Iowa Fish Atlas

Native: Yes

State Rank: SNR

ITIS Code: 168144          

National Rank: N5           

Global Rank: G5

Modeled By: Anna Loan-Wilsey

State Range:

The pumpkinseed is not an abundant species anywhere in Iowa.  It is occasionally taken in natural lakes and in the Mississippi River.  This sunfish is rarely taken in man-made lakes in northern Iowa and very rarely in the interior rivers of the state (Harlan et al. 1987). 

Habitat Affinities:

The pumpkinseed is an inhabitant of clear, quiet sluggish water with large stands of rooted aquatic vegetation and bottoms of muck or sand covered with organic debris (Cross and Collins 1995; Etnier and Starnes 1993; Pflieger 1997; Trautman 1981). The pumpkinseed is common in clear, northern lakes and large streams (Eddy and Underhill 1974; Phillips et. al. 1982; Smith 1979), and has been successfully introduced into two reservoirs in Tennessee (Etnier and Starnes 1993).  In Missouri, the pumpkinseed is extremely rare (Pflieger 1997).  In Wisconsin, the pumpkinseed is a widely distributed sunfish, where it is a common inhabitant of ponds, lakes, streams, river impoundments and other man-made waters (Becker 1983).

Predictive Model(s):

Statewide Model: by 8-digit HU [Decision Tree Analysis n=18]

The distribution is based upon existing collection records.

("TEMP_CODE" = 2 AND "MAXELEVR" <= 1)

Mississippi River Model:

The distribution is based upon existing collection records and professional review.

("pool" >= 'S08' AND "pool" <= 'S19')

Overall Prediction:

("TEMP_CODE" = 2 AND "MAXELEVR" <= 1) OR ("pool" >= 'S08' AND "pool" <= 'S19')

Literature Cited:

Becker, G.C.  1983.  Fishes of Wisconsin.  University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. 1052 pp.

Cross, F.B., and J.T. Collins.  1995.  Fishes in Kansas.  University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Public Education Series No. 14, Lawrence, Kansas.   315 pp.

Eddy, S., and J.C. Underhill.  1974.  Northern fishes; with special reference to the upper Mississippi Valley.  University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  414 pp.

Etnier, D.A., and W.E. Starnes.  1993.  The fishes of Tennessee.  University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee.  681 pp.

Harlan, J.R., E.B. Speaker, and J. Mayhew.  1987.  Iowa fish and fishing. Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa. 323pp.

Pflieger, W.L.  1997.  The fishes of Missouri.  Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, Missouri.  372 pp.

Phillips, G.L., W.D. Schmid, and J.C. Underhill.  1982.  Fishes of the Minnesota region.  University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  248 pp.

Smith, P.W.  1979.  The fishes of Illinois.  University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois.  314 pp.

Trautman, M.B.  1981.  The fishes of Ohio.  Revised Edition.  Ohio State University Press in collaboration with the Ohio Sea Grant Program Center for Lake Erie Area Research,  Columbus, Ohio.  782 pp.

Data Sources:

Bernstein, N.P., M. Getting, T. Kamp, S. Christian, R. Smith, J. Steele, and S. Steele. 

2000.  The status of the blacknose shiner (Notropis heterolepis) in Iowa: A preliminary survey.  Journal of the Iowa Academy of Sciences 107(1):16-20.

Cleary, R.E.  1956.  Summary of the cooperative exploratory fishing operations in the

Wisconsin-Illinois-Iowa sections of the Mississippi River- 1956.  Job Description Investigations Projects.  Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa.

Cleary, R.E., and  J. Hlavacek.  1957.  Summary of 1957 UMRCC exploratory fishing in

pools 8 to13.  Job Description Investigations Projects.  Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa.

Fairport Fish Management and Hatchery.  2003.  Field notes and unpublished reports.

Southeast Management District, Fisheries Bureau, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Fairport, Iowa.

Gritters, S.A.  1997.  Evaluation of water quality, fish and macroinvertebrates in Rock

Creek.  Fish Management Investigations 1997 Annual Report.  Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines, Iowa.

Guttenberg Fish Management.  2002.  Field notes and unpublished reports.  Northeast

Management District, Fisheries Bureau, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Guttenberg, Iowa.

Iowa State University Museum.  1985.  Collection of fishes catalog, 1878-1985.   Iowa

State University, Ames, Iowa.

Lake Darling Fish Management.  2002.  Field notes and unpublished reports.  Southeast

Management District, Fisheries Bureau, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Brighton, Iowa.  

Lake MacBride Fish Management.  2002.  Field notes and unpublished reports. 

Southeast Management District, Fisheries Bureau, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Solon, Iowa.

Long Term Resource Monitoring Program.  2002.   Pool 13 database, 1990-2001.  Upper

Midwest Environmental Science Center, Bellevue, Iowa.

Manchester Fish Management.  2002.  Field notes and unpublished reports.  Northeast

Management District, Fisheries Bureau, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Manchester, Iowa.

Meek, S.E.  1892.  Report upon the fishes of Iowa, based upon observations and

collections mad during 1889, 1890, 1891.  Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 10(1890):217-248.

Menzel, B.W.  1983.  Field notes: western and southern.  Iowa State University, Ames,

Iowa.

Menzel, B.W.  1984.  Field notes: Iowa-Cedar.  Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Museum of Zoology.  2002.  Division of Fishes collection database.  University of

Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/. (May, 2002)

Nord, R.C.  1967.  A compendium of fishery information on the Upper Mississippi River.

Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee, Rock Island, Illinois.

Olson, J.R.  1998.  Historic fish survey database.  Water Quality Bureau, Iowa

Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines, Iowa.

Page, L.M.  1982.  Field notes attached to letter addressed to Bruce Menzel, dated June

28, 1982.  State Natural History Survey Division, Section of Fauntistic Surveys and Insect Identification, Champaign, Illinois.

Paragamian, V.L.  1978.  Population dynamics of smallmouth bass in the Maquoketa

River and other Iowa streams: effects of habitat variation on the stream biota.  Project F-89-R-2, Study No. 602-1, Job No. 2.  Annual Performance Report.  Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa.

Smith, P.W,. and A.C. Lopinot.  1966.  The 1966 survey of fishes from the mouths of

Mississippi River tributaries, Appendix B, pp.226-233, Illinois State Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois.

Spirit Lake Fish Management.  2002.  Field notes and unpublished reports.  Northwest

Management District, Fisheries Bureau, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Orleans, Iowa.

UMRCC.  1953.  Revised species list- northern section of the river.  Pages 19-32 in

Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Meeting, Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee, Rock Island, Illinois.

UMRCC.  1964.  Proceedings of the twentieth annual meeting, January 7, 1964.  Upper

Mississippi River Conservation Committee, Rock Island, Illinois.

Wilton, T., K. Krier, and J. Mootz.  2003.  Stream Biological Assessment Database.

Environmental Services Division, Water Quality Bureau, TMDL and Water Quality Assessment Section, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines, Iowa.

Additional References:

Carbine, W.F.  1940.  Observations of the spawning habits of Centrarchid fishes in Deep Lake, Oakland County, Michigan.  Transactions of the North American Wildlife Conference 4:275-287.

Clay, W.M.  1975.  The fishes of Kentucky.  Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Frankfort, Kentucky.  416 pp.

Colgan, P.W., and D.M. Ealey.  1973.  Role of woody debris in nest site selection by pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus).   Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 30:853-856.

Douglas, N.H.  1974.  Freshwater fishes of Louisiana.  Claitor’s Publishing Division, Sponsored by Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  443 pp.

Gelwicks, G.T.  1995.  Fish movement between the lower Missouri River and a managed floodplain wetland in Missouri.  Master’s thesis. University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. 190 pp.

Gross, M.R.  1980.  Sexual selection and the evolution of reproductive strategies in sunfishes (Lepomis: Centrarchidae).  Ph.D. dissertation, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. 319 pp.

Hanek, G., and C. Fernando.  1978.  The role of season, habitat, host age, and sex on gill parasites of Lepomis gibbosus (L.).  Canadian Journal of Zoology 56(6):1247-1250.

Ingram, W.M., and E.P. Odum.  1941.  Nestsand behavior of Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus) in Lincoln Pond, Rensselaerville, New York.  American Midland Naturalist 26:182-193.

Kelly, G., editor.  1986.  Animal habitat relations handbook.  Missouri Department of Conservation and U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Jefferson City, Missouri.  293 pp.

Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr.  1980.  Atlas of North American freshwater fishes.  North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina.  867 pp.

Manooch, C. S., III. 1984.  Fisherman's guide - fishes of the southeastern United States.  North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh. 362 pp.

Miller, H.C.  1963.  The behavior of the pumpkinseed sunfish, Lepomis gibbosus (Linnaeus), Lepomis and the pigmy sunfish, Elassoma evergladei.  Behavior: 88-151.

Mizzi, J.A.  1994.  Zooplankton, macroinvertebrate, herptile, and ichthyofaunal biodiversity of riverine habitat on the upper Missouri River.  Master’s thesis, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota.  130 pp.

Moyle, P.B.  1976.  Inland fishes of California.  University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 405 pp.

Page, L.M., and B.M. Burr.  1991.  A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico.  Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.

Pflieger, W.L.  1971.  A distributional study of Missouri fishes.  University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History  20(3):225-570.

Pflieger, W.L.  1989a.  Aquatic community classification system for Missouri.  Missouri Department of Conservation.  Jefferson City, Missouri.  Aquatic Series No. 19. 70 pp. plus Supplement.

Pflieger, W.L.  1989b.  The stream resources of Missouri.  D-J Project - F-1-R-28.  Study S-20.  Missouri Department of Conservation, Columbia, Missouri.  

Popiel, S.A., A. Perez-Fuentetaja, D.J. McQueen, and N.C. Collins.  1996.  Determinants of nesting success of the pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus): a comparison of two populations under different risks from predation.  Copeia 1996(3):649-656.

Power, M.E., and J.H. Todd.  1977.  Effects of increasing temperature on social behavior in territorial groups of pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus).  Environmental Pollution 10(3):217-223.

Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott.  1991.  Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada.  American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20, Bethesda, Maryland. 183 pp.

Robison, H.W., and T.M. Buchanan. 1988.  Fishes of Arkansas.  University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, Arkansas.  536 pp.

Sheehan, R.J., W.M. Lewis, and  L.R. Bodensteiner.  1990.  Winter habitat requirements and overwintering of riverine fishes.  Southern Illinois Fisheries Research Laboratory, Carbondale, Illinois.  D-J Project F-79-R, Study 101.  234 pp.

Thom, R.H., and J.H. Wilson.  1980.  The natural divisions of Missouri.  Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science  14:9-24.

Photo Credits:

Upper Left:       Photo courtesy of the Native Fish Conservancy, http://www.nativefish.org.

Upper Right:     Photo courtesy of the Native Fish Conservancy, http://www.nativefish.org.