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

Centrarchidae

Bluegill

Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, the bluegill, was listed as Helioperca incisor by Hankinson (1928), who reported it from the Sheyenne River at Lisbon, where it was abundant in the sample (Figure A62). Hankinson (1928) discussed the fact that the bluegill had been planted in North Dakota waters and questioned whether the species was native, since Woolman (1896) did not describe the species from anywhere in the state. Olson (1932) collected a single young specimen from the headwaters of the Buffalo River; and Bailey and Allum (1962) described it from a site on Lake Traverse, where it was found in 1949. The bluegill has been collected primarily from the Sheyenne, Otter Tail, Pelican, and Clearwater Rivers. The bluegill has been found at 8% of stream sites sampled in the Red River basin since 1962; but it has been most common in reaches of the NCH ecoregion, where it has been found at 27% of the sites (Table 4). Typical site collections have contained 2-4 individuals, but the bluegill at times has been the most abundant species in samples from sites on the Otter Tail River. As many as 83 individuals were taken near the outlet of Otter Tail Lake in 1991.

Figure A62. Distribution of the bluegill in streams of the Red River of the North basin.

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