Northern Hog Sucker

The northern hogsucker is native to southern Canada and much of the eastern and southern United States. It lives in the rivers of the Mississippi River Basin, its range extending from Oklahoma and Alabama northward to Minnesota. It is present in the Great Lakes and rivers of the mid-Atlantic region. Its current range is similar to its historical distribution, except in western areas, where it has experienced some extirpations. Habitat disturbance due to agricultural practices in states such as South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma have contributed to the extirpation events.

The fish can be found in or next to riffle areas in warm water, medium-sized creeks and small rivers. It can also occur in cold water streams, tiny creeks and large rivers and on occasion in reservoirs. Its diet mainly consists of insect larvae, crustaceans, mollusks, diatoms, and bits of vegetation. While feeding, it scrapes of the top surface of rubble, turns over stones on the bottom, and sucks the loosened material which contains a variety of small organisms. As it feeds, other fish, such as shiners and smallmouth bass position themselves downstream to feed on the free-flowing materials the hogsucker roots up.

Although the species is not currently found on any state or federal threatened and endangered listings, it is still susceptible to the manmade influences that have affected other freshwater fish species. Channelization, sedimentation, pollution, and dam construction always have the potential to alter populations of the species. Lack of suitable spawning habitat could be a detriment in the future and should be monitored closely. Sedimentation degrades living and breeding habitat within the streams. Changes in the temperature of streams as result of urban runoff can prove to be a problem for their habitats H. nigricans can be found in national and state parks throughout its range, the largest being the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is common throughout all streams in the park up to 2,800 feet (850 m) in elevation. It is protected in park habitat.