Traits: Fish with nine spines on its dorsal (back) fin; animal (vertebrate).

Habitat: Lakes and rivers; spends the winter in deep water, then migrates to shallow water and tributaries to spawn

Foods: Midges, water fleas, copepods, crustaceans, aquatic insects

Eaten by: Arctic char, lake trout, grayling, loons, grebes, terns, gulls, mink, river otters, humans

Do You Know? Sticklebacks can lock their spines upright to prevent predators from swallowing them.