NPSpecies

The data source confirming park status is over 10 years old. The park status value was chosen due to the lack of current evidence for the occurrence of this species in the park.; Data Source: Britt, 1993

All Atlantic Slope records north of the Carolinas are considered introduced; Data Source: Britt, 1992 Legacy NPSpecies information may no longer be applicable, please remove if it is not applicable. In legacy NPSpecies Cultivation value was Not cultivated with comment: By definition, this species was not introduced as part of the park's mission. Rather, they occur there naturally having been introduced elswhere in the drainage at some point in the past.

Data Source: Britt, 1993

Park Species Detail: Britt, 1993: Lepomis macrochirus, bluegill (resident, introduced). The bluegill's original distribution extends from southern Ontario through the Great Lakes and Mississippi River drainages south to Florida, Texas and northeastern Mexico. Its habitat includes ponds, lakes, slow-flowing rivers and streams with sand, mud, or gravel bottoms bordered by vegetation. The adult total length is 85-170 mm. Bluegill feed at different levels of the water column depending on the water temperature. Its diet consists of spiders, insects, crayfish, fish eggs and small fish. Spawning begins in April through September when the water temperature is 70 of. Individuals may reproduce several times during a spawning period. Sexual maturity and size varies regionally. Usually, sexual maturity is reached by 2 or 3 years-of-age. The male is the nest builder and guards the eggs and young. The nest is shallow and bowl-shaped (6 to 24 inches in diameter and 2 to 6 inches deep) and are built in water I to 6 feet deep, on a sandy gravel or mud substrate. Nests are found in colonies along shorelines. A female may lay 2,000-63,000 thousand eggs. The eggs hatch in 30-35 hours. Bluegill were collected from Rock Creek during the present study., Park Species Data Source: Britt et al 1993