A Naturalist’s Guide to the Fishes of Ohio

About this book

A Naturalist's Guide to the Fishes of Ohio represents the first comprehensive treatment of Ohio's fish species since M.B. Trautman's 1981 revision of The Fishes of Ohio. Illustrated with beautiful full-colour photographs, this guide presents detailed information for 187 species of native and non-native fish, including recent introductions and several extinct or extirpated species. Each account offers field identification notes, population trends, spawning habits, the best sites to encounter each species, and distribution maps showing current and historical collection records. Easy-to-read graphics indicate each species' habitat preference and vulnerability to extirpation, and the engaging, informative descriptions provide interesting facts and useful cultural and historical context. This book will be a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in the natural history of the Midwest, and in learning more about Ohio's diverse, colourful, and unusual aquatic wildlife.

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Biography

Daniel Rice, a native of southern Indiana, earned his BS in Zoology from the University of Missouri in 1973 and completed his MS in Zoology at The Ohio State University in 1976. Hired by The Nature Conservancy as the first zoologist for the Ohio Natural Heritage Program, Dan joined the ODNR Division of Natural Areas and Preserves in 1979. Trained in terrestrial ecology in the Ohio Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit at OSU, Dan was introduced to fish in 1980 at Otterbein College, where he and Dr George Phinney initiated a survey of Ohio glacial lakes to document populations of the Iowa Darter and other rare fish. Until his retirement in 2002, Dan enjoyed working with students and biologists in the study of many of Ohio's rarer animals. Dan is co-author of The Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas and Native Fishes of Ohio, and of a number of papers documenting the occurrence of rare species of fish and bivalves in Ohio.

Brian Zimmerman has been captivated by native North American freshwater fish since high school when his grandmother presented him with a copy of Milton B. Trautman's Fishes of Ohio. He received his bachelor's degree at Heidelberg College, where he double-majored in Water Resources and Environmental Biology with Dr Ken Baker before completing his MS in Aquatic Ecology under Dr Jeff Minor at Bowling Green State University. Brian worked at several jobs in the fisheries field but was finally able to pursue his interest in surveying Ohio's fish and updating their distribution when he began the Fishes of Ohio Inventory project through Ohio State University, which provided much of the information that made this book possible.