Lake chubsucker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lake chubsucker |
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The lake chubsucker (Erimyzon sucetta) is a type of freshwater fish. It lives only in North America. You can find it in the Great Lakes area and the Mississippi River basin. Its home stretches from Ontario, Canada, all the way south to the Gulf of Mexico. These fish mostly live in lakes, ponds, and swamps. They rarely swim in fast-moving streams.
Lake chubsuckers eat small things found at the bottom of the water. They munch on tiny crabs and shrimp and midge larvae. An average lake chubsucker is about 25.8 cm long. These fish lay their eggs randomly. They often scatter them over aquatic vegetation or submerged grass in ponds. Sometimes, males clear gravelly areas for the eggs.
Even though the lake chubsucker is not in great danger, its home is changing. This happens because of silt from farming. Also, pollution from certain industries can harm their waters. The number of lake chubsuckers has gone down in some places. These include Missouri, Arkansas, Ohio, and possibly Tennessee.
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Where Lake Chubsuckers Live
The lake chubsucker lives in North America. It is found in the lowlands of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basin. Its range goes from southern Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico. It stretches west to Wisconsin and Texas. To the east, it reaches Southern Virginia and South Florida.
In the United States, this fish has disappeared from parts of Southern Illinois, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. Its numbers are also dropping in Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Ohio.
This drop in numbers is mostly because their homes are changing or being destroyed. For example, the water can become cloudy (high turbidity). Also, the amount of sedimentation can change. New, invasive species can be introduced. Pollution and changes in nutrient levels also cause problems. In some areas, the fish might still be there in small numbers. But it is very hard to find them. So, it is tough to know for sure if they are completely gone.
In Canada, the fish is thought to have disappeared from Jeanette's Creek. It has also vanished from parts of Big Creek and Tea Creek.
Lake Chubsucker Habitat and Diet
Lake chubsuckers prefer warmer waters, usually around 28° to 34°C. They like clear, still water that is not cloudy. They also prefer places with lots of plants, often more than 70% plant cover. You can typically find them in wetlands, ponds, and lakes that are part of floodplains.
These fish are bottom dwellers. They like shallow, fresh water. They are often found where lakes have sand or silt mixed with bits of plants.
The chubsucker is an omnivore. This means it eats both plants and small animals. Its diet includes small crustaceans, insect larvae (like chironomids), and algae. Plants can make up to 70% of what they eat.
When chubsuckers are small (about 8 to 10 cm), they eat a lot of filamentous algae. They also eat tiny cladocerans and chironomid larvae. As they grow larger (about 12 to 15 cm), copepods become a more important part of their diet. They still eat algae, cladocera, and chironomid larvae.
Life Cycle and Challenges
Lake chubsuckers breed from late March until early July. In any one area, the breeding time lasts about two weeks. The eggs are spread over plants or in gravelly spots. Males usually clear these gravelly areas first. A female can lay anywhere from 3,000 to 20,000 eggs.
The eggs hatch after about one week. Young chubsuckers become ready to breed when they are three years old. Their lifespan is usually five to six years.
Young fish and those breeding for the first time are most sensitive to changes in their environment. These changes are often caused by humans. For example, changing how rivers flow can make the water cloudy. More silt (mud and sand) in the water also harms these stages the most. This is because it changes the bottom where the fish lay eggs. It also affects where the small young fish try to survive.
The main reason for the fish's decline seems to be silt from farming.
Protecting Lake Chubsuckers
This fish species is not currently listed as threatened or endangered. The populations in the southern United States are thought to be safe. Because of this, it can be hard to find specific plans to manage and protect them.
Some research has looked at how useful lake chubsuckers are for helping largemouth bass grow. Largemouth bass are popular sport fish. However, it seems the chubsucker alone cannot support a large population of bass. Since the fish is secure in about half of its range, states like Alabama list it as a fish of "lowest concern."
There are some areas where the chubsucker has disappeared, or is thought to have. New York is one such place. New York's management plans include trying to find any remaining populations.
There are no special protected areas or conservation efforts just for the lake chubsucker. This is because it is not considered endangered. In Canada, some research was done to see how the lake chubsucker was doing. It had disappeared from several areas there. Without further harm and without recovery efforts, it was suggested that the remaining lake chubsucker populations would reach healthy numbers in about 12 years.
Populations of E. sucetta in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia are listed as secure. Michigan's population is ranked as "apparently secure." Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina, Indiana, and Wisconsin populations are listed as "vulnerable." The populations of Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, and Ontario are "imperiled" (in serious danger). The fish is presumed to have disappeared from Iowa and Pennsylvania.
Images for kids
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A lake chubsucker swimming in its freshwater habitat.
