Biodiversity of St. Lawrence River

The aquarium tanks of Aquatarium in Brockville, Ontario

You can find the biodiversity of the St. Lawrence River at the Aquatarium of City of Brockville. The Keystorm pilothouse inside water tank of Aquatarium has been reconstructed to observe the unique St. Lawrence River ecosystems. The Keystorm was a mighty 258-foot cargo steamer built in Britain in 1909 that met its unfortunate demise while navigating the treacherous shipping channels of the St. Lawrence River. This legendary shipwreck remains submerged in the St. Lawrence today and is a popular diving destination.

Aquatarium-in-Brockville

Largemouth Bass(Micropterus salmoides)

Largemouth Bass are adapted to a variety of habitats, from clear, rocky lakes to shallow muddy ponds and slow-moving rivers. Largemouth bass prefer warm water with lots of aquatic vegetation.

Bowfin(Amia calva)

The Bowfin is the only living representative of an ancient family of fishes. It has an air-bladder that functions like a lung, and can be seen gulping air.

Northern Pike(Esox lucius)

Pike catch their food largely by stealth and lightning-fast acceleration, taking their prey unawares. They mainly eat fish, but have been known to catch ducklings and small mammals.

Smallmouth Bass(Micropterus dolomieu)

Smallmouth Bass have characteristics that are typical of carnivorous fish predators: cryptic colouration, a streamlined body that helps them avoid detection by their prey, ana a large mouth helps them quickly catch other fish.

Walleye(Sander vitreus)

The Walleye gets its name from its large eyes with light-reflecting retinas, which give the fish its walleyed appearance. Walleye are sometimes called Pickerel and Yellow Pike.

Fallfish(Semotilus corporalis)

The Fallfish is a large minnow that can reach 50 cm (20″) in length. Like other chub species, fallfish are nest-builders. The males build the nest and guards the eggs.

aquarium-tanks-of-Aquatarium

Yellow Perch(Perca flavescens)

Yellow Perch are an important food source for freshwater predators, such as walleye, northern pike, herring gulls and diving ducks. They are relatively poor swimmers, because they can’t accelerate quickly.

White Sucker(Catostomus commersonii)

White Sucker gets its name from its sucker mouth – it has fleshy lips at the bottom of its head and eats insects, crustaceans, mollusks and annelids from the bottom of the river.

Bullhead(Ameiurus nebulosus)

Brown Bullheads have slippery, scale-less skin that is olive to dark brown in colour. They defend themselves from predators using the spines on their fins, which are capable of inflicting painful wounds.

Lake Sturgeon(Acipenser fulvescens)

This ancient family of fished has been around since the dinosaurs were at the height of their development. They have no scales but are covered by five rows of bony plates.

Silver Redhorse(Moxostoma anisurum)

The Silver Redhorse is in the Catosmidae family with other suckers. It typically weighs 2-5 pounds and measures 18-24 inches long, but it can reach 10 pounds and 30 inches.

Black Crappie(Pomoxis nigromaculatus)

The Black Crappie is a popular sports fish. It feeds at dusk and dawn on small fish, crustaceans and insects.

I enjoyed seeing the unique St. Lawrence River ecosystems within multiple aquarium habitats of Aquatarium in the City of Brockville.