Black Bass Diversity: Multidisciplinary Science for Conservation

Black Bass Diversity and Conservation: An Overview

Stephanie L. Shaw

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874400.ch1

The genus Micropterus of the family Centrarchidae was described in 1802 by B. G. E. Lacépède (Kassler et al. 2002), and biologists have sought to understand the diversity of the genus ever since. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, a number of studies described the relationships among Micropterus species, which relied on external morphology, meristics, morphometrics, pigmentation patterns, and coloration (Ramsey 1975; Near and Koppelman 2009). The increased use of DNA techniques within the past decade has brought to light a better view of the diversity of species and revisions within the phylogenetic classification of Micropterus (Near and Koppelman 2009).

Though the genus is described as diverse, there are a number of physical and behavioral characteristics that can be considered typical of Micropterus species. All black bass have a generally elongate, slightly compressed body with a large mouth, emarginated caudal fin, ctenoid scales, and teeth on the palatine and ectopterygoid (Miller 1975; Warren 2009). Black bass are carnivorous and considered top-level predators in freshwater fisheries of North America (Henshall 1881; Miller 1975; Etnier and Starnes 1993; Philipp and Ridgway 2002). Once reaching maturity, adults will spawn annually, typically during the spring, although timing and duration of the spawn vary with water temperature and latitude (Miller 1975; Rogers and Allen 2009). The male establishes a territory, constructs a nest, and courts a female (Miller 1975; Warren 2009). After copulation, the male provides parental care by chasing off predators and keeping the brood clear of debris. He typically guards the brood until it reaches the fry stage and disperses from a school (Miller 1975; Warren 2009).

A few species of black bass are naturally ubiquitous (e.g., Largemouth Bass M. salmoides, Smallmouth Bass M. dolomieu, and Spotted Bass M. punctulatus; Miller 1975), generally being more adaptable to differing environmental conditions and thus inhabiting a broader range. For example, Smallmouth Bass prefer rocky substrate and clear, cool waters of both rivers and lakes, allowing them to occupy a broad range of waters across northern North America (Page and Burr 1991; Warren 2009). Species with condensed ranges are derived forms associated with specific habitat types (Miller 1975; Near et al. 2003). For example, the native range of Alabama Bass M. henshalli is restricted to rivers in the Mobile River basin (Hubbs and Bailey 1940; Gilbert 1973; Kassler et al. 2002; Warren 2009), and the Suwannee Bass M. notius inhabits clear, spring-fed rivers in the Suwannee and Ochlockonee rivers of Florida and Georgia, feeding almost exclusively on crayfish (MacCrimmon and Robbins 1975; Schramm and Maceina 1986; Page and Burr 1991).

Because black basses are among the most highly sought-after recreational freshwater fish species in North America (U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau 2011; Long et al. 2015, this volume), conservation of these species is of great management concern. Most recent studies found that among anglers in freshwater fisheries outside the Great Lakes, black bass were the most popular species, targeted by 10.6 million of 27.1 million anglers, spending 171 million days bass fishing (U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau 2011). In the Great Lakes, 559,000 anglers targeted black bass, making it the second most popular fishery behind Walleye Sander vitreus (U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau 2011). A number of issues, including invasive species, pollution and contaminants, habitat loss and degradation, and hybridization, are threats to these fisheries and the long-term conservation of black bass (Birdsong et al. 2010).