So I sent Cheryl’s lovely photo to Lisa Ownes Viani yesterday and she sent it around to her fish buddies, Bruce Herbold, Ph.D. and Robert Leidy. Ph.D. of the EPA. They got out their detective skills and set about counting fins.
well, Rob Leidy and I both think that it is probably a tule perch. We both also first thought that it was probably some sunfish, but magnification clearly shows the line of scales along the dorsal fin that make it an Embiotocid rather than a Centrarchid and the absence of barring on teh body and the fact that it is in or near fresh water would make it most likely the tule perch Hysterocarpus traskii.
Bruce went onto say that a tule perch was his favorite because of its unique reproduction. Mom bears all the young live! That sounded pretty wild to me, but after learning that our snipe engage in joint custody arrangements, anything was possible. The UCB California Fish Website had this to say about tule motherhood:
Young perch then begin to develop within her, slowly at first, and more rapidly in the final two months. In around May or June the female bears 10-60 live fish. The number of young produced increases with body size and may vary from one environment to another.
It also pointed out that these perch require “cool well-oxgenated water”, a description that many beaver-phobic biologists have warned would never happen because of the beaver dams. But my favorite message came from Robert Leidy, who added this little tidbit:
By the way, I think this is the first record for tule perch from Alhambra Creek, as I am not aware of any historical collections or records!
The keystone beaver strikes again! Let’s just take a moment to enjoy the series of connections necessary for this to happen. Cheryl took the photo because she was out watching for the beavers. I sent the photo to Lisa because I met her through the beavers. Lisa sent the photo on to the top fish biologists in the state who worked to agree on its identification. Robert recognized it was a first sighting. And our wikipedia friend immediately recorded the find on the Alhambra Creek pages.
That’s what I call successful cooperation! And the beavers get the credit for it, which they genuinely deserve. Keep your eyes out for new species down at the dam! A team of experts is standing by….
