Steven Cooke & David P. Philipp 
Centrarchid Fishes 
Diversity, Biology and Conservation

Centrarchid fishes, also known as freshwater sunfishes, include such prominent species as the Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass and Bluegill. They are endemic to Eastern North America where they form part of a multi-million dollar sports fishing industry, but they have also been widely introduced around the globe by recreational anglers, in aquaculture programs and by government fisheries agencies.

Centrarchid Fishes provides comprehensive coverage of all major aspects of this ecologically and commercially important group of fishes. Coverage includes diversity, ecomorphology, phylogeny and genetics, hybridization, reproduction, early life history and recruitment, feeding and growth, ecology, migrations, bioenergetics, physiology, diseases, aquaculture, fisheries management and conservation. Chapters have been written by well-known and respected scientists and the whole has been drawn together by Professors Cooke and Philipp, themselves extremely well respected in the area of fisheries management and conservation.

Centrarchid Fishes is an essential purchase for all fish biologists, ecologists, fisheries managers and fish farm personnel who work with centrarchid species across the globe.

Table of Content

Introduction – Diversity of centrarchid fishes.

Ecomorphology.

Phylogenetic relationships and genetics.

Hybridization.

Reproduction and parental care.

Alternative reproductive tactics and sociobiology.

Early life history and recruitment.

Feeding, nutrition, and growth.

Population and community ecology.

Movement and migrations.

Bioenergetics.

Organismal performance, tolerances, and physiological
constraints.

Winter ecology of centrarchid fish.

Immunocompetancy and disease.

Issues in centrarchid aquaculture.

Issues in centrarchid management and conservation.

Patterns in centrarchid ecological diversity – conclusions
and a research agenda

About the author

Steven J Cooke is Assistant Professor in Environmental
Science and Biology and Director of the Fish Ecology and
Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Carleton University, Ottawa,
Canada



David P Philipp is Principal Scientist at the Illinois
Natural History Survey and is a Professor in three departments at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA