February, 1943 
Table 3.—List of fishes of lesser importance in the 22 artificial lakes listed in table 2; 
BENNETT: MANAGEMENT OF ARTIFICIAL LAKES 
showing occurrence, per cent of total fish populations by weight, number per acre, 
to reproduce in small artificial lakes. 
365 
’ 
and ability 
bluegill x green sunfish, and bluegill x 
pumpkinseed sunfish with smaller numbers 
of bluegill x warmouth bass. In one lake 
some of the hybrids were larger than the 
largest parent types. 
Cropping 
A satisfactory yield of hook-and-line fish 
may be taken from an artificial lake when 
adequate numbers of fast-growing fish are 
present. Swingle & Smith (1939, 1941, 
1942) and others have indicated that the 
carrying capacity of a lake depends upon 
its fertility, and that the use of fertilizers 
will increase the number of pounds of fish 
a lake will support. However, the appli- 
cation of fertilizers to lakes is expensive 
and in Illinois may be impractical or un- 
necessary. There is little object in adding 
fertilizers to a lake unless the surrounding 
soil is very poor, or the fishing intensity 
PER Num- 
CENT BER 
Occur- OF PER ABIL- 
RENCE, | Torat | Acre ITY 
KinpD oF Fisu SCIENTIFIC NAME Num- | Popu- IN TO 
BER OF | LATION | Maxi- | ReEpro- 
LaKEs BY MUM DUCE 
Wei1GuHT,| Popvu- 
RANGE | LATION 
MT ee ool, et Ama calog Lannacuss: 4.94.) ee ae 2 4 .5-tr. 4 Moderate 
Mribacks a. ec... Carpiodes cyprinus (Le Sueur)....... 8 3.0-tr. Des Good 
Common sucker..... Catostomus commersonii (Lacépéde). . 8 tf 8 Poor 
Chub sucker........) Erimyzon sucetta kennerlii (Girard). . 4 tr. [ey ieLoor 
Spotted sucker......| Minytrema melanops (Rafinesque)... 5 Grete. 50 Moderate 
Northern redhorse...| Moxostoma aureolum (Le Streut) eee 4 tr 1 None? 
Silver redhorse......) Moxostoma anisurum (Rafinesque)... 1 tie 1— | None? 
Horned dace........ Semotilus a. atromaculatus (Mitchill) 3 te 1— | None 
Common shiner..... . Notropis cornutus (Rafinesque)...... 2 tt, 1— | None 
Bullhead minnow....| Ceratichthys perspicuus (Girard)..... 2 tr, 52+ | Moderate? 
Blunt-nosed minnow.) Hydorhynchus notatus (Rafinesque). . 4 1222-tt. 0,074. Excellent 
mehannel cat......... Ictalurus lacustris punctatus (Wal- 
Dati ee eater eer toe ee 6 7.O-tr. 26 None 
mlathead cat. ivi... Pilodictis olivaris (Rafinesque)...... 1 tr. 1— | None 
Biadpolecat, fice cvs Schilbeodes gyrinus (Mitchill)....... 4 Ee 80 Moderate 
Pptassipike-sa ss. 2 Esox vermiculatus Le Sueur......... 3 tr. S None? 
Top minnow........| Fundulus notatus (Rafinesque)...... 4 tr, 7 Good 
BY tite. asses Page an Lepibema chrysops (Rafinesque)..... 1 tr. 1— | None 
Boe perchss Sa. 4:- Percina caprodes (Rafinesque)....... 2 tr. 1— | None 
Johnny darter....... Boleosoma n. nigrum (Rafinesque). . . 1 tf; 1— | None? 
Long-eared sunfish...) Lepomis megalotis peltastes Cope..... 2 se, 20 Moderate 
Hybrid sunfish... ...| Lepomis macrochirus x L. cyanellus 
ANC Otherseneea rest fees os 6 ths 15 None 
Brook silverside.....| Labidesthes sicculus sicculus (Cope)... 3 tt: 18 Moderate 
Sheepshead.........| Aplodinotus grunniens Rafinesque. . . 4 3 .4—tr. SA ? 
tra trace: 
demands a heavy fish production. Fertil- 
izers added to an uncropped lake are wast- 
ed. Artificial ponds on rich land cannot 
be fertilized without indirectly endanger- 
ing the survival of fish, as fertilizers re- 
duce the amount of dissolved oxygen in 
the water. Swingle & Smith (1941, p. 
221), working on artificial lakes in Ala- 
bama, state that high fish production can- 
not be maintained over a period of years 
without fertilization. In Illinois, however, 
high production has been maintained in 
some artificial lakes for many years with- 
out the use of fertilizers. 
Several farm ponds recently built by the 
U.S. Soil Conservation Service in Illinois 
have been located below barn lots so that 
these lots may act as sources of fertilizer. 
Lakes thus located are usually on eroded 
soil. “Chey are benefited by the inwash of 
animal waste, provided precautions out- 
lined by the Service are followed; that is, 
