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| NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
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Common Name: threespine stickleback
Taxonomy: available through 
Identification: Scott and Crossman (1973); Smith (1985); Robins and Ray (1986); Page and Burr (1991); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994). Gasterosteus aculeatus actually may represent a complex of two or more distinct species; subspecies have been proposed but their ranges are poorly defined (Miller and Hubbs 1969; Page and Burr 1991). Because the taxonomy of this group is so complex it is probably irresolvable (Gilbert, personal communication).
Size: 10 cm.
Native Range:
Marine and freshwater. Arctic and Atlantic drainages from Baffin Island and western side of Hudson Bay to Cape Fear Estuary, North Carolina (Schwartz et al. 1981; Page and Burr 1991); Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California. Eastern freshwater populations found far inland, including Lake Ontario. Also in Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and Pacific coast of Asia (Page and Burr 1991). In the Great Lakes native only below Niagara Falls (Smith 1985).
Nonindigenous Occurrences:
The threespine stickleback was reported in Sitkalidak Island, Alaska (Miller and Hubbs 1969). This species is known from the Santa Maria River system, Gull and June lakes in Mono County, Mojave River drainage, Big Bear Lake in San Bernardino County, and several other locations throughout the state of California (Miller and Hubbs 1969; Moyle 1976a; Swift 1993); Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana (Tilmant 1999); Lake Michigan, Illinois (Johnston 1991; Burr 1991; Page and Laird 1993); a park in Boston, Massachusetts (Hartel et al. 1996); Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Huron, Michigan (Stedman and Bowen 1985; Bailey and Smith 1991; Johnston 1991; Hirsch 1998; Cudmore-Vokey and Crossman 2000; Mattes, personal communication; Czypinski, personal communication); several areas of Lake Superior in Minnesota including Silver Bay, an unspecified tributary on the north shore near Grand Marais, southwest of the Knife River, offshore from the Duluth ship canal, at Hovland, the St. Louis estuary (Hirsch 1998; S. A. Geving, personal communication), Skunk Creek and the mouth of the Baptism River (K. Schmidt, personal communication); Maumee Bay, Lake Erie, Ohio (T. Cavender, personal communication); established in Crane Prarie Reservoir, Oregon (Ridler 2004); and Lake Michigan and the St. Louis River estuary, Wisconsin (Johnston 1991; Hirsch 1998; Czypinski 1999, 2001; K. Scheidegger, personal communication).
Collected in South Bay, Manitoulin Island, Lake Huron, Ontario (Gibson 1982).
Means of Introduction: The threespine stickleback was not known from above Niagara Falls before 1979. The first specimens collected from above the falls were taken in 1980 from South Bay in Lake Huron (Stedman and Bowman 1985). Smith (1985) stated that the threespine stickleback gained access to the Upper Great Lakes from the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario through the artificial Nipissing Canal. However, Stedman and Bowman (1985) presented the possibility that they were transported by bait dealers and subsequently released by anglers. Mandrak and Crossman (1992) recorded it from Thunder Bay, Lake Superior (Canada) and attributed its presence there to a ballast water introduction. According to Miller and Hubbs (1969), it was introduced into the Mohave River drainage of California between 1938 and 1940. The species was presumably introduced as a result of escape or release of bait fish brought in by anglers from southern California coastal area. In addition to the earlier releases, the species was probably introduced into the Mohave River with trout from the Fillmore Hatchery in 1947 (Miller and Hubbs 1969). The species was believed to have been introduced into Gull and June lakes by anglers, probably from the Ventura River drainage; and it was introduced into the Santa Maria River system along with trout from the Santa Ynez River in 1940 (Miller and Hubbs 1969). A population in Holcomb Creek in the Mojave River drainage may have been introduced with trout in the late 1800s (Bell 1982; Sigler and Sigler 1987). According to Hartel et al. (1996), the population in Boston's Olmsted Park may have been introduced as part of a museum exhibit. The park contains a pool that Fredrick Law Olmsted had designated for a stickleback exhibit.
Status: Reported in Ohio and Wisconsin, established in California, Massachusetts, and Michigan. First recorded in Lake Huron in 1982, where it apparently gained access through the Nipissing Canal from the Ottawa River (Smith 1985). During recent years, species reported as spreading rapidly through the upper Great Lakes (Smith 1985; Burr 1991). Recently this species was reported from Taconite Harbor, Lake Superior, Minnesota, where eight specimens were taken from cooling tower intakes in June 1994 (Hirsh 1998; J. L. Gunderson, personal communication). A single fish was collected from the stomach of a lake trout taken in 150 feet of water southwest of Knife River in May 1996 (Geving, personal communication). Also in May, two were collected in a commercial pound net in the St. Louis estuary under the Blatnik Interstate Bridge (Geving, personal communication). It also has been reported from the Canadian side of Lake Superior (Gunderson, personal communication).
Impact of Introduction: Miller and Hubbs (1969) reported the stockings of armoured threespine stickleback G. a. microcephalus into the native range of the unarmoured threespine stickleback G. a. williamsoni in certain California drainages. One consequence has been extensive hybridization between the two subspecies (Miller and Hubbs 1969; Moyle 1976b). The three-spined stickleback is known to prey on eggs of other species (Page and Laird 1993).
Remarks:
The unarmoured threespine stickleback G. a. williamsoni has been on the decline in California and has been listed as Federally endangered since 1971. The population in Boston, Massachusetts is unique in several ways. It is the southernmost freshwater population; it contains 3 distinct lateral-plate morphs; and it represents only the fourth record of low plate individuals. Its urban location is another factor in support of an introduction (Hartel et al. 1996). Hubbs (1919) advocated the stocking of artificial and natural waterbodies in California as a biological control against mosquitos.
Voucher specimens: Illinois (INHS 64211, 64481, 64482, 59309), Michigan (UWZM 8269), Minnesota (USGS-Biological Resources center, Ashland, WI; JFBM), Ohio (OSM), Wisconsin (UWZM 9093, 9094, 9727).
Bailey, R. M., and G. R. Smith. 1991. Names of Michigan fishes. Unpublished mimeograph. 7 pp.
Burr, B. M. 1991. The fishes of Illinois: an overview of a dynamic fauna. Proceedings of our living heritage symposium. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 34(4):417-427.
Cavender, T. - Ohio State University, Museum of Biological Diversity, Columbus, OH.
Cudmore-Vokey, B. and E.J. Crossman. 2000. Checklists of the fish fauna of the Laurentian Great Lakes and their connecting channels.
Czypinski, G. D., A. K. Hintz, M. T. Weimer, A. Dextrase. 1999. Surveillance for ruffe in the Great Lakes, 1999. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ashland, WI. 29 pp.
Czypinski, G. D., A. K. Bowen, M. T. Weimer, A. Dextrase. 2001. Surveillance for ruffe in the Great Lakes, 2001. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ashland, WI. 36 pp.
Geving, S.A. - Natural Resource Specialist, Minnesota Department of Environmental Resources, Duluth, MN. Letter to K. Schmidt dated June 6, 1996.
Gunderson, J. L. - Sea Grant Extension Program, Duluth, MN. Memo dated 7 July 1994 to Aquatic Nuisance Species Outreach Contacts.
Hirsch, J. 1998. Nonindigenous fish in inland waters: response plan to new introductions. Minn. DNR Special Publication. 152: 1-21.
Johnston, C. E. 1991. Discovery of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) (Pisces: Gasterosteidae) in the Lake Michigan drainage, Illinois. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science 84(3&4):173-174.
Latta, W.C. - Fisheries Scientist Emeritus, Michigan DNR. Response to NBS-G nonindigenous questionaire. 1992.
Miller R. R., and C. L. Hubbs. 1969. Systematics of Gasterosteus aculeatus with particular reference to intergradation and introgression along the Pacific Coast of North America: a commentary on a recent contribution. Copeia 1969(1):52-69.
Moyle, P. B. 1976b. Fish introduction in California: history and impact on native fishes. Biological Conservation 9:101-118.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. The Peterson Field Guide Series, volume 42. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Page, L. M., and C. A. Laird. 1993. The identification of the nonnative fishes inhabiting Illinois waters. Report prepared by Center for Biodiversity, Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, for Illinois Department of Conservation, Springfield. Center for Biodiversity Technical Report 1993(4). 39 pp.
Robins, C. R., G. C. Ray, and J. Douglass. 1986. A field guide to Atlantic Coast fishes of North America. The Peterson Guide Series, volume 32. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Scheidegger, K. - Bureau of Fisheries Management, Madison, WI. Response to NBS-G non-indigenous questionaire. 1992.
Smith, C. L. 1985. The inland fishes of New York state. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY. 522 pp.
Tilmant, J.T. 1999. Management of nonindigenous aquatic fish in the U.S. National Park System. National Park Service. 50 pp.
Other Resources:
Distribution in Illinois - ILNHS
GLIFWC-Maps
FishBase Fact Sheet
Author: Pam Fuller
Revision Date: 4/13/2006 Citation for this information:
Pam Fuller. 2009. Gasterosteus aculeatus. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=702> Revision Date: 4/13/2006
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