7143

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7143
• Author: Inskip, P. D.
• Title: Habitat Suitability Index Models
• USFW Year: 1982.
• USFW - Doc Type: Northern Pike.
• Copyright Material: NO

u
NORTHERN PIKE (Esox Lucius-Linnaeus)
HABITAT USE INFORMATION
General
Northern pike (Esox Lucius) occur worldwide in fresh waters north of
40° N (Toner and Lawler 1969). It is the only species in the esocid family
.native to both North America and Eurasia (Scott and Grossman 1973). The
native North American range included Alaska, most of Canada south of the
Arctic Circle (excepting most of British Columbia), the Missouri River
drainage, the Mississippi River drainage upstream of the confluence with the
Missouri, the Ohio River drainage in Pennsylvania and New York, and the Great
Lakes drainage basin; the southern limit was probably in central Missouri
(Grossman 1978). Northern pike distribution has expanded with their introduc-
tion into impoundments outside of their native range, most commonly in Great
Plains and Rocky Mountain States (McCarraher 1961; Carlander et al. 1978).
Lakes account for most of the North American habitat of northern pike
(Carlander et al. 1978; Grossman 1978).
Age, Growth, and Food
Growth rate of northern pike is highly variable, both among and within
populations. There is a general inverse relationship between growth rate and
north latitude over a latitudinal gradient spanning the United States and
Canada (Miller and Kennedy 1948; Crabtree 1969; Vasey 1974), but the trend is
not always 'strongly defined over limited geographic areas (Diana, pers. comm.).
Temporal variability in growth rate, associated with changes in density of
northern pike and likely prey species, has also been noted (Kempinger and
Carline 1978). Individual growth rates can vary considerably within a single
cohort. Young of the year northern pike, stocked as fry in a Michigan rearing
pond in early May and recovered the following October, ranged in length from
8.3 to 44..6 cm (Carbine 1945).
The age at which northern pike become sexually mature depends on their
growth rate. Male northern pike are typically 34 to 42 cm (total length) and
females 40 to 48 cm when they spawn for the first time (Frost and Kipling
1967; Priegel and Krohn 1975). Ih Great Bear Lake (Northwest Territories),
this translates to age 5 or 6 for males and age 6 or 7 for females (Miller and
Kennedy 1948). In Wisconsin, age 2 (males and females) is more typical
(Priegel and Krohn 1975). One-year old spawners are not unusual in Kansas
(Schryer et al. 1971), Missouri (Uasey 1974), and Texas (Crabtree 1969)
reservoirs, where growth is rapid.
L`