Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758

Common Name: Threespine Stickleback

Synonyms and Other Names:

Alaskan stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni Girard, 1854, Gasterosteus argyropomus Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829, Gasterosteus biaculeatus Mitchill, 1815, Gasterosteus bispinosus Walbaum, 1792, Gasterosteus brachycentrus Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829, Gasterosteus cataphractus (Pallas, 1814), Gasterosteus cuvieri Girard in Storer, 1850, Gasterosteus gymnurus Cuvier, 1829, Gasterosteus islandicus Sauvage, 1874, Gasterosteus leiurus Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829, Gasterosteus noveboracensis Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829, Gasterosteus obolarius Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829, Gasterosteus ponticus Nordmann, 1840, Gasterosteus semiarmatus Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829, Gasterosteus semiloricatus Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829, Gasterosteus spinulosus Yarrell, 1835, Gasterosteus teraculeatus Lacepède, 1801, Gasterosteus tetracanthus Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829, Gasterosteus trachurus Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829, Leiurus aculeatus (Linnaeus, 1758)



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Identification: Small, streamlined torpedo shaped fish. Its common name is derived from the presence of three (occasionally 2-4) sharp spines on the back forward of the dorsal fin. Dorsal fin is broad and has 10-14 soft rays; caudal fin contains 10 rays. Freshwater populations vary in body shape depending on the type of habitat it occupies. Fish inhabiting surface waters (limnetic form) tend to exhibit slender bodies with narrow mouths, long snouts, and large eyes. Benthic fish are deep bodied with a small eye and a wide, terminal gape. Pelvic fin is reduced to a sharp spine and a small ray. Gill rakers are long and slender, with 17 to 25 on the first arch for freshwater forms. While the oceanic form of G. aculeatus has up to 30 or more lateral bony plates on each side of the body as well as a pelvic girdle and lateral line with microscopic pores, these features tend to be reduced in freshwater forms. This species can be differentiated from other species in the genus by a crenulated posterior edge of scutes and by a set of scutes forming a lateral keel on the caudal peduncle. In populations that co-occur with predatory fishes, dorsal and pelvic fins tend to be longer, and other anti-predatory features such as dorsal spines, the lateral plate, and the pelvic girdle tend to be more prominent (Grand 2000, Marchinko 2008, Reimchen 2000). Coloration is generally cryptic, with mottled brown-green barring on the upper side of the body and a white, silvery, or yellow underside. Sides are pale and fins are often spotted with dark dots. Breeding males develop a vivid blue-green coloration with blue or green eyes and the breast region develops an intense red-orange coloration (Baker et. al 1995, Bell et al. 1994, Cresko et al. 2007, Day et al. 1994, Morrow 1980).


Size: Usually between 3 and 8 cm long, average length about 5 cm (Scott and Crosman 1973). Maximum reported length 11 cm (Muus and Nielsen 1999).


Native Range: Range in North America extends from Cape Fear Estuary north to Hudson Bay and Baffin Island, and along the west coast from Alaska and British Columbia to southern California (Scott and Crossman 1973). This species also occurs in Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and along the Pacific coast of Asia. Freshwater populations are distributed along the coast of the Mediterranean and in inland waters across Eastern Europe to the Baltic Sea (Page and Burr 1991). Gasterosteus aculeatus is native to the Lake Ontario basin, below Niagara Falls (Stedman and Bowen 1985).


Great Lakes Nonindigenous Occurrences: The first report of Gasterosteus aculeatus above Niagara Falls within the Great Lakes was from Lake Michigan in 1982.  The species subsequently spread rapidly through the upper Great Lakes and inland in the region.


Table 1. Great Lakes region nonindigenous occurrences, the earliest and latest observations in each state/province, and the tally and names of HUCs with observations†. Names and dates are hyperlinked to their relevant specimen records. The list of references for all nonindigenous occurrences of Gasterosteus aculeatus are found here.

Full list of USGS occurrences

State/ProvinceFirst ObservedLast ObservedTotal HUCs with observations†HUCs with observations†
IL198819881Lake Michigan
IN199819992Lake Michigan; Little Calumet-Galien
MI1982202214Betsie-Platte; Betsy-Chocolay; Black-Macatawa; Black-Presque Isle; Great Lakes Region; Keweenaw Peninsula; Lake Huron; Lake Michigan; Lake St. Clair; Lake Superior; Millecoquins Lake-Brevoort River; Ontonagon; St. Marys; Tittabawassee
MN198720174Baptism-Brule; Beaver-Lester; Lake Superior; St. Louis
OH199019941Lake Erie
WI1984201410Beartrap-Nemadji; Door-Kewaunee; Duck-Pensaukee; Lake Michigan; Lake Superior; Menominee; Milwaukee; Pike-Root; St. Louis; Upper Fox

Table last updated 3/28/2024

† Populations may not be currently present.


Ecology: An enormous range of morphological variation is present within the Threespine stickleback. There are two distinct varieties of the species, with one form having an anadromous existence and another form inhabiting strictly freshwater. The anadromous form spends most of its adult life in the ocean feeding on plankton and returns to freshwater to breed. The freshwater form inhabits a wide variety of lakes and streams, ranging from small, ephemeral streams, to large, permanently flowing water bodies, however it cannot exist in high gradient streams and is rarely found more than a few hundred meters above sea level. These freshwater populations are thought to have evolved from anadromous forms that were trapped in freshwater lakes during the last glacial melt (Bell et al. 1994). Within the freshwater variety, two morphological variations occur. One of these variations is known as the limnetic type, which is adapted to live in the water column of oligotrophic lakes and feed on surface plankton, and the other form is the benthic type, which inhabits the bottom of shallow eutrophic lakes or the littoral zone of deeper lakes and feeds from the lakebed (Bell et al. 1994, Mattern et al. 2007, Shaw et al. 2007).

Breeding occurs annually from late April to July in ponds, rivers, lakes, drainage canals, marshes, sloughs, tidal creeks, and sublittoral zones of the sea (Bell et al. 1994, Mattern et al. 2007). Males are polygamous and attract several females into the nesting territory with zig-zag courtship dances over a 1- to 4-day period. The male will then fertilize all of the deposited eggs at one time and remain to guard them from predators and to ensure an ample oxygen supply (by fanning; Bell et al. 1994, Mattern et al. 2007). The eggs hatch 5 to 10 days after fertilization, and males stay with the newly hatched individuals for up to 2 weeks (Bell et al. 1994, Huntingford and Wright 1993). Individuals reach sexual maturity between 1 and 2 years of age. The average lifespan of this species is ranges is only about 1 to 3 years (Wootton 1976), with a maximum documented age of about 8 years in captivity (Bell et al. 1994).
 

Gasterosteus aculeatus is a generalist carnivore, feeding on benthic invertebrates, including crustaceans and larval insects (benthic form), and zooplankton (limnetic form). It exhibits a predation cycle that consists of search, pursuit, attack, and capture. As the threespine stickleback is small, abundant, and a slow swimmer, it serves as a suitable prey for a wide variety of species. Natural predators include fish in the families Percidae, Esocidae, and Salmonidae, as well as avian piscivores such as loons, herons, and kingfishers. Macroinvertebrates, such as dragonfly naiads and beetles feed on eggs, fry, and juvenile individuals, and leeches are known to feed on eggs and adult individuals that are stuck in traps (Bell et al. 1994, Messler et al. 2007). To counteract predation, the stickleback exhibits shoaling behavior and relies heavily on chemical and olfactory pathways to detect predators and control shoal size and foraging activity (Mattern et al. 2007, Peuhkuri 1998).


Great Lakes Means of Introduction: The exact mechanism for introduction is unknown; dispersal via the Welland Canal is a possibility for the eastern Lake Erie populations, Smith (1985) cited movement through the Nipissing Canal and Ottawa River, bait transfer is often cited as a potential (Stedman and Bowman 1985), and the first Lake Superior population was attributed to ballast (Mandrak and Crossman 1992).


Great Lakes Status: Native to Lake Ontario, nonindigenous above Niagara Falls.  Widespread, overwintering and reproducing at self-sustaining levels in the upper Great Lakes.


Great Lakes Impacts: Gasterosteus aculeatus has a moderate environmental impact in the Great Lakes outside of its native range.

This species is known to host to a wide range of parasites.  It is most well studied as the intermediate host for the hermaphroditic parasite Schistocephalus solidus, a tapeworm of fish and fish eating birds (LoBue and Bell 1993, Smith and Kramer 1987). Nearshore populations tend to show much higher infection rates (88%), compared to limnetic populations (12%) (Lester 1971). Schistocephalus solidus reaches reproductive maturity when the fish is ingested by one of up to 40 species of piscivorous birds, which function as the definitive host (Cooper 1918, Smyth 1962). Eggs of the parasite then pass through the bird’s feces and hatch into a larval stage known as a coracidium. This stage is subsequently ingested by the Great Lakes native cycloid copepod Macrocyclops albidus, leading to negative effects on copepod development and reproduction (Wedekind 1997).  Birds feeding intensively on Three-spine stickleback and Arctic charr showed increased transmission rates for bird parasites that use fish as intermediate hosts (Knudsen et al 1996). Stickleback from the Gulf of Gdansk and the Vistula Lagoon can be paratenic hosts for Anguillicola crassus (Rolbiecki 2004), a recent invader to the Great Lakes threatening American eel (Anguilla rostrata).

Although the two species coexist in Lake Ontario, G. aculeatus may compete with the native Ninespine stickleback, Pungitius pungitius. Both species have similar diets, which include zooplankton, oligochaetes, and chironomids (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953; Stedman and Bowen 1985). Spawning sites differ slightly between the two species, however, nesting habitat preferences of G. aculeatus overlap with Pungitus pungitus and G. aculeatus is the dominant competitor for space in the overlap areas (Ketele and Verheyen 1985). In the absence of fish larvae prey, G. aculeatus feeds on Daphnia, placing it in direct competition with whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus in the studied system, but with potential implications for C. clupeaformis in the Great Lakes) (Roch et al 2018). In the Columbia River estuary G. aculeatus diet overlaps with juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) but effects of competition were seasonally variable (Spilseth 2008, Spilseth and Simenstad 2011).

There is little or no evidence to support that Gasterosteus aculeatus has significant socio-economic impacts in the Great Lakes outside of its native range.

The Threespine stickleback is known to prey on the eggs of other fish species, which may cause stress on native fish populations (Page and Laird 1993). This could potentially lead to negative effects on fisheries; however, this has not yet been observed.

Gasterosteus aculeatus has a moderate beneficial effect in the Great Lakes outside of its native range.

Gasterosteus aculeatus serves as an excellent prey item for multiple species present in the Great Lakes, including piscivorous macroinvertebrates, insects, and multiple economically important fish families including perch, pickerel, and salmon as well as double-crested cormorants (Bell et al. 1994, Stedman and Bowen 1985, Vazquez et al 2021, Johnson et al 2002).

This species may serve as a biological control agent against mosquitoes, leading to its stocking being proposed for various water bodies in California (Hubbs 1919, Walton et al 2007, Walsh 2021). 

Due to its extensive phylogeny and history of adaptive radiations, G. aculeatus is a significant study organism for evolutionary biologists trying to understand genetic changes involved in adapting to new environments (e.g., Ensembl 2011). Morphological similarities have independently evolved in populations from separate watersheds on different continents, and the mechanisms driving these local adaptations are of major research interest. Moreover, the abundance of this species and its relative ease to cross, raise, and maintain in the lab make G. aculeatus an excellent animal model for a variety of genetic studies (Mattern et al. 2007) and carcinogen testing (Metcalfe 1989). In addition, the Threespine stickleback has been used as a bioindicator species in research considering the environmental impacts of pollutants (Mattern et al. 2007).


Management: Regulation

Three-spine stickleback is native to Lake Ontario but considered to be expanding its range into the upper Great Lakes.  While established, it appears to currently remain a relatively small component of the benthic preyfish assemblage, nor to be outcompeting brook sticklebacks (Culea inconstans) and nine-spine sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius) which are native to the upper lakes.  As such it is generally considered to be 'naturalized' and not actively managed as an invasive, though it is listed in the MN Nonindigenous Fish Response Plan (Hirsch 1998).


Remarks: The unarmored threespine stickleback G. a. williamsoni has been on the decline in California and has been listed as federally endangered since 1971. The population in Boston, Massachusetts is unique in several ways. It is the southernmost freshwater population, contains 3 distinct lateral-plate morphs, and it represents only the fourth record of low plate individuals. Its urban location is another factor in support of an introduction (Hartel et al. 1996). Hubbs (1919) advocated the stocking of G.aculeatus in natural and artificial water bodies in California as a biological control against mosquitoes.

Gasterosteus aculeatus actually may represent a complex of two or more distinct species; subspecies have been proposed but their ranges are poorly defined (Miller and Hubbs 1969, Page and Burr 1991). Because the taxonomy of this group is so complex, it is probably irresolvable (Gilbert, personal communication). The potential for rapid evolution in G.aculeatus was exhibited following a 1982 chemical eradication program at Loberg Lake, Alaska, whereby the entire freshwater stickleback population was killed off with the intention of increasing lake resources for the trout and salmon populations. Following eradication, anadromous sticklebacks made their way back into the lake through the Cook Inlet. Within the next 12 years, the frequency of the armored (oceanic) form in this stickleback population dropped from 100% to 11%, replaced by an unarmored (freshwater) form which increased to a frequency of 75%, with some intermediate forms making up the remainder (Bell et al. 2004).

Voucher specimens: Illinois (INHS 64211, 64481, 64482, 59309), Michigan (UWZM 8269), Minnesota (USGS-Biological Resources center, Ashland, WI; JFBM), Ohio (OSM), Wisconsin (UWZM 9093, 9094, 9727).


References (click for full reference list)


Author: Fuller, P., K. Dettloff, and R. Sturtevant


Contributing Agencies:
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Revision Date: 1/16/2024


Peer Review Date: 2/6/2015


Citation for this information:
Fuller, P., K. Dettloff, and R. Sturtevant, 2024, Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758: U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL, and NOAA Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System, Ann Arbor, MI, https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/greatlakes/FactSheet.aspx?Species_ID=702&Potential=N&Type=0&HUCNumber=DHuron, Revision Date: 1/16/2024, Peer Review Date: 2/6/2015, Access Date: 3/29/2024

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.