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<br />t <br /> <br />GREEN SUNFISH (Lepomis cyanellus) <br /> <br />HABITAT USE INFORMATION <br /> <br />General <br /> <br />The green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) is native from the Great Lakes <br />region south to Mexico (Eddy 1957) and has been introduced both east of the <br />Appalachian Mountains (Raney 1965) and west of the Rocky Mountains (Wright <br />1951). The species is established in nearly every suitable habitat in the <br />Western United States (McKechnie and Tharratt 1966) and is nearly ubiquitous <br />within its native range (Trautman 1957; Cross 1967). Green sunfish hybridize <br />with longear (1:. megalotis), orangespotted (1. humilis), and redbreast (1. <br />auritus) sunfishes, bluegill (1. macrochirus), and pumpkinseed (1. gibbosus) <br />(Scott and Crossman 1973). <br /> <br />Age, Growth, and Food <br /> <br />t <br /> <br />The maximum age, length, and weight of green sunfish is about 10 years, <br />276 mm, and 408 g, respectively (Carlander 1977). Age at maturity ranges from <br />1 to 3 years, depending on geographic locale (Hubbs and Cooper 1935; Sprugel <br />1955; Durham 1957). Males and females mature at minimum lengths of 45 (Sprugel <br />1955) and 66 mm (Cross 1951), respectively. <br /> <br />Adul t green sunfi sh feed pri nci pa lly on insects, crayfi sh (Mull an and <br />Applegate 1970; Etnier 1971; Applegate et al. 1976), and fish (Biggins and <br />Ziebell 1967; Mullan and Applegate 1968, 1970). Terrestrial and aquatic <br />insects appear to be the most important food items (Cross 1951; Maupin et ale <br />1954; McDonald and Dotson 1960). Fry initially eat zooplankton (Siewert 1973) <br />and subsequently eat aquatic insects, fish eggs, and entomostraca as they grow <br />larger (Applegate et al. 1976). The juvenile diet is similar to that of the <br />adult (Mullan and Applegate 1968, 1970). Growth is usually faster in down- <br />stream river areas, where population densities are lower, than in upstream <br />areas (Finnell 1955; Hoffman 1955; Jenkins and Finnell 1957; Purkett 1958). <br /> <br />Reproduction <br /> <br />Spawning has been noted at temperatures between 19 and 310 C (Hunter <br />1963), with initial spawning usually occurring at 20 to 220 C (Swingle 1952; <br />Lawrence 1957; Pflieger 1963). The male clears a nest area of about 30 cm in <br />diameter (Carson 1968) and guards the nest (Hankinson 1919). Green sunfish <br />nest at a depth of 4 to 35 cm (Hunter 1963; C.rson 1968) on a firm substrate <br />(Childers 1967) of gravel or sand (Hank.inson 1919; Hunter 1963) near rock.s, <br />logs, and vegetation (Hunter 1963). <br /> <br />t <br /> <br />1 <br />