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The Nonindigenous Occurrences section of the NAS species profiles has a new structure. The section is now dynamically updated from the NAS database to ensure that it contains the most current and accurate information. Occurrences are summarized in Table 1, alphabetically by state, with years of earliest and most recent observations, and the tally and names of drainages where the species was observed. The table contains hyperlinks to collections tables of specimens based on the states, years, and drainages selected. References to specimens that were not obtained through sighting reports and personal communications are found through the hyperlink in the Table 1 caption or through the individual specimens linked in the collections tables.

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Common name: Rock Bass

Taxonomy: available through www.itis.gov

Identification: Becker (1983); Page and Burr (1991); Etnier and Starnes (1993); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994).

Size: 43 cm.

Native Range: St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (Red River), and Mississippi River basins, from Quebec to Saskatchewan, south to the Savannah River drainage, Georgia, and northern Alabama, and Missouri (native in Missouri only to the Meramec River) (Page and Burr 1991; Cashner et al. 1992).

Alaska	Hawaii	Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands	Guam Saipan

Native range data for this species provided in part by NatureServe

Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) Explained
Interactive maps: Point Distribution Maps

Means of Introduction: Intentional stocking for sportfishing. Introduced into the Tongue River in Wyoming and moved downstream into Montana (Holton 1990). Rock Bass were extensively stocked in Missouri by state personnel during the 1930s and 1940s (Pflieger 1997). Probably gained access to the Hudson River in New York via migration through either the Erie and/or the Champlain canals (Mills et al. 1997). They were first taken there in a 1932 survey (Mills et al. 1997).

Status: Established in most locations. Extirpated in California (Hubbs et al. 1979; Dill and Cordone 1997). Reports of Rock Bass in California after circa 1930 are apparently erroneous; see Dill and Cordone (1997) for discussion. Apparently extirpated in Idaho; Simpson and Wallace (1978) do not mention it in their book of Idaho fishes. Extirpated in Utah (Sigler and Sigler 1996). Extirpated in the Rio Grande drainage, New Mexico, and persisting only in Blue Spring in the Pecos drainage.

Impact of Introduction: Rock Bass have severely affected Roanoke bass populations in the upper Roanoke drainage through hybridization and competition (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.; Jenkins and Burkhead 1994). Roanoke bass declined after 1965, when Rock Bass reached high densities (Jenkins and Burkhead 1994). Ambloplites in eastern Oklahoma may represent hybrid forms between A. ariommus and A. rupestris as a result of intensive stocking efforts during the late 1800s and early 1900s (Cashner and Matthews 1988). Jenkins and Burkhead (1994) speculated that introduced Rock Bass may have contributed to the demise of an isolated population of trout-perch Percopsis omiscomaycus in the Potomac River in Virginia and Maryland. Nonnative predators, including Rock Bass, have been shown to reduce the abundance and diversity of native prey species in several Pacific Northwest rivers (Hughes and Herlihy 2012).

Remarks: Although Loyacano (1975) lists this species in the Santee drainage, South Carolina, he did not distinguish it as introduced there. However, his publication only distinguished species not native to the state rather than to certain drainages.

References: (click for full references)

Becker, G.C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Madison Press, Madison, WI.

Beecher, H. A. and R. F. Fernau. 1982. Fishes of Oxbow Lakes of Washington. Northwest Science. 57(2): 125-131.

Cashner, R.C., T.M. Berra, and D.G. Cloutman. 1992. Reidentification of William Bartram's Savannah River Ambloplites, with early evidence for a Tennessee-Savannah faunal exchange. Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings 26:11-14.

Cashner, R.C., and W.J. Matthews. 1988. Changes in the known Oklahoma fish fauna from 1973 to 1988. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 68:1-7.

Cross, F.B., R.L. Mayden, and J.D. Stewart. 1986. Fishes in the western Mississippi basin (Missouri, Arkansas, and Red Rivers). 363-412 in C.H. Hocutt and E.O. Wiley, eds. The zoogeography of North American freshwater fishes. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY.

Dill, W.A., and A.J. Cordone. 1997. History and status of introduced fishes in California, 1871-1996. California Department of Fish and Game Fish Bulletin, volume 178.

Etnier, D.A., and W.C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tenneessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN.

Hubbs, C.L., W.I. Follett, and L.J. Dempster. 1979. List of the fishes of California. Occassional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 133:1-51.

Hughes, R.M. and A.T. Herlihy. 2012. Patterns in catch per unit effort of native prey fish and alien piscivorous fish in 7 Pacific Northwest USA rivers. Fisheries 37(5):201-211.

Jenkins, R.E., and N.M. Burkhead. 1994. Freshwater Fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.

Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, NC.

Loyacano, H.A. 1975. A list of freshwater fishes of South Carolina. Bulletin of the South Carolina Experimental Station 580:1-8.

Miller, R.R. and C.H. Lowe. 1967. Part 2. Fishes of Arizona, p 133-151, In: C.H. Lowe, ed. The Vertebrates of Arizona. University of Arizona Press. Tucson.

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. The Peterson Guide Series, vol. 42. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.

Rasmussen, J.L. 1998. Aquatic nuisance species of the Mississippi River basin. 60th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Aquatic Nuisance Species Symposium, Dec. 7, 1998, Cincinnati, OH.

Robison, H.W., and T.M. Buchanan. 1998. Fishes of Arkansas. University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, AR.

Rohde, F. C., R. G. Arndt, J. W. Foltz, and J. M. Quattro. 2009. Freshwater Fishes of South Carolina. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC. 430 pp.

Sigler, W.F., and J.W. Sigler. 1996. Fishes of Utah: a natural history. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, UT.

Simpson, J., and R. Wallace. 1978. Fishes of Idaho. University of Idaho Press, Moscow, ID.

Starnes, W.C., J. Odenkirk, and M.J. Ashton. 2011. Update and analysis of fish occurrences in the lower Potomac River drainage in the vicinity of Plummers Island, Maryland—Contribution XXXI to the natural history of Plummers Island, Maryland. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 124(4):280-309.

Sublette, J.E., M.D. Hatch, and M. Sublette. 1990. The fishes of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM.

Tilmant, J.T. 1999. Management of nonindigenous aquatic fish in the U.S. National Park System. National Park Service. 50 pp.

Other Resources:

Author: Pam Fuller, and Matt Neilson

Peer Review Date: 5/29/2012

This information is preliminary or provisional and is subject to revision. It is being provided to meet the need for timely best science. The information has not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the information.