Open AccessEcological Life History of the Warmouth (Centrarchidae)
Author(s) -
R. Weldon Larimore
Publication year - 1957
Publication title -
illinois natural history survey bulletin/bulletin - illinois natural history survey
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2644-0687
pISSN - 0073-4918
DOI - 10.21900/j.inhs.v27.170
Subject(s) - ecology , overpopulation , centrarchidae , fishing , habitat , biology , life history , habitat destruction , fishery , population , geography , bass (fish) , micropterus , demography , sociology
Overpopulation among certain warm-water fishes is now commonly recognized as a cause of poor fishing in many lakes and ponds of the United States. More than a decade ago, Bennett (1944:186) suggested that perhaps some sunfish not prone to overpopulation would, with little control by man, produce good fishing over a prolonged period. This suggestion stimulated a search for a species that has a low reproductive potential, a species that does not tend to overcrowd its habitat, and yet has good sporting qualities. The warmouth, Chaenobryttus gulosiis (Cuvier), appeared to be such a species. The study of its life history and ecology presented here may serve as a basis for an estimate of the potential value of the species as a companion for bass or other game fishes in lakes and ponds of Illinois and neighboring states.