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Perches (Percidae)

Female and male Greenside Darter (Etheostoma blennioides).

With roughly 200 species, Percidae is one of the most diverse fish families in North America. The majority of the taxa exist in two genera, Etheostoma and Percina, commonly called "darters", which are colorful, benthic dwelling fishes. Also found in this family are popular sport fishes such as walleye, sauger and yellow perch.

Family Level Identifiers (Fig. 1):

Figure 1
Examing some key biological features of the male variegate darter.
Male variegate darter (Etheostoma variatum).

Habitat:

The Perch family may be found in nearly every type of freshwater habitat east of the Rocky Mountains. The larger family members, including such species as walleye and yellow perch, are more common to lakes, resevoirs and rivers. The smaller members (darters) inhabit streams of all sizes, in addition to lakes and wetlands. It might be argued, however, that darter diversity reaches its peak in the riffles of moderately-sized streams.

Pollution Tolerance:

Many darter species are intolerant of pollution and habitat disturbance. Like the sculpin and madtoms, these small fish are generally more vulnerable to stream degradation because they feed and reproduce in benthic habitats (Kuehne and Barbour 1983, Ohio EPA 1987). It should be noted that Percids, and more specifically the darters, are the most imperiled group of North American fishes, with roughly one-third of all darters in some degree of decline (Boschung and Mayden, 2004).

Use in IBI:

Darter presence and identity is measured directly by Metric 2: Number and Identity of Darter Species and, when appropriate, Metric 5: Number of Intolerant Species. Walleye populations are sometimes used in Metric 9: Porportion of Individuals as Top Carnivores. The general presence of family Percidae is accounted for in several other metrics, such as Metric 1: Total Number of Fish Species.

Table 1. Tolerance designations for selected perches.
Species Name Common Name Pollution Tolerance Habitat Disturbance
Ammocrypta asprella Crystal Darter I I
Ammocrypta clara Western Sand Darter I I
Ammocrypta pellucida Eastern Sand Darter I NR
Etheostoma asprigene Mud Darter M MI
Etheostoma blennioides Greenside Darter M I
Etheostoma caeruleum Rainbow Darter M NR
Etheostoma camurum Bluebreast Darter I NR
Etheostoma chlorosomum Bluntnose Darter M I
Etheostoma exile Iowa Darter M NR
Etheostoma flabellare Fantail Darter M I
Etheostoma fusiforme Swamp Darter M I
Etheostoma histrio Harlequin Darter I I
Etheostoma kennicotti Stripetail Darter M NR
Etheostoma maculatum Spotted Darter I NR
Etheostoma microperca Least Darter M I
Etheostoma nigrum Johnny Darter M I
Etheostoma spectabile Orangethroat Darter M MI
Etheostoma tippecanoe Tippecanoe Darter I NR
Etheostoma variatum Variegate Darter I NR
Etheostoma zonale Banded Darter I I
Perca flavescens Yellow Perch M MT
Percina caprodes Logperch M MI
Percina copelandi Channel Darter I I
Percina evides Gilt Darter I NR
Percina maculata Blackside Darter M I
Percina phoxocephala Slenderhead Darter I MI
Percina sciera Dusky Darter M MI
Percina shumardi River Darter M I
Percina uranidae Stargazing Darter I I
Stizostedion canadense Sauger M MI
Stizostedion vitreum Walleye M MI
Key
Pollution Tolerance Habitat Disturbance
T = Tolerant T = Tolerant
M = Intermediate MT = Moderately Tolerant
I = Intolerant MI = Moderately Intolerant
NR = No ranking I = Intolerant
  NR = No ranking

 

 

Biological Indicators | Aquatic Biodiversity | Statistical Primer

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