Apeltes quadracus (Mitchill, 1815)

Genus Classification

Apeltes is a monospecific genus of ancient ray-finned fish that belongs to Gasterosteidae, the stickleback family. The only species in this genus is Apeltes quadracus, commonly called the fourspine stickleback or bloody stickleback.

General Habitat Range

This species inhabits freshwater, brackish, and benthopelagic environments in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, ranging between Newfoundland and South Carolina. The native distribution of A. quadracus extends from Newfoundland and Quebec south to North Carolina, where it lives close to freshwater shores in well-vegetated areas.

Introduced Populations

It has also been introduced to a small number of freshwater bodies in Pennsylvania, Alabama, New Jersey, and Lake Superior.

Social Behavior

Fourspine sticklebacks are mostly solitary, and spend most of their time near the bottom of lakes.

Diet

They feed on microscopic invertebrates and plankton.

Breeding Age

Most fourspine sticklebacks breed at one year of age, and some individuals survive to breed a second time at age two.

Breeding Season

Their breeding season runs from April through late July, and they often breed at the same time and in the same locations as three other stickleback species: threespine stickleback, ninespine stickleback, and blackspotted stickleback.

Male Nest Building

Males of the species set up territories and build vegetation nests, either on the bottom or on underwater structures; they may build up to five stacked nests.

Male Parental Care

After a male attracts a female and fertilizes her eggs, he guards the nest until the eggs hatch.

Female Reproduction

Female fourspine sticklebacks can produce multiple clutches of eggs in a single year.