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| Freshwater Drum (sheepshead) |
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| Name and Code |
| Family |
| Sciaenidae - drums and croakers |
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| Species |
| Aplodinotus grunniens |
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| Taxonomic Authority |
| Rafinesque 1819 |
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| Common Name(s) |
| Freshwater Drum (sheepshead) |
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| Conservation Status |
| Global Rank (GRank) |
| G5 (2015-08-17) |
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| National Rank (NRank) |
| N5 (2016-02-09) |
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| Provincial Rank (SRank) |
| S5 (1988-11-22) |
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| Ecological Value |
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| Economic Importance |
| commercial fishery; sportfish (incidental) |
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| Length-Weight Regression Coefficents |
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| Habitat and Feeding |
| General Habitat(s) |
| lacustrine; riverine |
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| Trophic Class |
| invertivore/carnivore |
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| Habitat Preference |
| sandy, silty bottoms of lakes and reservoirs (to 18 m), and pools in low to moderate-gradient, often turbid, rivers; preferred water temperature range 24-28°C |
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| Reproduction |
| Reproductive Guild |
| Nonguarders: Open substratum spawners: Pelagophils |
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| Spawning Habitat(s) |
| lacustrine; riverine |
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| Spawning Season |
| spring-summer |
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| Spawning Month(s) |
| May-July |
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| Spawning Temperature (°C) |
| 18-26 |
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| Nursery Habitat(s) |
| lacustrine; riverine |
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| Size and Age |
| Adult Length (cm) |
| 29.2-71.0 TL |
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| Adult Weight (kg) |
| 0.3-5.3 |
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| Age at Maturity (yrs) |
| 3-5 (m); 4-6 (f) |
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| Maximum Length (cm) |
| 121.9 TL |
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| Lifespan (yrs) |
| 21 (m); 32 (f)1 |
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| Ontario Records |
| Record Length (cm) |
| 88.9 TL |
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| Ontario Range Map |
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Ontario Distribution |
| Upper St. Lawrence River, Ottawa River, Lake Abitibi, Lake Nipissing, Lakes Ontario, Erie, St. Clair, Huron and tributaries, Thames River, Sydenham River, eastern Lake Superior, St. Marys River, Lake-of-the-Woods, Rainy River |
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| Photographs |
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| Notes |
| (1) maximum ages of 58 (Wisconsin) and 71 (Minnesota) reported; eggs are buoyant and float on the surface; tolerant of turbidity |
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| Information Sources |
| Bailey, R.M., W.C. Latta, and G.R. Smith. 2004. An atlas of Michigan fishes with keys and illustrations for their identification. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Miscellaneous Publications No. 192. iv + 215 pp. |
| Barbour, M.T., J. Gerritsen, B.D. Snyder, and J.B. Stribling. 1999. Tolerance and trophic guilds of selected fish species. Appendix C in Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and wadeable rivers: periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, second edition. EPA 841-B-99-002. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Water. Washington, DC. |
| Becker, G.C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, WI. xii + 1052 pp. |
| Bernatchez, L. and M. Giroux. 2000. Les poissons d’eau douce du Québec et leur répartition dans l’Est du Canada. Broquet Inc. Saint-Constant, QC. 350 pp.
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| Coad, B.W. with H. Waszczuk and I. Labignan. 1995. Encyclopedia of Canadian fishes. Museum of Nature and Canadian Sportfishing Productions. Ottawa and Waterdown, ON. viii + 928 pp. |
| Coker, G.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 2001. Morphological and ecological characteristics of Canadian freshwater fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2554: iv + 89 p. |
| Cooper, E.L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States. Pennsylvania State University Press. University Park and London. vii + 243 pp. |
| Cudmore-Vokey, B. and E.J. Crossman. 2000. Checklists of the fish fauna of the Laurentian Great Lakes and their connecting channels. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2550: v + 39 p. |
| Desroches, J-F. and I. Picard. 2013. Poissons d’eau douce du Québec et des Maritimes. Éditions Michel Quintin. Waterloo, QC. 471 pp. |
| Ditz, K. and E. Holm. 2023. Ontario Fish Species Codes and Names. Ichthyology and Herpetology, Royal Ontario Museum. May 1994. Modified February 2023. |
| Etnier, D.A. and W.C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. [2nd printing, 2001]. The University of Tennessee Press. Knoxville, TN. xiv + 689 pp. |
| Goldstein, R.M. and T.P. Simon. 1999. Toward a united definition of guild structure for feeding ecology of North American freshwater fishes. Pages 123-202 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp. |
| Goodyear, C.S., T.A. Edsall, D.M. Ormsby Dempsey, G.D. Moss, and P.E. Polanski. 1982. Atlas of the spawning and nursery areas of Great Lakes fishes. Volume thirteen: Reproductive characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, DC. FWS/OBS-82/52. |
| Halliwell, D.B., R.W. Langdon, R.A. Daniels, J.P. Kurtenbach, and R.A. Jacobson. 1999. Classification of freshwater fishes of the northeastern United States for use in the development of indices of biological integrity. Pages 301-337 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp. |
| Hasnain, S.S, C.K. Minns, and B.J. Shuter. 2010. Key ecological temperature metrics for Canadian freshwater fishes. Climate change research report: CCRR-17. Applied Research and Development Branch, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Sault Ste. Marie, ON. 54 pp. |
| Holm, E., N. Mandrak, and M. Burridge. 2021. A field guide to freshwater fishes of Ontario, second edition. Royal Ontario Museum Science Publication. Toronto, ON. 486 pp. |
| Hubbs, C.L. and K.F. Lagler. 1964. Fishes of the Great Lakes region. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. xv + 213 pp. |
| Hubbs, C.L., K.F. Lagler, and G.R. Smith. 2004. Fishes of the Great Lakes region, revised edition. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. xvii + 276 pp. |
| Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). 2023. On-line database. http://www.itis.gov, retrieved 02 May 2023. |
| Jenkins, R.E. and N.M. Burkhead. 1993. Freshwater fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society. Bethesda, MD. xxiii + 1079 pp. |
| Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Nursery habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2338: v + 42 p. |
| Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Adult habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2358: v + 43 p. |
| Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Spawning habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2368: v + 48 p. |
| Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History Publication 1980-12. Raleigh, NC. x + 867 pp. |
| Mandrak, N.E. and E.J. Crossman. 1992. A checklist of Ontario freshwater fishes annotated with distribution maps. Royal Ontario Museum Life Sciences Miscellaneous Publication. Toronto, ON. v + 176 pp. |
| McAllister, D.E. and B.W. Coad. 1974. Fishes of Canada's National Capital Region/Poissons de la r?gion de la capitale du Canada. Fish. Res. Board Can. Misc. Spec. Publ. 24: 203 pp. |
| Meador, R.M. and D.M. Carlisle. 2007. Quantifying tolerance indicator values for common stream fishes of the United States. Ecol. Indicators. 7:329-338. |
| NatureServe. 2023. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/ (Accessed: February 2, 2023). |
| Ontario Federation of Anglers & Hunters (OFAH). 2022. OFAH Ontario record fish registry. https://www.ofah.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/OFAH_RecFish_Nov22.pdf. November 14, 2022. |
| Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico, second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Boston, MA. xix + 663 pp. |
| Page, L.M., K.E. Bemis, T.E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C.R. Gilbert, K.E. Hartel, R.N. Lea, N.E. Mandrak, M.A. Neighbors, J.J. Schmitter-Soto, and H.J. Walker Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 8th Edition. American Fisheries Society, Spec. Publ. 37. Bethesda, MD. 439 pp. |
| Phillips, G.L., W.D. Schmid, and J.C. Underhill. 1982. Fishes of the Minnesota region. University of Minnesota Press. Minneapolis, MN. x + 248 pp. |
| Portt, C.B., G. Coker, and C.K. Minns. 1999. Riverine Habitat Characteristics of Fishes of the Great Lakes Watershed. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2481: vi + 62 p. |
| Ross, S.T. 2001. The inland fishes of Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. xx + 624 pp. |
| Scott, W.B. 1967. Freshwater fishes of eastern Canada, second edition. University of Toronto Press. Toronto, ON. xii + 137 pp. |
| Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184. [1998 Reprint] Galt House Publications Ltd. Oakville, ON. xx + 966 pp. |
| Scharpf, C. 2009. Annotated checklist of North American freshwater fishes, including subspecies and undescribed forms. Part V: Sciaenidae through Achiridae (plus supplemental material). American Currents 35(1):1-32. |
| Simon, T.P. 1999. Assessment of Balon's reproductive guilds with application to midwestern North American freshwater fishes. Pages 97-122 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp. |
| Smith, C.L. 1985. The inland fishes of New York State. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Albany, NY. xi + 522 pp. |
| Smith, P.W. 2002. The fishes of Illinois. University of Illinois Press. Urbana and Chicago, IL. xxix + 314 pp. |
| Stauffer, Jr., J.R., J.M. Boltz and L.R. White. 1995. The fishes of West Virginia. Reprinted from The Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 146:1-389. Pennsylvania State University. 389 pp. |
| Stauffer, Jr., J.R., R.W. Criswell and D.P. Fischer. 2016. The fishes of Pennsylvania. Cichlid Press. El Paso, TX. 556 pp. |
| Stewart, K.W. and D.A. Watkinson. 2004. The freshwater fishes of Manitoba. University of Manitoba Press. Winnipeg, MB. xvii + 276 pp. |
| Trautman, M.B. 1981. The fishes of Ohio with illustrated keys, revised edition. Ohio State University Press. Columbus, OH. xxv + 782 pp. |
| Trebitz, A.S., J.C. Brazner, V.J. Brady, R. Axler, and D.K. Tanner. 2007. Turbidity tolerances of Great Lakes coastal wetland fishes. N. Amer. J. Fish. Man. 27:619-633. |
| Wallus, R. and T.P. Simon. 2006. Reproductive biology and early life history of fishes in the Ohio River drainage. Volume 5. Aphredoderidae through Cottidae, Moronidae, and Sciaenidae. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xxv + 360 pp. |
| Werner, R.G. 2004. Freshwater fishes of the northeastern United States: a field guide. Syracuse University Press. Syracuse, NY. xiv + 335 pp. |
| Wismer, D.A. and A.E. Christie. 1987. Temperature relationships of Great Lakes fishes: a data compilation. Great Lakes Fish. Comm. Spec. Pub. 87-3. 195 pp. |
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