Lepomis gulosus

History of Spread

Lepomis gulosus (Warmouth) is native to the Great Lakes and Missisippi Basins, PA to MN, south to the Gulf, and Atlantic drainages south of the James River (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993; Lee et al. 1980; Page and Burr 1991). The original range on the Atlantic Coastal Plain is uncertain because of extensive introductions and uncertain early records. It was considered probably native to James and Dismal Swamp, based on Cope's (1869) record, but could have been introduced much earlier. It is probably introduced elsewhere, including the York and Rappahannock, with some uncertainty due to the lack of early records and spotty present distribution, but clearly introduced in the Potomac (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993).

Lepmomis gulosus was frequently stocked by the United States Fish Commission (USFC) and state fish commissions, starting in 1894 . Shipments and stocking by United States Fish Commission occurred mostly within the species' range but also to WA, CA, and MA (Bean 1896; Ravenel 1898). Currently, it has been introduced to 20 states and Puerto Rico (Hardy 1978; Florida Caribbean Science Center 2001). Stocking has been continued by many state agencies to the present. It is introduced in the Hudson River, the Columbia River, and the San Francisco Bay Delta (Cohen and Carlton 1995; Fuller et al. 1999; Mills et al. 1997).

Chesapeake Bay records are summarized below:

James River - Lepomis gulosus was first collected in the James drainage in Tuckahoe Creek near Richmond (Cope 1869). There are few or no further records until after 1950 (Raney 1950). It was stocked in middle James by United States Fish Commission in 1901 (Ravenel 1902). More recently, it was rare in the Chickahominy estuary, a James tributary (McIvor and Odum 1988).

York River - The first verified record of L. gulosus was in 1934 (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993), but it was not reported from the tidal Pamunkey in 1949 (Raney and Massmann 1953).

Rappahannock River - The first verified record of L. gulosus was in1938 (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993), but it was not reported from the tidal river by 1951(Massman et al. 1952). It was found there by Maurakis et al. (1987).

Potomac River - Lepomis gulosus was stocked in Shenandoah River, 1893 (Worth 1895), and was first caught in the Washington DC area, in Little River, in 1897. By 1898 it was 'apparently becoming common in a few places' (Smith and Bean 1898). It was collected at Chain Bridge in 1910 (U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2001). It was abundant in the Piedmont in the C&O canal at Seneca Creek, Montgomery County MD (Radcliffe and Welsh 1916). L. gulosus was not listed for the Potomac Estuary by Lippson and Moran (1974) and not collected in tidal fresh water by Killgore et al. (1989) or Serafy et al. (1994). However, it was found in nontidal ponds and streams at Fort Belvoir VA, near Gunston Cove (Ernst et al. 1995).

Patuxent River - Lepomis gulosus was stocked near Laurel MD by United States Fish Commission in 1893-94, and was locally common in upland impoundments (Mansueti 1950). It was not recorded from the estuary (Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary 1995; Mansueti 1950).

Susquehanna River - Lepomis gulosus was reported as apparently introduced to the river (Fowler 1919), but was not listed for the river by Denoncourt and Cooper (1975) or Denoncourt et al. (1975b), or for the river below Conowingo Dam by McKeown (1984).

Upper Bay - Lepomis gulosus was reported as occurring in ponds in Cecil County, MD (Raasch and Altemus 1991). A specimen was caught in Broad Creek, a South River tributary near Annapolis in October, 2008 (Rob Aguilar, personal communication).

Eastern Shore Tributaries - Lepomis gulosus was present locally in the drainage by 1976 (Lee et al. 1976).

Delaware River - Lepomis gulosus was introduced in the Delaware River (Fowler 1948), and was present, but rare in the estuary (Horwitz 1986). A population was discovered in Augustine Creek, New Castle County, in 1996 (Raasch 1996).

History References - Bean 1896; Cope 1869; Denoncourt and Cooper 1975; Denoncourt et al. 1975b; Ernst et al. 1995; Florida Caribbean Science Center 2000; Fowler 1919; Fowler 1948; Hardy 1978; Horwitz 1986; Jenkins and Burkhead 1993; Killgore et al. 1989; Lee et al. 1976; Lippson and Moran 1974; Mansueti 1950; Massmann et al. 1952; Maurakis et al. 1987; McKeown 1984; McIvor and Odum 1988; Raasch and Altemus 1991; Radcliffe and Welsh 1916; Raney 1950; Raney and Massmann 1953; Ravenel 1902; Serafy et al. 1994; Smith and Bean 1898; U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2001; Worth 1895

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