Population and Habitat Characteristics of the Pugnose Shiner, Notropis anogenus, in Four Bays of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, New York

Abstract

The goal of our project was to better understand taxa (fish, submerged aquatic vegetationSAV) and physicochemical factors (PCF) associated with the pugnose shiner Notropis anogenus in three bays of Lake Ontario (Sodus) and the St. Lawrence River (Chippewa, Goose) and, using this information, to assess the suitability of an unoccupied bay (Chaumont, Lake Ontario) for establishing a new population by stocking. Our specific objectives were to 1) collect data on the fish communities, SAV, substrate composition and PCF in the four bays, 2) determine population and habitat characteristics of extant N. anogenus in Chippewa, Goose and Sodus Bays, and 3) determine fish, SAV and PCF characteristics in Chaumont Bay then compare them to actual N. anogenus habitat in Chippewa, Goose and Sodus Bays.