Species: Gasterosteus aculeatus

Threespine Stickleback

Species

Show on Lists

Fishes of Puget Sound and adjacent waters

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Bourgeois et al. (1994) found that skeletal reduction in Alaska was related to ion composition of lake water, presence of other fishes, and local gene flow.

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Actinopterygii

Order

Gasterosteiformes

Family

Gasterosteidae

Genus

Gasterosteus

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104745

Classification

Other Global Common Names

épinoche à trois épines

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Fishes - Bony Fishes - Other Bony Fishes

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Actinopterygii - Gasterosteiformes - Gasterosteidae - Gasterosteus - including three populations polymorphic for lateral plate morphs, several populations polymorphic for pelvic armor morphs, one lake containing 2 freshwater morphs of the species (a benthic and a limnetic feeder), and one lake containing both anadromous and resident freshwater forms of the species (von Hippel, pers. comm.). Bell and Orti (1994) viewed divergent populations in freshwater habitats around Cook Inlet as parts of an endemic radiation warranting special consideration for conservation as a unit.

Ecology and Life History

Bourgeois et al. (1994) found that skeletal reduction in Alaska was related to ion composition of lake water, presence of other fishes, and local gene flow.

Short General Description

A small compressed fish with dorsal and pelvic spines.

Habitat Type Description

Freshwater

Migration

true - true - false - Salt water populations migrate into freshwater for spawning (Moyle 1976).

Non-migrant

true

Locally Migrant

true

Food Comments

Eats various invertebrates and fish eggs and fry. Freshwater populations feed primarily on bottom organisms or organisms living on aquatic plants (limnetic form in some lakes feeds mainly on plankton). Anadromous populations feed more on free-swimming crustaceans, also bottom organisms.

Reproduction Comments

Spawns in spring and summer. In most populations, most adults are 1-2 years old, do not live beyond 4 years, and presumably die at the end of their first breeding season. Reimchen (1992) described a population in Drizzle Lake, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, in which individuals lived up to 8 years. Male guards eggs and fry. Eggs hatch in about a week. Nest may contain eggs of several females.

Ecology Comments

Forms loose schools except when spawning (Moyle 1976).<br><br>Available density estimates include 7-28 fish/m² in suitable habitat in Wales, 24-63 fish/m² in northwestern England, 2 fish/m² in Kamchatka, Russia, and 4-21 fish/m² in British Columbia (see sources in Wootton and Smith 2000).

Length

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

2008-01-04

Global Status Last Changed

1996-09-20

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Range encompasses coastal waters of Eurasia, Iceland, Greenland, eastern Asia, and North America. In North America, this fish ranges from Alaska to Baja California on the west coast, from Baffin Island and the west side of Hudson Bay to Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, along east coast, and it occurs also in inland areas (including Lake Ontario) along both coasts. Sometimes it occurs in the open ocean. The species has been introduced and is established in certain areas of California, Massachusetts, and the Great Lakes (lakes Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Superior) (Fuller et al. 1999, Stephenson and Momot 2000). It also has been introduced in Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and the Pacific coast of Asia (Page and Burr 2011).

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104745