Fishes of PennsylvaniaIntroduction to the Nekton

Fishes of Pennsylvania

• Lampreys• Sturgeons• Paddlefish• Gars• Bowfin• American Eel• Herrings• Minnows• Suckers• Catfishes

• Pikes• Rainbow Smelt• Trout and Salmon• Burbot• Banded Killifish• Threespine Stickleback• Sculpin• Temperate Basses• Sunfishes• Perches• Freshwater Drum

Major Streams of Pennsylvania

Lampreys

• American Brook Lamprey Lampetra appendix

• Larvae filter feed• Adult does not feed. The

Sea Lamprey (in Great Lakes) and the Ohio Lamprey (western PA) are parasitic. The three native PA Brook Lampreys are not parasitic.

Sturgeons

• The Lake Sturgeon –Acipenser fulvescens- is the only freshwater sturgeon in PA. It is found in Lake Erie.

• The Shortnose Sturgeon and the Atlantic Sturgeon are marine and tidal fish that may occur in the lower Delaware River.

• All PA sturgeons are endangered

Paddlefish

• Paddlefish –Polydon spathula- only living species.

• Extirpated from former ranges in western PA and Lake Erie.

• PA Fish and Boat Commission reintroduced them to the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers.

Gar

• Two gar species occur in PA: The Spotted Gar and the Longnose Gar.

• The Longnose Gar –Lepidosteus osseus- is in low numbers through the lower Great Lakes, western PA and extreme lower Susquehanna River.

Bowfin

• Bowfin – Amia calvia• Found mainly around

Presque Isle and in the lower parts of the major drainages.

• Can tolerate very warm water and gulp air.

American Eel

• The American Eel –Anguila americana –occurs in the Delaware River drainage.

• Now attempts are being made to return the eel to the Susquehanna River

Herrings• This family includes Blueback

Herring, Alewife, Gizzard Shad, Hickory Shad, and American Shad.

• The American Shad –Alosa sapidissima- anadromous fish that enter mainstem of large rivers to spawn.

• Attempts to support shad run in the Susquehanna River

• In rivers, shad eat small crustaceans, zooplankton, worms, insects, and small fish

Minnows

• PA has 39 species of minnows, including exotics like Carp and Goldfish.

• The minnows of Pennsylvania include:– Bluntnose Minnow– Cutlips Minnow– Central Stoneroller– Emerald Shiner– Hornyhead Chub– Grass Carp

– Common Carp– Common Shiner– River Chub– Golden Shiner– Fathead Minnow– Spotfin Shiner– Rosyface Shiner– Blacknose Dace– Longnose Dace– Creek Chub– Fallfish

Cutlips Minnow

• Cutlips Minnow (Exoglossum maxillingua)

• Lower lip in three lobes, the center of which looks like a tongue

• Stony pools of clean streams

• Mainly feed on small mollusks, insects, and diatoms

Common Carp

• The Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

• Native to Asia and eastern Europe; considered invasive in some watersheds

• Found in many habitats, but prefer slow-moving water with a well-developed littoral zone

Common Shiner

• Common Shiner (Notropis cornutus)

• Moving water, warm to cold

• Very common in North America, east of the Rocky Mountains and North of the Gulf states

• Omnivore: plants and insects mainly at or near the surface

Spotfin Shiner

• Spotfin Shiner (Cyprinella spiloptera)

• Common in streams throughout the east

• Omnivore: plants, insects, small fish near the surface

Longnose Dace

• Longnose Dace (Rhinichthyes cataractae)

• In streams with riffles and pools

• Mainly staying near the bottom where they feed on insect larvae, particularly chironomids

Suckers

• Quillback Carpsucker• White Sucker• Northern Hog Sucker• The Redhorses– River Redhorse– Shorthead Redhorse

Quillback Carpsucker

• The Quillback Carpsucker (Carpoides cyprinus)

• Body is deep and laterally compressed

• They travel in schools in slow-moving rivers and backwaters with gravel bottoms.

• Eat a wide variety of benthic macroinvertebrates

White Sucker

• The White Sucker (Catostomus commersoni)

• Cylindrical body with a rounded snout

• Range from headwaters to warm, low oxygen water.

• They are omnivores, feeding on plants, zooplankton, benthos

Northern Hog Sucker

• The Northern Hogsucker (Hypentelium nigricans)

• The body is cylindrical and darkly camouflaged

• Found in clean streams• Overturn rock while

scraping biofilm, and aquatic macroinvertebrates

Catfishes

• White Catfish• Yellow Bullhead• Brown Bullhead• Channel Catfish• Margined Madtom• Stonecat• Flathead Catfish

Brown Bullhead

• Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus)

• Cylindrical body with flattened head

• Found in lakes, ponds and slow-moving rivers

• Tolerate warm water and low oxygen

• Omnivorous

Channel Catfish

• Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

• Body cylindrical with spots on the sides

• Habitats vary; fast-moving water to deep pools, reservoirs, lakes, and farm ponds

• Young eat insects but change to fish and plants as they get larger

Margined Madtom

• Margined Madtom (Noturus insignis)

• Small, tubular fish; have poison glands associated with pectoral spines

• Found in rocks in riffles• Feed on benthic

macroinvertebrates

Pikes

• Redfin Pickerel• Grass Pickerel• Northern Pike• Tiger Muskellunge• Muskellunge• Chain Pickerel

Muskellunge

• The Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy)

• Tubular fish, nearly 1.5M long

• Found in large clean rivers with submerged vegetation

• Ambush predator

Chain Pickerel

• The Chain Pickerel (Esox niger)

• Tubular body• Can be found in

backwaters and in brown-water habitats; but can be found in deep lakes among weeds and stumps

• Ambush predators

Rainbow Smelt

• The Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax)

• Like a minnow with strong teeth

• Anadromous fish introduced to the Great Lakes

• Feed on insects and fish fry

Trout and Salmon

• Coho Salmon• Chinook Salmon• Pink Salmon• Rainbow Trout• Steelhead

• Golden Rainbow Trout• Brown Trout• Brook trout• Lake trout• Atlantic Salmon

Brook Trout

• The Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

• Official State Fish of PA• Only stream trout

native to PA• Low order cold, clean

streams• Feed on aquatic and

terrestrial insects, crustaceans, small fish

Rainbow Trout

• Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

• Introduced species• Lighter than the Brook

and has a red lateral line• In fastwater streams• Feed on aquatic and

terrestrial insects, crustaceans, and small fish

Burbot

• Burbot (Lota lota)• Endangered native and

member of the Cod family

• Found in the Great Lakes and Allegheny River; requires cold, clean water

• Feed on invertebrates and fishes

Banded Killifish

• The Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus)

• Established in most drainages in PA

• Called topminnnow, but feed at all levels of slow-moving parts of streams

• Eat macroinvertebrates, mainly insects and crustacea. Will take small fish.

Threespine Stickleback

• The Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteous aculeatus)

• Endangered native• Fish are small, schooling fish

with bony plates on their sides

• Require clean, clear water in slow-moving parts of streams

• Eat fish fry and eggs; insects and crustaceans

Sculpins

• There are two species of sculpins in PA waters: Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdi) and Slimy Sculpin (C. cognatus)

• Freshwater members of a mostly marine family

• Often found together with Brook Trout; require clean, clear, cold low order streams

Temperate Basses

• This family includes White Perch (Morone americana), White Bass (M. chrysops), and Striped Bass (M. saxatilis)

• Fish of large rivers and lakes; introduced into reservoirs

• Travel in schools and feed on fish

Sunfishes

• Redear Sunfish• Banded Sunfish• Blackbanded Sunfish• Bluespotted Sunfish• Warmouth• Mud Sunfish• Longear Sunfish• Rock Bass• Redbreast Sunfish

• Green Sunfish• Pumpkinseed• Bluegill• Smallmouth Bass• Spotted Bass• Largemouth Bass• White Crappie• Black Crappie

Bluegill

• Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)

• Oval deep body that is laterally-flattened

• In lakes, ponds, and slow-moving parts of streams with submerged plants

• Eat aquatic macroinvertebrates, small fish, and, occasionally, plants

Smallmouth Bass

• The Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieui)

• Native to Great Lakes and Ohio Valley; distributed elsewhere

• Require rocky habitats, usually in, but not restricted to, moving water

• Feed on crustaceans and fish

Largemouth Bass

• Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)

• Native to Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, now distributed throughout PA

• Prefer warm water habitats; ponds and small lakes with submerged aquatics

• They eat almost any animal that they can fit into their mouths

Perches

• Greenside Darter• Banded Darter• Rainbow Darter• Bluebreast Darter• Johnny Darter• Tesselated Darter• Gilt Darter• Spotted Darter

• Longhead Darter• Eastern Sand Darter• Tippecanoe Darter• Yellow Perch• Logperch• Sauger• Saugeye• Walleye

Tesselated Darter

• The Tesselated Darter (Etheostoma olmstedi)

• Tubular body with large pectoral fins

• Sandy or rock bottom in flowing water

• Eat small insects and crustaceans

Yellow Perch

• Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens)

• Throughout the northern US

• In warm to cool lakes, ponds, and slow-moving parts of streams

• Adults eat mainly small fish

Walleye

• Walleye (Sander vitreus)• Native to the Great Lakes

and the Ohio Valley, they have been introduced as a sport fish to appropriate habitats in PA

• In large lakes and rivers• Usually the top predator

Freshwater Drum

• The Freshwater Drum (Aplodinotus grunniens)

• Called croakers; mainly from a marine family

• In the Great Lakes and the western rivers of PA

• Feeds on mollusks, insects, and crustaceans

Fishes Classified According to Habitat

• Littoral Zone• Limnetic Zone• Benthic Zone• Streams– Upper Reaches– Middle Reaches– Lower reaches

Fishes Classified According to Ecological Conditions

• Temperature• Light• Water Movement• Food• Social Factors• Population Density• Population Structure