OBSERVATIONS ON THE FISHES OF HOUGHTON COUNTY, 



MICHIGAN. 



THOMAS L. HANKINSON. 



During the latter half of August, 1905, the writer made a study of 

 the fish in a number of small lakes in Houghton Count}', ^Michigan, for 

 the ^Michigan Geological and Biological Survey. Most of the Avork 

 was (lone on lakes lying along the Copper Range Railroad between 

 Stonington and Winona, two small stations nearly ten miles apart and 

 in general between seventeen and one-half and twenty-seven and one- 

 half miles southwest of Houghton by rail. Only two lakes at any 

 distance from this ten-mile stretch of railroad were examined — Kratt 

 Lake, about two miles southeast of Winona, and Bear Lake, about 

 seven and one-half miles north of Houghton in the sand dune region 

 of Lake Superior. 



As it was impossible in the time devoted to the work to make a 

 detailed study of all of the fish environments in each lake, attention 

 was principally confined to one kind of habitat — the shallow Avater, 

 three feet or less in depth, about the shores and islands. Each habitat 

 Avas seined A\-ith a six foot "common sense" seine, and in addition to 

 observations on abundance, notes were made on the ecological dis* 

 tribution. A complete series of the fish taken in each place has been 

 deposited in the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. 



The AATiter is indebted to A. C. Lane, former State Geologist, for 

 helpful suggestions in the course of the AA'ork, to A. G. Ruthven for 

 assistance in the preparation of this paper for publication, and to the 

 following persons for aid in identifying material: C. A. Da\ns, seed 

 plants: A. G. Ruthven, reptiles and amphibians; S. E. ]\Ieek, three 

 species of minnows; EdAvin Linton and H. B. Ward, fish parasites; F. 

 S. Collins, algae; J. P. Moore, leeches; N. A. Harvej^ sponges. 



LOCAL DISTRIBUTION OF FISH. 



Stonington Lakes. Three small lakes close to the station of Stoning- 

 ton on the Copper Range Railroad are called the Stonington Lakes in 

 this paper. Each of these lakes is surrounded by thick forest except 

 Avliere they come close to the railroad embankment. They are in 

 general oblong in shape, and the largest is perhaps a quarter of a mile 



D. H. HILL LIBRARY 



North Carolina State College 



