Identification: brassy olive above, white below; caudal fin has white tip on lower lobe; large, white glossy eyes and sharp teeth (Iowa DNR) Distribution: statewide in large lakes and rivers (Iowa DNR) Habitat: Habitat: interior rivers and streams; natural & constructed lakes (Iowa DNR) Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) Angela Auel Iowa DNR

Diet: mostly fish; other aquatic animals (Iowa DNR) Reproduction: Spawns in April; no nest preparation or parental care; females lay between 23, 000 and 50,000 eggs, Reproduction: Spawns in April; no nest preparation or parental care; females lay between 23, 000 and 50,000 eggs, hatch in about seven days; enhanced populations with hatchery-reared fish (Iowa DNR) Conservation status: common and native (Iowa DNR) Minnesota DNR Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum)

Economic/recreational value: “Its size, sporting qualities and delicious flesh make it one of the most important game species in North America,” Iowa DNR. Ecological importance: Important predator fish Other Common Names: blue pike; dory; glass- eye; gray, green pike; jack, jackfish, jack salmon, marble-eye, pike, pike-perch, sauger, Susquchanna salmon, walleyed perch, walleyed pike, white eye, Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum)

References: Stizostedion vitreum Iowa Department of Natural Resources IowaDNR Fish and Fishing. Available at November Iowa Department of Natural Resources IowaDNR Fish and Fishing. Available at November Iowa Department of Natural Resources IowaDNR Fish and Fishing. Available at November

Rainbow Darter Etheostoma boschungi Lindsey Ewinger

Identification:  13 rays on pectoral fins  Thickest under the first dorsal fin  No scales on cheeks  Bars on sides –Males have blue between red –Females have brown between yellow or white Female Conservation Status : No Special Status No Special Status Moderately Abundant Moderately Abundant Male in spawning colors

Distribution: Northeast Iowa Mississippi River Basin Habitat: Clean, clear, fast-flowing rivers and large streams Gravel, rubble, and rock substrates, occasionally bedrock

Diet: Caddisfly, stonefly, and mayfly larvae, water mites, water fleas, fish eggs, small crayfish and snails Stonefly larvae l?factfile/pond-safari.htm&2 Mayfly larvae Have only a rudimentary swim bladder Interesting Fact: Have only a rudimentary swim bladder Crayfish

Reproduction: Season: late March to May Male defends a territory in a gravel riffle Females enter the riffle only to spawn Female buries half her body in the gravel Male joins her and eggs are left buried in the gravel until they hatch Females spawn several times in a season, 500 to 1,500 eggs per season No parental care Ecologic/Economic Importance : Food for many piscivorous fish and bird species including: blue heron and smallmouth bass Too small to be commercially or recreationally important to fishing Popular aquarium fish among native keeping aquarists

References Etnier, D.A. and W.C. Starnes The Fishes of Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville. Greenhalgh, M Freshwater Fish, The Natural History of Over 160 Native European Species. Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London. Iowa Department of Natural Resources IowaDNR Fish and Fishing. Available at Ohio Department of Natural Resources Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division, Life History Notes: Brook Stickleback. Available at Zim, H.S. and H.H. Shoemaker Fishes, A Guide to Familiar American Species. Simon and Schuster, New York.