Animal Diversity Web

Ge­o­graphic Range

The range of yel­low bass is re­stricted pri­mar­ily to the Lake Michi­gan and Mis­sis­sippi River basins from Min­nesota to the Gulf of Mex­ico and the states in be­tween. Na­tive pop­u­la­tions occur in areas of Ok­la­homa and Texas and ex­tend as far east as cen­tral Ten­nessee. Yel­low bass have also been in­tro­duced to other areas, in­clud­ing Ari­zona. This species is mainly found in low­land areas of its range. (Lee, et al., 1980; Page and Burr, 2011; "Yel­low Bass (Mo­rone mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis)", 2009)

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic
  • introduced
  • native

Habi­tat

Yel­low bass in­habit quiet pools and back­wa­ters of small to large streams, lakes, and reser­voirs. The best wa­ters for yel­low bass are those that have lit­tle veg­e­ta­tion, low tur­bid­ity, and high carp pop­u­la­tions. They are a fresh­wa­ter species that is de­m­er­sal in na­ture, mean­ing that they live near or on the bot­tom of the lake or river. They occur in the sub­trop­i­cal re­gion be­tween 45 de­grees north and 27 de­grees north. (Car­lan­der, 1997; Froese, 2010; Lee, et al., 1980; Page and Burr, 2011)

• Habitat Regions
• temperate
• freshwater

• Aquatic Biomes
• lakes and ponds
• rivers and streams
• temporary pools

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

The sides of this species are yel­low­ish-sil­ver in color and have seven lat­eral stripes that are black or brown and are lo­cated on the upper and mid­dle sides of the body. The lower stripes are dis­tinctly bro­ken and off­set near their mid­dle. The dor­sal area is olive green to olive-gray in color and the ab­domen is white to yel­low in color. The me­dian fins of are dark to dusky in ap­pear­ance and the paired fins are clear and white in color. The eyes of in­di­vid­u­als are yel­low in color. Yel­low bass do not have teeth or a tongue. They have 9 to 10 anal fin soft rays, 47 to 55 scales in the lat­eral line, 19 to 25 gill rak­ers, 10 dor­sal spines, 11 to 12 dor­sal rays, 3 anal spines, and 15 to 16 pec­toral rays. The body shape is mod­er­ately deep and is lat­er­ally com­pressed. The mouth po­si­tion is ter­mi­nal. (Has­san-Williams and Bon­ner, 2007; Page and Burr, 2011; "Yel­low Bass (Mo­rone mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis)", 2009)

Yel­low bass are dis­tin­guished from white bass (Mo­rone chrysops) or young striped bass (Mo­rone sax­atilis) by their yel­low belly color and the low­er­most stripes on the body being dis­tinctly bro­ken and off­set, as op­posed to the sil­very color and con­tin­u­ous lines found in the other two species. Yel­low bass are eas­ily dif­fer­en­ti­ated from white perch (Mo­rone amer­i­cana) by their olive to yel­low body color and lat­eral stripes (the lat­ter species has sil­ver-green sides and com­pletely lacks lat­eral stripes). Yel­low bass are also dis­tinc­tive within the genus Mo­rone be­cause their sec­ond and third anal spines are ap­prox­i­mately equal in length. (Has­san-Williams and Bon­ner, 2007; Page and Burr, 2011; "Yel­low Bass (Mo­rone mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis)", 2009)

• Other Physical Features
• ectothermic
• heterothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

• Range mass

  1.16 (high) kg

  2.56 (high) lb

• Range length

  46 (high) cm

  18.11 (high) in

• Average length

  23.9 cm

  9.41 in

De­vel­op­ment

Eggs hatch 4 to 6 days after fer­til­iza­tion at a tem­per­a­ture of 21°C. Lar­vae ab­sorb their yolk sac within four days of hatch­ing. The de­vel­op­ing lar­vae form schools and grow rapidly ini­tially. Yel­low bass in a lake in Ten­nessee reached an av­er­age length of al­most 20 cen­time­ters at the end of their first year. (Burn­ham, 1910; Car­lan­der, 1997; Has­san-Williams and Bon­ner, 2007; Pfleiger, 1997; Schoff­man, 1958)

• Development - Life Cycle
• indeterminate growth

Re­pro­duc­tion

In­di­vid­u­als reach sex­ual ma­tu­rity be­tween 2 and 4 years in age, de­pend­ing on their ge­o­graphic lo­ca­tion. Males often ma­ture be­tween 2 and 3 years in age, while fe­males ma­ture be­tween 3 and 4 years in age. Fe­males pro­duce mul­ti­ple clutches of eggs dur­ing each spawn­ing pe­riod and pro­duce off­spring over mul­ti­ple years. Yel­low bass spawn in the spring (late April to early June) and are stim­u­lated by a rise in water tem­per­a­ture. The spawn oc­curs at water tem­per­a­tures from 14.5°C to 26°C. Fe­males do not re­lease all of their eggs in a sin­gle spawn­ing, and each spawn­ing is fer­til­ized by mul­ti­ple males. (Burn­ham, 1910; Car­lan­der, 1997; Pfleiger, 1997)

• Mating System
• polyandrous

Yel­low bass breed once yearly be­tween late April and early June in trib­u­tary streams or lakes, over gravel or rock reefs. Fe­males lay on their right side and eject eggs to­ward the male, who fer­til­izes them as they are re­leased. The male stays up­right dur­ing this event. Eggs are de­posited on grav­elly bot­toms in wa­ters that are 0.6 to 0.9 me­ters deep. In­for­ma­tion on the num­ber and size of off­spring at birth is un­avail­able. Hy­brids have been doc­u­mented be­tween fe­male striped bass (Mo­rone sax­atilis) and male yel­low bass. These hy­brids are com­monly known as par­adise bass. (Bosworth, et al., 1998; Car­lan­der, 1997; Has­san-Williams and Bon­ner, 2007; Pfleiger, 1997)

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• fertilization
  • external
• oviparous

• Breeding interval

  Yellow bass breed once yearly.

• Breeding season

  Spawning occurs from late April to early June.

• Range time to hatching

  4 to 6 days

• Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

  3 to 4 years

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

  3 years

• Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

  2 to 3 years

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

  3 years

Eggs are slightly ad­he­sive, al­low­ing them to stick to struc­tures in the en­vi­ron­ment, such as aquatic plants. The eggs re­ceive no care once fer­til­ized. (Car­lan­der, 1997; Has­san-Williams and Bon­ner, 2007; "Mo­rone mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis", 2011)

• Parental Investment
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female

Lifes­pan/Longevity

The max­i­mum known age of yel­low bass is 7 years in the wild, though the max­i­mum age at­tain­able in cap­tiv­ity is un­known. Lim­it­ing fac­tors and mor­tal­ity rates are un­known. (Froese, 2010)

• Range lifespan
  Status: wild

  7 (high) years

Be­hav­ior

Yel­low bass form schools to feed at mid­wa­ter or near the sur­face. In­di­vid­u­als com­monly mi­grate into trib­u­tary streams in order to spawn, though they nor­mally occur in quiet pools and back­wa­ters of small to large rivers, lakes, and reser­voirs. They are cre­pus­cu­lar in na­ture, feed­ing at dusk and dawn. (Has­san-Williams and Bon­ner, 2007; Lee, et al., 1980)

• Key Behaviors
• natatorial
• crepuscular
• motile
• sedentary
• social

Home Range

No spe­cific in­for­ma­tion about the home range of yel­low bass is known. A re­lated species (Mo­rone chrysops) has been doc­u­mented to travel large dis­tances. Yel­low bass also show local mi­gra­tion when they move into trib­u­tary streams in April and May to spawn. (Lee, et al., 1980; Mor­gan, 2006)

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Species in the genus Mo­rone are able to per­ceive their en­vi­ron­ment through vi­sion, hear­ing, chemore­cep­tion, and de­tec­tion of vi­bra­tions with the lat­eral line sys­tem. Yel­low bass are able to use these sen­sory sys­tems to sense their en­vi­ron­ment and in­ter­act with con­specifics.

• Communication Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

• Other Communication Modes
• vibrations

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• vibrations
• chemical

Food Habits

Yel­low bass are pri­mar­ily in­verti­vores/car­ni­vores that feed mid-wa­ter or near the sur­face. Young in­di­vid­u­als feed pri­mar­ily on small crus­taceans and in­sects, though the diet of adults in­cludes fish, in­clud­ing smaller in­di­vid­u­als of their own species. The im­por­tance of aquatic in­sects in their diet may in­crease as in­di­vid­u­als grow, but zoo­plank­ton make up a ma­jor­ity of their diet in some pop­u­la­tions. This species has a well-de­fined feed­ing pat­tern, feed­ing shortly after dark and again at day­light. (Col­lier, 1959; Dar­nell, 1961; Gold­stein and Simon, 1999; Has­san-Williams and Bon­ner, 2007; Kraus, 1963; Van Den Avyle, et al., 1983; Welker, 1963)

• Primary Diet
• carnivore
  • piscivore
  • insectivore
  • eats non-insect arthropods
• planktivore

• Animal Foods
• fish
• insects
• aquatic crustaceans
• other marine invertebrates
• zooplankton

Pre­da­tion

No spe­cific in­for­ma­tion is avail­able re­gard­ing preda­tors or anti-preda­tor adap­ta­tions of yel­low bass. Species in the same genus as yel­low bass, such as white bass (Mo­rone chrysops) and white perch (Mo­rone amer­i­cana) are preyed upon by species such as white bass, striped bass (Mo­rone sax­atilis), wall­eye (Sander vit­reus), blue­fish (Po­mato­mus salta­trix), weak­fish (Cynoscion re­galis), white perch, and bluegill (Lep­omis macrochirus). Pre­da­tion on white perch often oc­curs in their em­bry­onic and lar­val stages, though is not un­com­mon dur­ing their ju­ve­nile stage, be­com­ing less com­mon in adults. It is likely that yel­low bass have sim­i­lar preda­tors as other species in their genus due to their sim­i­lar­i­ties in range and habi­tat. (Martens, 2006; Mor­gan, 2006)

Ecosys­tem Roles

Yel­low bass play an im­por­tant role in the ecosys­tem as a preda­tor and prey an­i­mal and also host a num­ber of dif­fer­ent par­a­sitic trema­todes, ne­ma­todes, and ces­todes, acan­tho­cepha­lans, and gill lice. The trema­todes that in­fect them are On­choclei­dus in­ter­rup­tus, Al­la­can­tho­chas­mus artus, Al­la­can­tho­chas­mus var­ius, Azy­gia an­gus­ti­cauda, Cli­nos­to­mum com­plana­tum, Diplosto­mu­lum, Neo­chas­mus um­bel­lus, Posthodiplosto­mum min­i­mum, and Tetra­cotyle. The ne­ma­todes in­fect them are Ca­mal­lanus oxy­cephalus, Ca­mal­lanus, Con­tra­cae­cum spi­culigerum, Spini­tec­tus gra­cilis, and Lep­torhyn­choides th­e­ca­tus. The ces­todes that in­fect them are Pro­teo­cephalus am­blo­pli­tis, Pro­teo­cephalus, and Try­panorhyn­cha. They are also in­fected by acan­tho­cepha­lans (Neoechi­norhynchus cylin­dra­tus) and gill lice (Er­gasilus arthro­sis). (Hoff­man, 1999)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Yel­low bass are har­vested for sport and food. They are not as sought after as other fish species such as white bass be­cause of their smaller size. In the 1800's they were har­vested com­mer­cially. It is con­ceiv­able that this species plays an im­por­tant role in the reg­u­la­tion of in­sect and zoo­plank­ton pop­u­la­tions. (Has­san-Williams and Bon­ner, 2007; "Yel­low Bass (Mo­rone mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis)", 2009)

• Positive Impacts
• food
• ecotourism

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

There are no known ad­verse ef­fects of yel­low bass on hu­mans.

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Yel­low bass are listed as a species of spe­cial con­cern by Min­nesota's List of En­dan­gered, Threat­ened, and Spe­cial Con­cern Species. ("Mo­rone mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis", 2011)

• IUCN Red List

  Not Evaluated

• US Federal List

  No special status

• CITES

  No special status

• State of Michigan List

  No special status

Con­trib­u­tors

Eric Wal­berg (au­thor), Min­nesota State Uni­ver­sity, Mankato, Je­remy Wright (au­thor, ed­i­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor, Robert Sorensen (ed­i­tor), Min­nesota State Uni­ver­sity, Mankato, Gail Mc­Cormick (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web Staff, Cather­ine Kent (ed­i­tor), Spe­cial Pro­jects.

Ref­er­ences

Min­nesota De­part­ment of Nat­ural Re­sources. 2011. "Mo­rone mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis" (On-line). The Min­nesota De­part­ment of Nat­ural Re­sources Web Site. Ac­cessed April 01, 2011 at http://​www.​dnr.​state.​mn.​us/​rsg/​profile.​html?​action=elementDetail&​selectedElement=AFCQA01030.

Texas Parks and Wildlife De­part­ment. 2009. "Yel­low Bass (Mo­rone mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis)" (On-line). Texas Parks and Wildlife. Ac­cessed July 17, 2011 at http://​www.​tpwd.​state.​tx.​us/​huntwild/​wild/​species/​yellowbass/​.

Bosworth, B., G. Libey, D. Not­ter. 1998. Re­la­tion­ships Among Total Weight, Body Shape, Vis­ceral Com­po­nents, and Fil­let Traits in Pal­metto Bass (Striped Bass Fe­male Mo­rone sax­atilis × White Bass Male M. chrysops) and Par­adise Bass (Striped Bass Fe­male M. sax­atilis × Yel­low Bass Male M. mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis). Jour­nal of the World Aqua­cul­ture So­ci­ety, 29: 40-50.

Burn­ham, C. 1910. Notes on the yel­low bass. Trans­ac­tions of the Amer­i­can Fish­eries So­ci­ety, 39: 103-108.

Car­lan­der, K. 1997. Hand­book of Fresh­wa­ter Fish­ery Bi­ol­ogy. Ames, IA: Iowa State Uni­ver­sity Press.

Col­lier, J. 1959. Changes in fish pop­u­la­tions and food habits of yel­low bass in North Twin Lake, 1956-1958. Pro­ceed­ings of the Iowa Acad­emy of Sci­ence, 66: 518-522.

Dar­nell, R. 1961. Trophic Spec­trum of an Es­tu­ar­ine Com­mu­nity, Based on Stud­ies of Lake Pontchar­train, Louisiana. Ecol­ogy, 42: 553-568.

Froese, R. 2010. "Mo­rone mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis" (On-line). Fish­Base. Ac­cessed July 18, 2011 at http://​fishbase.​sinica.​edu.​tw/​summary/​speciessummary.​php?​id=3309#​.

Gold­stein, R., T. Simon. 1999. To­ward a united de­f­i­n­i­tion of guild struc­ture for feed­ing ecol­ogy of North Amer­i­can fresh­wa­ter fishes. Pp. 123-202 in T Simon, ed. As­sess­ing the Sus­tain­abil­ity and Bi­o­log­i­cal In­tegrity of Water Re­sources Using Fish Com­mu­ni­ties. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Has­san-Williams, C., T. Bon­ner. 2007. "Mo­rone mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis" (On-line). Texas Fresh­wa­ter Fishes. Ac­cessed July 18, 2011 at http://​www.​bio.​txstate.​edu/​~tbon­ner/tx­fishes/mo­rone%20mississippiensis.​htm.

Hoff­man, G. 1999. Par­a­sites of North Amer­i­can Fresh­wa­ter Fishes. Ithaca, New York, USA: Cor­nell Uni­ver­sity Press.

Kraus, R. 1963. Food habits of the yel­low bass, Roc­cus mis­sis­sip­pi­en­sis, Clear Lake, Iowa, sum­mer 1962. Pro­ceed­ings of the Iowa Acad­emy of Sci­ence, 70: 209-215.

Lee, D., C. Gilbert, C. Ho­cutt, R. Jenk­ins, D. McAl­lis­ter, J. Stauf­fer. 1980. Atlas of North Amer­i­can Fresh­wa­ter Fishes. Raleigh, NC: North Car­olina State Mu­seum of Nat­ural His­tory.

Martens, A. 2006. "Mo­rone amer­i­cana" (On-line). An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web. Ac­cessed July 17, 2011 at http://​animaldiversity.​ummz.​umich.​edu/​site/​accounts/​information/​Morone_​americana.​html.

Mor­gan, T. 2006. "Mo­rone chrysops" (On-line). An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web. Ac­cessed July 17, 2011 at http://​animaldiversity.​ummz.​umich.​edu/​site/​accounts/​information/​Morone_​chrysops.​html.

Page, L., B. Burr. 2011. Pe­ter­son Field Guide to Fresh­wa­ter Fishes of North Amer­ica North of Mex­ico, 2nd Edi­tion. New York, NY: Houghton Mif­flin Har­court.

Pfleiger, W. 1997. The Fishes of Mis­souri. Jef­fer­son City, MO: Mis­souri De­part­ment of Con­ser­va­tion.

Schoff­man, R. 1958. Age and rate of growth of the yel­low bass in Reelfoot Lake, Ten­nessee, for 1955 and 1957. Jour­nal of the Ten­nessee Acad­emy of Sci­ence, 33: 101-105.

Van Den Avyle, M., B. Hig­gin­botham, B. James, F. Bulow. 1983. Habi­tat Pref­er­ences and Food Habits of Young-of-the-Year Striped Bass, White Bass, and Yel­low Bass in Watts Bar Reser­voir, Ten­nessee. North Amer­i­can Jour­nal of Fish­eries Man­age­ment, 3: 163-170.

Welker, B. 1963. Sum­mer food habits of yel­low bass and black bull­heads in Clear Lake. Pro­ceed­ings of the Iowa Acad­emy of Sci­ence, 69: 286-295.