Distribution of Fishes in the Red River of the North Basin on Multivariate Environmental Gradients

Centrarchidae

Black Crappie

Pomoxis nigromaculatus (Lesueur), the black crappie, was not reported by early investigators in the Red River basin; and its native status should be questioned. The fact that neither Woolman (1896), Hankinson (1928), nor Olson (1932) reported the black crappie from the Red River basin leads one to believe that the species is not native, but rather has been widely dispersed by undocumented introductions (Eddy et al. 1972). The first documented occurrence of the black crappie in the Red River basin was by Bailey and Allum (1962), who listed it from a site on Lake Traverse, where it was taken in 1949. Wilson (1950) reported it from the Sheyenne River north of Valley City, and it has since been taken from several other streams (Figure A66). The black crappie has been reported from 11% of stream sites sampled in the Red River basin since 1962 (Table 4). Site collections of this species have varied, typically ranging from 1-9 individuals, but as many as 52 specimens were taken at a site on the Otter Tail River north of Fergus Falls.

Figure A66. Distribution of the black crappie in streams of the Red River of the North basin.

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