Pirate Perch records from New York’s Great Lakes watersheds, historical to 2022

Abstract

The Pirate Perch (Aphredoderus sayanus) has two subspecies based on morphology. A. s. sayanus is found in Atlantic drainages from Long Island, NY to the Satilla River, GA, and A. s. gibbosus is found in Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes drainages (Burr and Warren 2020). It is of interest to this assessment because it is recommended to be classified as Threatened in NY (https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7494.html). It is an unusual and well-studied species in the southern and midwestern parts of its range where it lives in small sluggish streams and lowland marshes with soft bottoms where woody debris is available for cover and daytime shelter; spawning is known in streams with undercut banks and root wads (Burr and Warren 2020). It is a rare relict in northern New York at the eastern end of its Great Lakes range (Smith 1985). It was never abundant in its historic waters of northern New York, and it seems to have a last refuge exclusive to bays of Lake Ontario in the eastern half of its former self.