Bass
Striped Bass. Credit: Timothy Knepp/public domain

Black basses are one of the most cherished and economically important types of freshwater game fish. Their findings can help guide the management of bass species that are ranked among the world's most Invasive organisms.

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports on June 6. The largemouth bass and Florida bass have been misclassified over the course of 75 years. The largemouth bass and Florida bass have been wrongly named.

Micropterus salmoides is the correct scientific name for the Florida bass and Micropterus nigricans is the oldest scientific name for largemouth bass. The introduction of the largemouth bass and Florida bass in 57 countries on every continent except Antarctica is due to the misapplied scientific name Micropterus salmoides.

Kim said that black bass is important to conserve species diversity and manage the game fish.

Kim said that their work gave a novel perspective on the diversity of black bass species. TheRelocating species from their natural ranges and mixing them for the purpose of stocking ponds and lakes can threaten species diversity Understanding the boundaries of the different species protects the bass.

Kim was a co-author of the study with Andrew Taylor of the University of Central Oklahoma.

All recognized black bass species and identified species that lack scientific descriptions were analyzed by the researchers. Specimens were collected by the authors and their colleagues. The specimen from the Yale Peabody Museum was included.

In order to sequence hundreds of thousands of genes for each individual fish, the researchers had to extract the genetic material from the specimen's tissues. The researchers used the samples to figure out their relation to each other.

Black basses were the first to be analyzed with this analysis. Kim said the results were different than previous analyses.

Bartram's bass and Altahama bass in the Red Eye bass species complex are well-known species that lack scientific descriptions.

The Little River system in southeast Oklahoma and the Ouachita River system in northwest Arkansas are home to two species of smallmouth bass that have not been described. Both species need to be protected because of degraded habitat in the two rivers. As members of the smallmouth bass complex, the species need fast and cold streams. There are only a few upstream tributaries of the two rivers left today.

Better understanding of species diversity would help reduce hybridization between bass species, which can harm commercial recreational fishing.

Both Florida bass and largemouth bass are listed in field guides as incorrect. The Florida bass is a good bass for sport fishing. The two species will produce hybrid when they are stocked together.

According to Near, hybrid fish are less able to survive to reproduce. The resulting hybrid can cause problems for both species populations.

Largemouth bass and Florida bass have been in stock for over a century. Micropterus salmoides is an Invasive species. Largemouth bass were prized by anglers in South Korea but also considered a serious problem.

He said that the study shows that largemouth bass are part of a complex. Largemouth bass were stocked throughout South Korea and East Asia, but they don't know what species they are dealing with. The work we do can help address this issue.

More information: Daemin Kim et al, Phylogenomics and species delimitation of the economically important Black Basses (Micropterus), Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-11743-2 Journal information: Scientific Reports