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Noel Burkhead, USGS

Pam Fuller, USGS

Enneacanthus gloriosus   (Holbrook 1855)

Common Name: bluespotted sunfish

Taxonomy: available through

Identification: The bluespotted sunfish has a single dorsal fin, spines present in the dorsal and anal fins, three anal spines, a rounded caudal fin, a dark, vertical bar below each eye, middle and rear dorsal spines of approximately equal length, 18 or less scale rows around caudal peduncle, light spots on sides (blue to white in life), and vertical bars that are generally lacking, but if present, indistinct and numbering five or less. Smith (1985); Page and Burr (1991); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994); Mettee et al. (1996).

Size: 9.5 cm.

Native Range: Atlantic and Gulf Slope drainages below Fall Line from southern New York to lower Tombigbee River, Alabama, south to southern Florida; above Fall Line in New York and Pennsylvania (Page and Burr 1991).

Interactive maps: Continental US, Hawaii, Puerto Rico

Nonindigenous Occurrences: A population was discovered in the Jamesville Reservoir, south of Syracuse, New York, in 1971 (Werner 1972; Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Smith 1985). Collections also were made in 1916 from Oneida Lake, just north of Syracuse (Smith 1985) and may represent an early introduction or a relict population. The fish also has been introduced into the Big Black River drainage in Mississippi (Peterson and Ross 1987; Ross and Brenneman 1991). It has been introduced to the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, were it has been collected from Mountain Creek in Cumberland County, Stony Creek in Dauphin County, Lake Winola in Wyoming County, and Harvey's Lake in Luzerne County (Denoncourt et al. 1975c), and Bald Eagle Lake (Cooper 1983).

Ecology: The preferred habitats for the bluespotted sunfish are oxbows and side ponds characterized by dense submerged aquatic vegetation (Peterson and Vanderkooy 1997). E. gloriosus are opportunistif foragers within areas with submerged aquatic vegetation and exhibit no seasonal pattern of prey consumption (Snyder and Peterson 1980). Bluespotted sunfish are planktivorous, feeding primarily on cyclopoid copepods, cladocerans, chironomid larvae, and ostracods, or similar invertebrate assemblages throughout their range (Snyder and Peterson 1999). In New york and New Jersey, E. gloriosus had a protracted spawning season, extending from late spring through summer (Snyder 1999). In Mississippi, spawning occurred from mid-April thorugh September, and in Florida, spawning occurred between April and October. Snyder (1999) also found that bluespotted sunfishin Florida and Mississippi spawned during their first year of life at <30mm TL whereas speciments from New England were found to spawn in their second yearbetween 40 and 50 mm. These fish have been found to adopt a crepuscular feeding pattern in both laboratory and field observations (Casterlin and Reynolds 1980).

Means of Introduction: The presence of this species in the Jamesville Reservoir is probably due to an aquarium release sometime between 1951 and 1966 (Werner 1972). However, it is theoretically possible that the species migrated up from the Hudson River, through the Erie or Barge Canal, to Oneida Lake, then up the Chittenango River and Butternut Creek into Jamesville Reservoir. Although Werner (1972) states that no specimens have ever been collected in the intervening area, there is a collection from Oneida Lake dating back to 1916; the only other collection in the Great Lakes basin (Smith 1985). These fish may either represent a relict population or an introduction earlier than what was calculated in Jamesville Reservoir (Smith 1985). One factor against the canal migration hypothesis is that there is a 2-3 m-high weir with which a fish moving upstream from Oneida Lake to Jamesville Reservoir would have to contend (Werner 1972). Jamesville Reservoir was created in 1874, the same year the Erie Canal opened (Werner 1972). The origin of the Pennsylvania fish is unknown. They may be either natural populations or accidental introductions. Because this species is sometime kept as an aquarium species, aquarium release is a possible means of introductions in Pennsylvania (Denoncourt et al. 1975c). Unknown means of introduction for the Big Black River drainage, Mississippi.

Status: Established in Jamesville Reservoir, New York, and Big Black River drainage, Mississippi. Collected from Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania. Extirpated from Oneida Lake, New York.

Impact of Introduction: Unknown

Remarks: Maximum body size in Missippi populations was at the extreme lower range of body size noted in all geographic locations where data on E. gloriosus was available: 85mm TL in New England, 77mmTL in Georgia and Florida, and 58.4mm in Mississippi (Snyder 1999). Voucher specimens: New York (College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse University), Pennsylvania (CU 16429; PSU; University of Maryland, Appalachian Environmental Laboratory, LaVale).

References

Casterlin, M. E.and Reynolds, W. W. 1980. Diel activity of the bluespotted sunfish, Enneacanthus gloriosus. Copeia, 1980(2):344-345

Peterson, M. S. and Vanderkooy, S. J. 1997. Distribution, habitat characterization, and aspects of reproduction of a peripheral population of bluespotted sunfish Enneacanthus gloriosus (Holbrook). Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 12(1):151-161.

Snyder, D. J. 1999. Foraging and prey selection by bluespotted sunfish Enneacanthus gloriosus (Holbrook) in backwater, vegetated ponds in coastal Mississippi. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 14(2):187-196.

Snyder, D. J. and M. S. Peterson. 1999. Life history of a peripheral population of bluespotted sunfish Enneacanthus gloriosus (Holbrook), with comments on geographic variation. American Midland Naturalist, 141(2):345-357.

Other Resources: Identification Key to Native Freshwater Fishes of Peninsular Florida

Great Lakes Water Life

FishBase Fact Sheet

Author: Pam Fuller and Greg Jacobs

Contributing Agencies:
NOAA - GLERL

Revision Date: 7/12/2005

Citation for this information:
Pam Fuller and Greg Jacobs. 2009. Enneacanthus gloriosus. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=377> Revision Date: 7/12/2005

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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey Page Contact Information: Pam Fuller - NAS Program URL: <http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=377> This File (/queries/FactSheet.asp) Last Modified On: 8/11/2008 1:36:47 PM