 48 in 1, 53 in 1, and 55 in 3; dorsal rays 30 in 2 and 31, 33, and 34 in 1 each; anal rays 5 in 1, 7 in 3, and 8 in 1. The upper lobe of the caudal fin in the young is devoid of pigment except at the border. Moxostoma aureolum (LeSueur).-Eight young (OAM 1528, 31-44 mm.) of the northern redhorse were collected by Moore, July 12 and 13, 1946, from the Chikaskia River northeast of Tonkawa in Kay County. At that time the Chikaskia was an olive brown color with pH 8.4, temperature 30? C., and flowed over a bottom of sand and mud. The redhorse were taken

The Influence of Temperature and Other Factors on the Winter Aggregations of the Sunfish, Lepomis Auritus, with Critical Remarks on the Social Behavior of Fishes

EcologyVolume 16, Issue 1 p. 33-47 Article The Influence of Temperature and Other Factors on the Winter Aggregations of the Sunfish, Lepomis Auritus, with Critical Remarks on the Social Behavior of Fishes C. M. Breder Jr., C. M. Breder Jr.Search for more papers by this authorR. F. Nigrelli, R. F. NigrelliSearch for more papers by this author C. M. Breder Jr., C. M. Breder Jr.Search for more papers by this authorR. F. Nigrelli, R. F. NigrelliSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 January 1935 https://doi.org/10.2307/1932854Citations: 14AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume16, Issue1January 1935Pages 33-47 RelatedInformation