ORANGE-SPOTTED SUNFISH, LEPOMIS HUMILIS. 13 



would otherwise remain unused in the pond. The sunfish earns its 

 importance in pond cultivation by its feedinp; habits and because of 

 its small size and early and noteworthy prolificness. 



To indicate the ease with which hwmlis may be raised, the pro- 

 duction of a Fairport pond used in buffalo-fish cultivation is re- 

 corded. Early in the spring of 1921 seven medium-sized buffalo fish 

 were placed in a pond measuring 0.846 acre for the purpose of 

 noting the effect of certain artificial factors on the pond production 

 of the buffalo fish. The pond intake was protected by wire screening 

 of three-fourths inch mesh placed at the outlet of the reservoir. The 

 pond water supply was obtained from this reservoir, in which there 

 was a large number of orange-spotted sunfish of all ages. In October 

 inventory was taken of the fish of the pond. There were obtained 

 98,200 2 to 5 inch buffalo fish and at least 50,000 hmnilis of the first 

 growth year — an inch or more in length — that had been introduced 

 into the pond by passing through the screened intake and had made 

 normal growth during the sununer. The buffalo-fish production 

 here refeiTed to was by far the maximum pond production for this 

 species so far recorded, but it is the more important when it is 

 appreciated that the pond simultaneously supported such a large 

 number of sunfish. It is of interest to note at this point a statement 

 of Johnson and Stapleton (1921) that 20,000 yearling sunfish (1-^ 

 to 2 inches) to an acre of water would be a noteworthy production. 



From the 960 humiNs nests counted in the Fairport reservoir in 

 May, 1921, it seems probable, in view of the number of eggs laid by 

 females as indicated in Table 2, that the production of the reservoir, 

 measured in total number of Lepomis humilis hatched, was not less 

 than 500,000 fish, and this naturally, with no care from the per- 

 sonnel of the station. 



This production of Lepomis JiwmUis and the information at hand 

 regarding the growth, early sexual maturity, and usefulness of the 

 species in bass ponds suggest the possible service that a small nur- 

 sery pond containing hv/milis alone would render a fish fann or 

 private bass-fishing lake. If properly stocked, the nursery pond 

 would always contain an ample number of small sunfish to serve as 

 food at desired intervals for a large number of black bass. Such 

 an arrangement would forthwith increase the capacity of a large lake 

 to support the bass 



The orange-spotted sunfish, because of its small size, is a valuable 

 test animal for biochemical investigations where fish may be suitably 

 used. An example of the usefulness of this species in this field is 

 suggested by Shelf ord (1917) in his report dealing with the effect 

 on fishes of pollution by diluted chemical wastes. 



The species also has an interesting relationship in the natural his- 

 tory of fresh-water mussels. This sunfish may be the host of the 

 mussel Anodonta, corpulent a. (Coker et al., 1921) and perhaps of 

 other noncommercial mollusks. A natural infection of Lepomis 

 humUis with the glochidia of the valuable yellow sand-shell {Lamp- 

 silis anodontoides) is reported, but this is of doubtful significance, 

 as the species has never been carried through its metamorphosis ex- 

 perimentally other than on the gars. Lepomis humilis is the only 

 member of the Centrarchidse that has given uniformly immune reac- 

 tions to infections with glochidia of the mucket shell Lampsilis 

 luteola (Anson and Howard, MSS.) . All other species of this family 



