retreat of the glacial caps. The brook stickleback can be found from the northern parts of the Canadian interior all the way down to southern reaches of the United States. Protecting such diversity of locations is key to local ecosystem, as well as the integrity of the species. Current management practices for endangered species of fish should continue their progress because they could be having indirect effects on protecting the brook stickleback. Keeping certain invasive species out of lakes occupied by the brook stickleback could ensure a protect environment from predators. With its armored plates and spines, the brook stickleback has well adapted itself to the current predators it encounters. However, invasive species with better-adapted predatory behavior and shell crushing mouth construction could decimate certain brook stickleback populations. With such successful habitat colonization, this species should be managed using gill nets to track the number of individuals or populations across specific regions. Yearly samples would be most beneficial since the brook stickleback is an annual species. Tracking their progress in increasing or declining numbers would help conservationists categorize specific threats for that region. References Gasterosteidae Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States) Fish of North America Fish of the Great Lakes Monotypic fish genera Taxa named by Jared Potter Kirtland Fish described in 1840 Freshwater fish of North America