Oiiiida Lake I-islus 307 



mull SiickiT 111 l.aki- .\ii>i),'on feeds <in nioUusks, Mayfly nymphs, chironomid 

 larvae. cad<!is larvae, aniphipods {I'oiiloforcia liayi), diatoms, and a considerable 

 variety of minute bottom-living organisms. Stewart ('j<>, p. iSi j giv«^ results of 

 fofxi studies of 162 of these suckers. Iwth young and adult. Chironomids formed 

 about >j of the food of the adult and f'j of the food of the very young (12-16 

 mm long) ; the rest of the f(j<j<l was comixjscd of a lartie variety of insects and 

 other invertebrates. Hensley ('15. p. 17), writing of the fr>i)d of this species, 

 says it is a botttmi feeding fish, subsisting ordinarily on niollusks and crustaceans, 

 but is ver}' destructive to the sjwwn of other species ; and he tells of its abundance 

 on shoals where whitefish. trout, and herring resort in the fall for spawning pur- 

 f)Oses. He says: "It also nms into rivers, to the fw)t of waterfalls in the early 

 spring, feeding on the spawn of the dore, and afterwards spawns in the same 

 situation. It is not infretjucntly seen swimming lazily about in the shallow water 

 of the swamps in June during the spawning time of the Rock Bass and Black 

 Bass, and on some occasions has licen observed to enter the nests of these fishes, 

 aj^iarently with little resistance on the part of the occupants and leisurely to devour 

 the contents." Bean ('03, p. 102) quotes D. Richardson as saying that the food 

 found in stomachs he examined was chiefly soft insects, but in one he found frag- 

 ments of a fresh-water shell. Kendall and Goldslxjrough ('08, p. 24) say: "The 

 foo<l is usually minute animal and vegetable organisms, though it does not reject 

 larger objects. Young tish have l>een found in its stomach, and it fee<ls largely 

 u]vin the eggs of other fish when it can get them." It is thus very evident tliat 

 the Common Suckers have a nuich diversified fare, which undoubteilly accounts to 

 a considerable e.xtent for their wide range of habitat and abundance. 



.Smallwootl ('18. p. 333) found plant remains, crustacean skeletons, san<l. 

 I'liiniatflla and debris to have Uen eaten by this sj)ecies at Lake Clear in the 

 .\dirondacks. 



MIlis and Rik- ( '17, j). C»)) give data nn the destruction of eggs of Log Perch. 

 I'lrciiia capradiS. by Common .tuckers in Douglas I^ike. Michigan. They wouM 

 cniwd into schixiK ..f Log Perch and devour their recently lai<l eggs. For nearly 

 two weeks they were seen near these schools during the <lay. l-'ifteen of the 

 suckers averaging nearly a foot in length were examined. .\11 containi-d eggs of 

 Log Perch, some sand, ami little or no other materi.il. From 23 to 1425 eggs 

 were found in the various suckers. Pcarse ('21, p. Jf^\,^ reiH.rts on the f«KKl of 

 two large Common Suckers nearly 20 inches long. He found them taking a variety 

 of IwhI. the most ini|K>rtant !>eing amphi|MM!s, little dams and insects. Greeley 

 C27. J). 57) examinetl two small Common .Suckers, alxiut 2',- <> inches long, from 

 the Genesee System atid found they h.id eaten nuul, diatoms, filamentous algae 

 and midge larvae. 



Pistrihiillnii h'lii'ids. In June. H)i6, young suckers were taken in sluillow 

 water as follows: No. 41x1. Froher Bay, <;ofish: No. 401. Rillington Bay. yr. 

 No. 403. Shackelton Point, 137; No. 4c/), l,eete Island, 2: No. 422, M.nthcws 

 Point, ^tj: No. 434. Norcross Point, i : No. 45<). Potter B.\v. 8: No. 4<>3, Pi'tter 

 Bay. o: Nil. 470. tievcland Bay. 2: No. (ni), l.ake|>ort Bay. 2: No. '>27. Market. 



In early July. lot*"!, tin- f. .n.win- . •Iln ti. .n- > iit,iining vming suckers fmn) 

 shallow w,iters were made " No. 4i>**, Messenger Bay, 



