Inland Fishes of Washington Second Edition

Description

Richard S. Wydoski and Richard R. Whitney

360 pages, hardcover, 113 color plates

Published by American Fisheries Society in association with University of Washington Press, 2003

Summary

This new, updated, and greatly expanded edition of Inland Fishes of Washington (first published in 1979) describes all the known native and introduced fishes found in freshwater habitats of Washington State, including most of the fishes of Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia. The authors have created a valuable reference for the general public, biologists, teachers, students, and environmentalists.

An overview of Washington’s topography and natural provinces clarifies the influence of geographical, historical, economic, and political forces on the existence of freshwater fishes today. This wide-ranging study gives balanced coverage to nearly everything that is known about the appearance, distribution, growth, reproduction, consumption, and survival of these fish. Salmon, perhaps the most prized fish in the Northwest, are placed within the context of the many other mutually supporting species that together make up the ecological network that sustains them all. Forces impacting fish populations—the presence of non-native and introduced fish, historical and contemporary urban development, and the management of water resources—are also discussed.

The book provides instruction on the basic methods of fish identification, with keys and illustrations that bring together the traits and forms most useful in distinguishing species and subspecies. The keys follow a simple arrangement that progressively illustrates and discusses traits distinctive to each fish.

The valuable information presented here benefits from the authors’ many years of firsthand experience in the field, their years of study and research, and their awareness of and access to the best investigative work being done today by biologists and researchers across the country.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Key to the Families of Freshwater and Anadromous Fishes of Washington

Color Plates

Species Keys and Life History Accounts

* Family Petromyzontidae: Lampreys * Family Acipenseridae: Sturgeons * Family Clupeidae: Herrings * Family Salmonidae: Trouts * Family Osmeridae: Smelts * Family Umbridae: Mudminnows * Family Esocidae: Pikes * Family Cyprinidae: Carps and Minnows * Family Catostomidae: Suckers * Family Cobitidae: Loaches * Family Ictaluridae: Bullhead Catfishes * Family Cyprinodontidae: Killlifishes * Family Poeciliidae: Livebearers * Family Gadidae: Cods * Family Gasterosteidae: Sticklebacks * Family Percopsidae: Trout-perches * Family Percichthyidae: Temperate Basses * Family Centrarchidae: Sunfishes * Family Embiotocidae: Surfperches * Family Percidae: Perches * Family Cottidae: Sculpins * Family Plueronectidae: Righteye Flounders

Appendices

References

Index

About the Authors