User:Ailsaide/sandbox

= Sander = Sander is a type of fish in the genus sander that lives in the Great Lakes in North America. They are very closely related to the walleye, which lives in the same area. The sander does have a few notable differences, however, including bigger, stronger teeth and a larger body. The sander eats mostly zebra mussels, an invasive species in the Great Lakes, making it highly appreciated by conservationists.

Etymology
The name “sander” seems to have no relevance to the features or behavior of the fish. The leading theory on how the name came about is that the person who named it simply didn’t feel like coming up with a better name and gave it the same name as the genus it falls into.

Evolution
The sander evolved not too long ago from the walleye, when one walleye mutated to have bigger stronger teeth. This fish found that it could now eat zebra mussels, which are an invasive species plentiful in the Great Lakes, brought there by accident in 1986 by a boat from Europe. The mutated gene was pasAsed on, and the fish with this gene became the sander. With this new, plentiful food source, the sander ballooned in size, from an average of about 10 pounds to over 20 pounds.

Ecosystem
The sander is much appreciated by Great Lakes conservationists, for the reason that its primary food source is zebra mussels. Zebra mussels have been wreaking havoc on the ecosystem in the Great Lakes area since their arrival there in the 1980s. They will latch on to anything and everything, including boat engines, the insides of pipes, the backs of crayfish, and even on other types of mussels. They also feed by filtering algae out of the water, which other animals need for food. They reproduce so fast that there is no way to get rid of them completely. However, the sander does an excellent job of keeping the mussel population in check. The also have a symbiotic relationship with crayfish, as well as other mussels, in which the sander will eat the mussels off of the other animal, and the other animal is now mussel-free.

Habitat and Population
The sander lives in the deeper parts of the Great Lakes, much like its cousin the walleye. This is because zebra mussels tend to live in deeper water.

Food chain
The sander, like the walleye, is at the top of the food chain and has no natural predators except humans.

Familial structure
Sander have been seen thriving both in groups and alone, and it is speculated that individual fish will switch between staying in a group and living alone.

Anatomy and Physiology
Sander notably have very large, strong teeth that they use to break open and eat zebra mussels. They are ray-finned, meaning that they have long spines through their first dorsal fin. They have a lightly forked caudal fin, and large eyes that held them to see in dark, murky water.

Impact
Sander have greatly improved the health of the Great Lakes. They help to keep down the population of the invasive and problematic zebra mussel. The ecosystem in this area is still not what it once was, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was when the zebra mussel had no predators.