Editing Mississippi River (section)

==Ecology==
{{Further|Mississippi River System#Ecology}}
[[File:Paddlefish underwater.jpeg|thumb|The [[American paddlefish]] is an ancient [[Relict (biology)|relict]] from the Mississippi]]

The Mississippi basin is home to a highly diverse aquatic [[fauna]] and has been called the "mother fauna" of North American freshwater.<ref name=Matthews1998>{{cite book |author=Matthews, W.J. |title=Patterns in Freshwater Fish Ecology |year=1998 |pages=5 and 236 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4615-4066-3}}</ref>

===Fish===
About 375 fish species are known from the Mississippi basin, far exceeding other North Hemisphere river basins exclusively within temperate/subtropical regions,<ref name=Matthews1998/> except the [[Yangtze]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Ye, S. |author2=Li, Z. |author3=Liu, J. |author4=Zhang, T. |author5=Xie, S. |chapter=Distribution, Endemism and Conservation Status of Fishes in the Yangtze River Basin, China |year=2011 |pages=41–66 |title=Ecosystems Biodiversity |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-953-307-417-7}}</ref> Within the Mississippi basin, streams that have their source in the Appalachian and [[Ozark]] highlands contain especially many species. Among the fish species in the basin are numerous [[endemic]]s, as well as [[Relict (biology)|relicts]] such as [[American paddlefish|paddlefish]], [[sturgeon]], [[gar]] and [[bowfin]].<ref name=Matthews1998/>

Because of its size and high species diversity, the Mississippi basin is often divided into subregions. The Upper Mississippi River alone is home to about 120 fish species, including [[walleye]], [[sauger]], [[largemouth bass]], [[smallmouth bass]], [[white bass]], [[northern pike]], [[bluegill]], [[crappie]], [[channel catfish]], [[flathead catfish]], [[common shiner]], [[freshwater drum]], and [[shovelnose sturgeon]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Fish of the Mississippi River |url=https://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Portals/48/docs/Recreation/ODM/pdf/Fish%20of%20the%20Mississippi%20River.pdf |access-date=March 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224103239/http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Portals/48/docs/Recreation/ODM/pdf/Fish%20of%20the%20Mississippi%20River.pdf |archive-date=February 24, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fish Species of the Mississippi River |url=http://bestdamfishingfloat.com/fish-species-of-the-mississippi-river/ |access-date=March 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012121314/http://bestdamfishingfloat.com/fish-species-of-the-mississippi-river/ |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Other fauna===
A large number of reptiles are native to the river channels and basin, including [[American alligator]]s, several species of turtle, aquatic amphibians,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Conant, R. |author2=J.T. Collins |title=Reptiles and Amphibians, Eastern and Central North America |year=1998 |series=Peterson Field Guides |edition=3 |isbn=0-395-90452-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetorept00cona_0 |access-date=August 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025033222/https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetorept00cona_0 |archive-date=October 25, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[cambaridae]] crayfish, are native to the Mississippi basin.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hobbs, H.H. Jr. |title=An Illustrated Checklist of the American Crayfishes (Decapoda, Astacidae, Cambaridae, Parastacidae) |year=1989 |journal=Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology |volume=480 |issue=480 |pages=1–236 |doi=10.5479/si.00810282.480}}</ref>

In addition, approximately 40% of the [[migratory birds]] in the US use the Mississippi River corridor during the Spring and Fall migrations; 60% of all migratory birds in [[North America]] (326 species) use the river basin as their flyway.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Blvd |first1=Mailing Address: 111 E. Kellogg |last2=Paul |first2=Suite 105 Saint |last3=Us |first3=MN 55101 Phone: 651 293-0200 This is the general phone line at the Mississippi River Visitor Center Contact |title=Mississippi River Facts – Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/miss/riverfacts.htm |access-date=July 4, 2022 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en |archive-date=November 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117213831/https://www.nps.gov/miss/riverfacts.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Introduced species===
Numerous [[introduced species]] are found in the Mississippi and some of these are [[Invasive species|invasive]]. Among the introductions are fish such as [[Asian carp in North America|Asian carp]], including the [[silver carp]] that have become infamous for out-competing native fish and their potentially dangerous [[Asian carp in North America#Jumping ability|jumping behavior]]. They have spread throughout much of the basin, even approaching (but not yet invading) the Great Lakes.<ref>{{cite news |author=Matheny, K. |date=December 23, 2016 |title=Invasive Asian carp less than 50 miles from Lake Michigan |url=http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/12/22/asian-carp-great-lakes-michigan/93970746/ |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |access-date=June 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625090825/http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/12/22/asian-carp-great-lakes-michigan/93970746/ |archive-date=June 25, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]] has designated much of the Mississippi River in the state as infested waters by the exotic species [[zebra mussel]]s and [[Eurasian watermilfoil]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Designation of Infested Waters |publisher=[[Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]] |url=http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/ais/infested.html |access-date=May 31, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140601003658/http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/ais/infested.html |archive-date=June 1, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>