Geographic Range
Rock bass (
Ambloplites rupestris
) are distributed throughout North America. They are native to the North Atlantic
region of the United States and the St. Lawrence, Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and Mississippi
River drainages, as well as northern to southern Georgia and northern Alabama and
Missouri. Rock bass thrive in areas of the east-central part of the United States.
Although they are native to these areas, many introductions have been made. From 1889
to 1936, the United States Fish Commission introduced rock bass to Atlantic drainages
and some western states. Rock bass were introduced to areas of the Atlantic drainages,
from New Hampshire, south to the Roanoke River in Virginia and North Carolina. As
for the western states, rock bass have made it to states such as California, Washington,
Colorado, and even Wyoming. Rock bass have also been introduced in other regions.
In Europe, rock bass were introduced in countries such as England and France in the
1880’s.
- Biogeographic Regions
- nearctic
Habitat
Rock bass are found inhabiting aquatic biomes such as rivers, streams, lakes, and
ponds. These aquatic biomes are freshwater, often heavily vegetated to provide cover
from predators. These fish also thrive in biomes with temperatures ranging from 10
to 29 degrees Celsius. Rock bass are most commonly distributed in regions that supply
a habitat of rocky or sandy characteristics in clear water. In regions where rock
bass are introduced such as Europe, ecologists have found their habitats to be slightly
different from North American residents. Rock bass distributed in Europe prefer similar
habitats, but avoid areas of fast moving water.
- Habitat Regions
- freshwater
- Aquatic Biomes
- lakes and ponds
- rivers and streams
Physical Description
Rock bass are part of genus
Ambloplites
, meaning “blunt shield,” and the species name
rupestris
refers to their preference for being “among the rocks.” Similar to other sunfish,
rock bass can be distinguished by the five to seven spines located on the anal fin
along with nine to eleven soft anal rays. Rock bass also have spines located on their
much larger dorsal fin, with 10 to 13 spines and 11 to 13 soft dorsal rays. Rock bass
have distinguishable dark spots on each scale that are aligned in rows around the
lateral line, continuing down towards the ventral side. Starting with their back,
rock bass are dark green or brownish, fading to a lighter green, and slowly fading
to whitish green or yellow towards their ventral side. Their fins have a yellowish
brown tint, with a black spot on the tip of the gill plate. They are relatively small,
averaging about 20 to 25 cm long and very rarely reach one kilogram, although the
largest recorded rock bass was 3 kg. Rock bass have large mouths and bright red eyes,
which give them the nickname “redeyes.”
- Other Physical Features
- ectothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Development
Three to four days after spawning, the eggs begin to hatch. At hatching, the mean
length of rock bass larvae is about 5.5 mm. As the larvae grow, melanophores (connective-tissue
cells containing melanin, which gives them their color) also begin to develop at about
6.8 mm. By about 6.9 mm, the larvae begin to develop caudal fin rays, and dorsal,
anal, and pectoral fin rays at about 8.6 mm in length. Finally, pelvic fin rays begin
to develop at about 13.5 mm in length. As the maturation cycle of the larvae continues,
by the first year, young rock bass grow to about 5 cm in length, reaching 10 cm by
year two, and up to 18 cm by year three.
Reproduction
Rock bass are polygynandrous, in which both females and males have multiple mates
during the breeding season. Rock bass spawn in the spring and, in some cases, spawn
again in the early summer with another mate. When attracting a mate, male rock bass
find a suitable area and build a nest. Circling inside the newly prepared nest, the
male awaits a mate. Without courtship displays, the female enters the nest and joins
the male in his circular behavior. Both the female and male simultaneously release
their sperm and eggs into the nest. The female's role in spawning is over after they
release eggs and they are able to leave the nest and mate with another male, although
they sometimes choose to remain near the exterior of the nest. Male rock bass guard
and protect the nest using circling behaviors until the fry hatch.
- Mating System
- polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Similar to the spawning cycle of
smallmouth bass
, rock bass spawn in areas of shallow water. The spawning cycle of rock bass occurs
in the spring and into the summer months of June, as the water temperature reaches
between 13 to 15 degrees Celsius. Rock bass reach sexual maturity at about 2 to 3
years of age. Male rock bass prepare the nest for spawning. Their nests are circular
bowl-shaped depressions, approximately 20 to 30 cm in diameter. Using their tail,
male rock bass are able to clear areas of debris to produce their nest. Without male
courtship, females enter the newly-made nest and spawn, releasing approximately 500
to 5,000 eggs depending on the female's size. After fertilization by the male, the
newly spawned eggs are guarded by male rock bass in the interior of the nest, which
consists of a 20 to 30 cm area. While guarding the eggs, males turn darker in color
and continue their circling behavior, which helps protect the eggs from predators.
The eggs begin to hatch 3 to 4 days after spawning and the fry leave the nest approximately
9 to 10 days after hatching. Approximately 33% of rock bass nests are unsuccessful
due to predation.
- Key Reproductive Features
- seasonal breeding
- sexual
- fertilization
- oviparous
Male rock bass show parental care by fanning the nest with their pectoral fins and
guarding and protecting the nest by using circling behaviors after spawning with the
female. These behaviors continue for several days, protecting the offspring from predators
in hopes of reaching a goal of maximum fitness. After females lay eggs in the nest,
their parental effort is complete.
- Parental Investment
- male parental care
- female parental care
-
pre-fertilization
-
protecting
- female
-
protecting
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- male
-
protecting
- male
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
provisioning
- male
-
protecting
- male
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
Rock bass have an average lifespan of about 5 to 8 years in the wild. This average
is obviously influenced by the level of predation and food supply in the environment.
It has been reported that the maximum lifespan of a rock bass in captivity was 18
years.
Behavior
During spawning, male rock bass do not eat. Male rock bass guard the nest of the newly
spawned eggs. This nest becomes their home range, spanning between 20 and 30 cm in
diameter. To protect the nest from predators, they perform circling behaviors. Males
are very aggressive during spawning season. When faced with a territorial intruder,
they race towards it with spread opercles or display an open mouth. In the winter
months, rock bass can be found in schools and slowly go their separate ways as spring
approaches for spawning activity.
- Key Behaviors
- natatorial
- motile
- territorial
- social
Home Range
Besides the nest territory that males defend, no other home ranges have been reported.
Communication and Perception
Fish use chemical signals to communicate and perceive their environment. Rock bass
use chemoreception for a number of communication and perception tasks. These tasks
consist of locating prey, identifying opposite sexes, identifying other species, identifying
predation threats and how to avoid these predators, differentiating between their
young, signaling for migration from others, and even identifying where they are in
comparison to their habitat. Rock bass use tactile characteristics or the sense of
touch with body parts such as their large, bass-like mouth and even visual characteristics
such as their big eyes or “goggle eyes,” which is another common nickname of rock
bass.
Food Habits
Rock bass prey on various aquatic species such as plants located around their highly
vegetated habitat. Rock bass also prey on small
crustaceans
like
crayfish
,
insects
such as small larvae, and smaller fish, including those of their own species.
- Animal Foods
- insects
- aquatic crustaceans
Predation
Predators of rock bass include of other, larger adult rock bass,
northern pike
,
muskies
,
walleyes
,
largemouth bass
, and even
humans
. These predators prey on adult and young rock bass. To avoid these predators, rock
bass depend on their cryptic coloration, staying camouflaged in their environment.
- Anti-predator Adaptations
- cryptic
Ecosystem Roles
Rock bass feed on
insects
, aquatic
crustaceans
, and smaller fish. As a result, the populations of these organisms are suppressed
so that their population densities are at an acceptable level. Rock bass are also
hosts in their ecosystems.
Copepods
, a small group of crustaceans that have a parasitic role with rock bass, such as
anchorworms
, depend on rock bass. Anchorworms are external parasites that embed into the skin
of the fish and damage and ultimately decrease the longevity of rock bass.
- anchorworms ( Lernaea cruciata )
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Rock bass, along with other bass species, such as
smallmouth bass
,
largemouth bass
, and
spotted bass
, are all sport fish. With competitive tournament events and even recreational events,
bass fishing has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry. For example, 33 million
people of age 16 and older engage in the activity of fishing and spend 48 billion
dollars a year to do so. These sportsmen spend this money on fishing guides and services,
equipment, apparel, licenses, restaurants, gas, boats, and more. Fishing also supports
828,000 jobs in the United States; many of these jobs involve fishing for species
such as rock bass.
- Positive Impacts
- food
- ecotourism
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Environmental impacts may result from sport fishing for rock bass and other species.
For example, pollution from boats, such as oil and gas leaks, as well as littering
by sportsman can take an economic toll on the efforts to maintain clean and healthy
ecosystems.
Conservation Status
Introduced into many drainages in the United States, rock bass have flourished in
their environments. As a means of conservation, rock bass are successfully surviving
in their environments and are listed as a species of "least concern" on the IUCN red
list. Rock bass do not require any special monitoring or conservation management plans
because of their population stability. However, as a sport fish, they are managed
to some extent. Even though they are not a fish many people prefer to eat, there are
slot limits (required lengths) on different bodies of water, which regulate whether
people can keep these sport fish. Also, artificial nests and nursery/artificial ponds
are management tools developed to maintain populations of rock bass.
Additional Links
Contributors
Brendan Schnell (author), Radford University, Karen Powers (editor), Radford University, Leila Siciliano Martina (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.
- Nearctic
-
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
- introduced
-
referring to animal species that have been transported to and established populations in regions outside of their natural range, usually through human action.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- freshwater
-
mainly lives in water that is not salty.
- ectothermic
-
animals which must use heat acquired from the environment and behavioral adaptations to regulate body temperature
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- polygynandrous
-
the kind of polygamy in which a female pairs with several males, each of which also pairs with several different females.
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- external fertilization
-
fertilization takes place outside the female's body
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- male parental care
-
parental care is carried out by males
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- natatorial
-
specialized for swimming
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- territorial
-
defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- cryptic
-
having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect.
- food
-
A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.
- ecotourism
-
humans benefit economically by promoting tourism that focuses on the appreciation of natural areas or animals. Ecotourism implies that there are existing programs that profit from the appreciation of natural areas or animals.
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- omnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals
References
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Beckman, W. 1941. Increased growth rate of rock bass, Ambloplites rupestris (Rafinesque), following reduction in the density of the population. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society , 70/1: 146-148.
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Buynak, G., H. Mohr Jr. 1979. Larval development of rock bass from the Susquehanna River. The Progressive Fish Culturist , 41/1: 39-42.
Carlander, K., R. Cleary. 1949. The daily activity patterns of some freshwater fishes. American Midland Naturalist , 41/2: 447-452.
Causey, D. 1957. Parasitic Copepoda from Louisiana fresh water fish. American Midland Naturalist , 58/2: 378-382.
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Gerber, G., J. Haynes. 1988. Movements and behavior of smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieui , and rock bass, Ambloplites rupestris , in southcentral Lake Ontario and two tributaries. Journal of Freshwater Ecology , 4/4: 425-440.
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