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

Centrarchidae

Green Sunfish

Lepomis cyanellus Rafinesque, the green sunfish, was first reported from the Red River basin in 1955 (BMNH 1994), when it was found at four sites on the Otter Tail River and one site on the Pelican River (Figure A59). The species was reported again from the Otter Tail River in 1963 (BMNH 1994); and in 1964, it was found in the Maple (Copes and Tubb 1966) and Sheyenne Rivers (Tubb et al. 1965). The green sunfish has been taken primarily from the Otter Tail and Pelican Rivers, with scattered reports from the Red and Buffalo rivers. The species has been uncommon in the basin overall, having been taken at only 4% of stream sites sampled since 1962 (Table 4). It has preferred reaches in the NLF ecoregion, where it has been taken at 22% of the sites, quite often at the mouths of lakes, where most site collections have consisted of 1-3 individuals.

Figure A59. Distribution of the green sunfish in streams of the Red River of the North basin.

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