Ducky Shiner (Notropis cummingsae)

    The Dusky Shiner is a member of the family Cyprinidae, the carp family, they are easily recognized by their relative short length along with the dark colored stripe which runs horizontally down the length of its body.

    The Dusky prefers to live in slow moving backwaters with plenty of detritus and vegetation. 

    When I tried looking up information on this species, I struggled to find much of anything; according to one source that I managed to find not much is known about this fish.

Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)

    You can find largemouth bass nearly anywhere in the eastern half of the United States and you can recognize them by their horizontal stripe, their spiny dorsal fin and of course their relatively large mouths. 

    The Largemouth also has large eyes and this is because they are visual predators and are often one of the top predator in their habitat. When they are young they eat primarily zooplankton but as they age their diet shifts to larger invertebrates and other species of fish.

Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta)

    We caught two of this species in same trap one was a normal colored smaller male while the other was a melanistic rather aggressive and larger male.

   

 The melanistic individual, note that the yellowish markings are still present but are darker in coloration.

    The smaller out of the the two turtles was one that had been recaptured and we determined that his code was 0.17 and the melanistic turtle had notches placed on him and was given the code 6.90.

Yellow-bellied 0.17

Plastron: 134.3 mm
Carapace: 151.6 mm
Weight: 542 grams

Yellow-bellied 6.90
Pastron: 155.6 mm
Carapace: 170.5 mm
Weight: 740 grams

    The Yellow-bellied tends to live to no longer than 30 years of age. When these turtles first hatch they are mostly carnivorous but as they age their diet shifts to favoring plant material, although they are omnivorous throughout their lives and will spend most of their time in the water only coming out to back in the sun's heat.

Lab #7

Date: 3/16/16

Location: Lumber River Conservancy

Lab Activity: Surveying fish with the use of fish traps

Habitat: Shallow freshwater pond

Temperature: 85 F

Wind: 12 mph

Humidity: 35%

    45 fish traps were placed in a pond and creek system at 10 AM on March 15th, 2016 and then collected the next day.

Numbers caught of each species:

Amphibians:
  Amphiuma 1
  Lesser Siren 1

 Fish:
  Red Finned Pickerel 1
  Chain Pickerel 3
  Pirate Perch 4
  Black Banded Sunfish 19
  Bluegill 9
  Blue Spotted Sunfish 30
  Lined Topminnows 22
  Mosquito Fish 11
  

Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)

    Commonly mistaken for minnows the Mosquitofish is a member of the family Poeciliidae, the livebearers. This means that the Mosquitofish gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs. 

    You can find them as far north as Indiana and stretching south through the Mississippi River and east in the coastal plain.

They are important for controlling the populations of many insects which have an aquatic larval stage such as mosquitos, but they will also feed on zooplankton and small insects.

Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)

    Named for the blue marking on its gill the Bluegill is a member of the family Centrarchidae thus making it a sunfish. You can find these guys in freshwater systems from Quebec to Mexico.

    They typically eat small invertebrates such as snails and tiny crustaceans. However they wouldn't pass up a small fish such as a minnow if the opportunity were to arise.

    

Chain Pickerel (Esox niger)

    The Chain Pickerel can be found in many of the same locations as the Red Fin Pickerel mentioned in another post entry. However the Chain Pickerel is typically in larger bodies of water than the Red Fin as they are larger in body size being able to reach lengths of up to three feet.

    You will know that you have a pike by its long and relatively slender body as well as its duck bill like snout. All pikes use this snout to prey on smaller fish.

Red Fin Pickerel (Esox americanus)

    Clearly named for the red coloration of their fins, the Red Fin Pickerel looks very similar to the Chain Pickerel although is a bit a smaller. One sure way to tell the difference if you are ever confused is to look at linear eye marking. A Red Fin has  a diagonal marking and the Chain has a vertical marking.

    The Red Fin can reach lengths of about 12 inches and is sometimes the larger predator in its habitat, preying almost exclusively on smaller fish. The Red Fin is however the smallest of all the pike species.  

    You can find these guys in small freshwater sheds such as a pond or a small stream. But you can find them in larger rivers and lakes, but this usually means that they have predators of their own.