Fish
Emerald Shiner
Notropis atherinoides · also called emerald shiners
Beneath the surface of a Great Lake, a school of emerald shiners numbering well into the millions moves as a single shifting mass, an enormous, largely unseen food source quietly supporting nearly every larger predatory fish and diving bird sharing the same water.
Overview
The emerald shiner, Notropis atherinoides, is a small, translucent minnow native to large lakes and rivers across a broad range of North America, including the Great Lakes. Its enormous schooling numbers and critical role as forage for larger predators make it one of the most ecologically foundational small fish species on the continent.
A single species holding up an entire food web
Few individual fish species carry as much ecological weight as the emerald shiner, whose sheer numbers make it a foundational food source that countless larger predators across an entire lake or river system have come to depend on.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and extremely abundant across suitable large lake and river habitat throughout North America.
Emerald Shiner: common questions
Why is the emerald shiner so important to other wildlife?
An emerald shiner serves as a critically important forage fish, with schools numbering in the millions providing a foundational food source for larger predatory fish, birds, and other wildlife across large lakes and rivers, meaning changes in emerald shiner abundance can ripple through an entire local food web.
How large can an emerald shiner school get?
An emerald shiner forms enormous schools that can number in the millions of individuals within large lakes and rivers, among the largest aggregations recorded for any North American freshwater fish species.
Does the emerald shiner stay near the bottom like many minnows?
No, the emerald shiner typically swims in open water well above the bottom, a schooling habit in open water that differs from several more bottom-oriented minnow relatives, which spend more time foraging directly on or near the substrate.
Where does the emerald shiner live?
The emerald shiner is native to large lakes and rivers across a broad range of North America, including the Great Lakes and major river systems, generally favouring open water over shallow, vegetated margins.