Another source, a little dated now but very complete, is Crossman's Fishes of Canada. Check Hubbs and Lagler's, Fishes of the Great Lakes Region, too. I have an original (first edition) with the really nice hand painted plates. Lots of stuff to read, some of it of great historical as well as current interest.
Had the privilege of collecting with Joe Nelson, of the University of Alberta and author of successive editions of Fishes of the World (and come to think of it, Fishes of Alberta, too, another boreal forest source that lists 59 species in 15 families for the province)-in-an ASIH meeting in the mid-nineties. Joe was keen on a population of "pelvicless" sticklebacks that occurred in a glacial pothole lake in a region NW of Edmonton of mixed boreal forest and northern prairie. Beautiful country! And we did collect a rather nice mix of riverine and lake species from the locations we visited -- including my only experience with _Couseious plumbei_.
Some of the most beautiful fishes of both N. America and Eurasia occur in boreal forest streams and lakes. Arctic grayling, bull trout, sticklebacks. And some fishes with bizarre adaptations. The Alaskan blackfish (_Dallia pectoralis_), which freezes into the ice of large rivers and lakes in winter, and swims again with the thaw. Many of the boreal fishes range into tundra and prairie waters as well, with some entering the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans, too.
But you're right that the diversity is relatively low, and many small streams and ponds lack any fish whatsoever except for sticklebacks.
Dave
David L. McNeely, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
Langston University; P.O. Box 1500
Langston, OK 73050; email: dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
telephone: (405) 466-6025; fax: 405) 466-3307
home page http://www.lunet.edu/mcneely/index.htm
"Where are we going?" "I don't know, are we there yet?"
----- Original Message -----
From: Snailcollector-in-cs.com
Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2005 4:19 pm
Subject: NANFA-L-- Boreal fishes
> What kind of fishes live in the boreal forest? I would guess not
> many,
> because of the cold and acidity.
>
> Thanks,
> Andrew
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------
> ----------------------------------------------Invertebrates, they
> may be
> spineless, but they are the backbone of nature.
>
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