Fish is divided here into marine and anadromous sub-categories. (Purely freshwater fish—who never visit saltwater—are limited to a few sculpins and sticklebacks.) Explore those sub-categories or view the entire JuneauNature hierarchy at this site map.
Prickly sculpin (Cottis asper) hosts a fascinating parasite, even serving as colonization vector. The freshwater mollusk Anodonta has a bizarre life history. Tiny, toothed larvae attach to gills of sticklebacks, sculpins or salmonids and are sometimes carried to new lakes before the spat release and drop to the bottom. Formerly abundant on loose flocculent covering the shallow margins of Áak’w, little lake (Auke), mussels are now hard to find. Mussels are sensitive indicators of water quality, and have perhaps declined due to elevated hydrocarbons with increased jet skis. In Áak’w, the sculpin and sticklebacks (Gasterosteus) have likewise declined (Moles & Marty, 2005).