Range and Identity
Gasterosteus aculeatus has a broad northern distribution with migratory and resident populations. Not every population goes to sea. Lake, stream and coastal forms should retain their own locality and life-history context rather than being assigned one universal migration pattern.
Habitat and Behavior
Adults often use shallow vegetated areas over sand or mud and may form schools. Coastal occurrence is generally near shore. Food includes crustaceans, insect larvae, worms and small fishes, with considerable variation among populations and available prey.
Food and Life History
The compiled upper reference is eleven centimeters total length. A smaller freshwater figure in the account should not be treated as a newly verified limit for every distinct population. Males assemble plant material into nests, court females and guard and ventilate the eggs.
Field Note
Record the population's water type and the behavior actually observed. A nesting male and a feeding school represent different activities and should not be used to imply identical behavior throughout the year.
All Lakes With Threespine Stickleback
Browse all lakes and reservoirs with confirmed Threespine Stickleback records in our database, listed alphabetically.
Showing 1–24 of 338 lakes · Page 1 of 15
- A L Chaffin Dam Butte, CA
- Abbott Lake Sutter, CA
- Alisal Creek Santa Barbara, CA
- Antioch Municipal Reservoir Contra Costa, CA
- Arden Bar Pond Sacramento, CA
- Baldwin Reservoir Placer, CA
- Barbara Lake Kenai Peninsula, AK
- Bass Lake El Dorado, CA
- Bear Lake (historical) Sacramento, CA
- Beaver Lake Yolo, CA
- Beaverhouse Lake Matanuska-Susitna, AK
- Bell Canyon Reservoir Napa, CA
- Beltz Lake Stanislaus, CA
- Benbow Lake Humboldt, CA
- Best Slough Yuba, CA
- Bethany Reservoir Alameda, CA
- Big Lake Trinity, CA
- Big Lake (historical) Yolo, CA
- Big Spring Lake, CA
- Bj Robinson Dam Napa, CA
- Blacks Lake Humboldt, CA
- Blackwelder Lake Yuba, CA
- Blodgett Reservoir Sacramento, CA
- Blue Lake Humboldt, CA