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

Centrarchidae

White Crappie

Pomoxis annularis Rafinesque, the white crappie, was not reported by early investigators in the Red River basin; and its native status should be questioned. Surber (1920) described the way this species had been widely distributed over Minnesota by both the Minnesota Game and Fish Department and the Federal Bureau of Fisheries. Since Woolman (1896) and Hankinson (1928) did not report the white crappie from North Dakota, it is likely that its presence there is due to introductions (Eddy et al. 1972). The first documented occurrence of the white 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 headwaters of the Sheyenne River, and it has since been taken from several other streams (Figure A65) The species has been extremely rare, having been found at only 2% of the sites sampled since 1962 (Table 4). However, Copes and Tubb (1966) described white crappie as an abundant introduced species, found primarily in reservoirs, pools, and eddies. Most collections made in the basin have contained 1-2 individuals, but 12 specimens were taken from the Mustinka River at Wheaton in 1975.

Figure A65. Distribution of the white crappie in streams of the Red River of the North basin.

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