OiiiiJii Lake l-islu-s 4<>7 



females to this nest and spawning takes place. He guards the nest and accom- 

 panies the young after hatching until they are an inch or more in length, when 

 the little fish .scatter and lead their indepeiuient lives. ( hir work in < )ncida I^ke 

 was begun too late in the season for ol)ser\ations on the breeding <»f the l»ass. 

 Young fish al)Out an inch in length (No. 52<>) were found by us July lo. 1912. 

 in large numbers scattered over the shallows at Dunham Island. It is probable 

 that these fish were al)out a month old. and that the i>arenl fish had spawned near 

 the middle of June. The species spawns in spring and early summer, on rising 

 temperature. The water should be about (^4° F. according to Heeman ( ' J4. j). 

 94), who notes that 60° delays s|)awning, and it cea.ses below this temj)eraturc 

 (p. 102). Rcighard ('06. p. 9) says the females spawn at the tcmjH^rature of 

 62° F. Nash ('08, p. S8) considers May and July to l)e the months for spawning 

 in Ontario, and this is proliably the time in most of New York State also. 

 Tracy ('10, p. 119) notes that in some parts of its range the species may S])awn 

 as early as March. 



The nest building, so far as observations show, is done entirely by the male 

 fish, which at the beginning of the spawning season l)egins to search for a nesting 

 place by nosing around on the b(Jttom to find a gravelly spot ( Keighard. 'o^j, 

 p. 8). This lx)ttom testing is an important factor in selecting the nesting site. 

 The depth of water varies. Heeman notes ('24. p. 95) the range to Ik: from 

 2-12 feet. iMirlK-s and Richardson ('09, p. 265) give the usual depth as three 

 feet, and Kvcrmann and Clark ('20. p. 413), six feet for I^tke Maxinkuckec. The 

 bottom shtiuld l>e stony, although the fish will use vegetation patches for supporting 

 the eggs, as does the Large mouthed Bass (lieeman, '24, p. 95 ). 



The nest is circular in form, varying froni two lo four feet in di.imeter. 

 .according to Heeman ("24. I.e.. p. 031. Wright ( '<»2. p. 454) s.nys the nest is 

 twice the length of the fish in diameter. It takes the male from about 4 to 48 

 lii.nrs in its construction, according to ForlK's an<l Richard>on ('09, p. 265). 

 Cheney ('97, p. 179) found that the fish works only when the water maintains a 

 temperature of (>^°-i>fr F for most of the d.ny. but Reighard {\ii>. p. w) notes 

 the tem])erature to l)e somewhat below (>o' when the male U-gins nest building. 

 :\fter selecting the nesting site, the male fans away the loo>e liottom material 

 initil he gets the stones perfectly clean. He also linisens the material with his 

 mouth (Keighard. Vrf>. p. <)) by n>oting alxmt in the gravel, often roiling the 

 water considerably. The soil so l<Misene<| is swept away with the fins and tail of 

 the fish. Following nest building. >jtawning takes ]>l,nce. Females gather in the 

 vicinity of the nest, whereupon the male ru>hes out and attempts, often unsiiccess- 

 fully to drive one into the nest. If she breaks away he will drive her Kick. 

 .\ccording to Heeman r24. p. </)), this may Ik- re|H*aled several times, the female 

 each time remaining a little longer. 



When the female is finally ready to s|>awn. there is a marked change in her 

 ai)iK'arance. The dark niottlings on her lH«ly l»ecomc very prominent, due to the 

 ground color U-coming much jwlcr than usual. It is only at the spawning time 

 that there is a prominent sexual difTerencc as to colors. But close oliscrx-ation 

 will show a red spot on the iri* of the male, which is not ordinarily present in the 



