268 Roosevelt Wild Life Annals 



bass and suntish are known to be eaten by small fishes, principally minnows ; and 

 undoubtedly the eggs of other fishes also are devoured at times by these little 

 predators. At Walnut Lake, Michigan, Hankinson ('08, p. 204) found Blunt- 

 nosed Minnows important as egg-eaters, and Bensley ('15, p. 22), writing of the 

 Blunt-nosed Minnows, says : "During the nesting season of the black and rock 

 bass, they are commonly seen in large numbers waiting about the nests. If the 

 latter are left for a moment the contents are quickly disposed of." Reighard ('03, 

 p. 80) found Common Sunfish apparently feeding on the eggs of the Bowfin. 

 Kendall ('03, p. 405) found the Common Bullhead and another catfish at one time 

 feeding almost exclusively upon spawn of herring (Poinolobus), and to such an 

 extent that their stomachs were distended with the eggs. Reighard notes ('10, 

 p. 1 133) that the eggs of Horned Dace are probably eaten by suckers and by some 

 minnows that root in loose gravel when feeding. Ellis and Roe ('17, p. 6g) saw 

 Common Suckers eating eggs of Log-Perch (Percina caprodes) ; and Bensley 

 ('15, p. 17) tells of Common Suckers entering the nests of Rock Bass and Black 

 Bass and eating the eggs, meeting with little resistance from the occupants of the 

 nests. Nesting fish in shallow water are subject to unusual dangers, although these 

 are lessened somewhat by the protective markings of breeding fish, which often 

 develop in the males, especially. Reighard ('02, p. 574) describes such markings 

 for the Bowfin. Ignorant or selfish fishermen sometimes spear or otherwise cap- 

 ture black bass and other valuable fishes on their nests, leaving their eggs thus to 

 be devoured without hindrance by minnows and other predacious species of aquatic 

 animals. 



Explanation of the Summary Table 



The table appended herewith gives the most important information that can 

 be gleaned from our data or from the literature on Oneida Lake fish. A brief 

 explanation may first be given : 



Breeding Habitat. By this is meant the kind of situation where fish breed. 

 Brooks are considered to be small streams a few feet wide, with stretches of shal- 

 low, rapid and dashing water (Fig. 220). Creeks are larger and deeper than 

 brooks and with less rapid water. Douglass Creek (Fig. 221) is a type. Rivers 

 are large and deep, fifty or more feet in width. Chittenango Creek (Figs. 222, 

 223) is more like a small river than is the type of stream ordinarily called a river, 

 and Fish Creek and Oneida Creek are other examples. 



Breeding Conditions. These are conditions in the environment of the fish, 

 which it selects for breeding purposes. By shallow water we mean that depth 

 which gives a distinct view of the bottom when the water is clear. This depth is 

 under five or six feet, and usually the expression "shallow water" refers to water 

 under three feet deep. In regard to small streams the expression usually means a 

 few inches, whereas three feet or more here is "deep" water. Riffles are areas 

 with so little water flowing over stones or other submerged objects that its surface 

 is broken and irregular. A stream-pool is a relatively deep and quiet part of the 

 stream, usually of small area. In the water-temperafuro column, the plus sign 

 means that breeding takes place in warming water, and the minus sign, in cooling 

 water. 



