Facultative schooling behavior in the spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius): possible costs and benefits

Synopsis If an individual is less susceptible to predation in a group it should be able to reduce its vigilance for predators and perhaps also its tendency to flee from predators, thereby gaining time and energy for feeding and other activities. These predictions were examined in the field (Veronica Lake, northwestern Ontario) using a facultative schooling species, the spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius). Schools of various sizes attacked with a fish predator model had a significantly lower reaction distance to the predator than solitary shiners. Solitary shiners must therefore invest more time and energy in defense but may gain a feeding advantage because their visual field does not overlap with conspecific competitors.     

Postglacial colonization shows evidence for sympatric population splitting of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis L) in Lake Constance

Previous microsatellite analysis showed that two subpopulations of perch (Perca fluviatilis L) exist in Lake Constance. This raises questions of whether (i). Lake Constance was colonized by two populations that diverged in allopatry, or (ii). the two subpopulations diverged in sympatry. Sequence analysis of a 365 bp mtDNA fragment (5'-end of the D-loop) of perch from Lake Constance and adjacent waters revealed 10 haplotypes. We suggest colonization via the Danube river, based on the frequency and dispersion of haplotypes, and knowledge of the lake's palaeohydrological development. Pairwise FST-values using mitochondrial DNA sequences showed no significant population subdivision. Our study provides strong evidence that subpopulations of perch in Lake Constance have diverged in sympatry.     

Omitted spawning in compensatory-growing perch

Individual growth trajectories of perch Perca fluviatilis in a Swedish forest lake (sampled in March) revealed growth depression at intermediate sizes, followed by enhanced, compensatory growth at larger sizes. All males of age ≥3+ years had mature, almost ripe testes. The proportion of spawning females was higher at age 3+ years (79%) than at older ages (44%), indicating that older females with non-developing ovaries were resting rather than immature juveniles. Resting females were 175–247 mm in total length ( L _T), and they were usually in a state of increasing annual growth. Spawning females were of more variable size (123–418 mm), and the larger ones had entered the faster growing state ≥2+ years before catch. Detectable growth costs of spawning indicated that resting females made a trade-off between current and future reproduction, rather than being constrained by poor feeding conditions.     

Variation in tolerance to hypoxia in a predator and prey species: an ecological advantage of being small?

Three physiological variables, haematocrit, haemoglobin concentration and ventilation frequency, were measured to test how fathead minnows Pimephales promelas and small and large yellow perch Perca flavescens responded to three different dissolved oxygen concentrations. All fish were monitored continuously for any indications of stress in response to these manipulations. Within and between species, smaller individuals were the most tolerant of hypoxic environments. A species effect, however, did contribute to this observation, with fathead minnows being more tolerant of hypoxic environments than similar-sized yellow perch. In aquatic ecosystems where smaller fishes are more tolerant to hypoxia than their larger predators, hypoxic environments may have the potential to act as a refuge from predators.     

Food evacuation and models for multiple meals in fishes

Synopsis A model describing evacuation of multiple meals in fishes is experimentally tested. It is shown that the total food quantity is evacuated according to the pattern and at the rate predicted by the model. The mathematical assumption inherent in the model is, however, erroneous as the evacuation of different meals is shown to occur at different rates. The consequences of this for studies of food consumption rates in fishes are discussed.     

Seasonal growth and year class strength variations of perch near the northern limits of its distribution range

The effects of temperature on seasonal growth and year class strength of perch Perca fluviatilis were studied in a subarctic lake in northern Finland. Two growth models, power and von Bertalanffy, were used to estimate the growth of perch during the growing season from 1988 to 1990. Air temperature, estimated as degree-days >10° C, significantly improved both model fits. The sum of degree-days also correlated positively with the year class strength of perch. The strongest year class was born in a warm summer 1988, while the 1987 year class was totally absent, which was due to the very cold summer of that year. The backcalculation of lengths of fish caught in 1990 showed that the overall growth of perch was slow in the cold summer of 1987 and relatively rapid in the warm summer of 1988. The subsequent growth of the abundant 1988 year class was rapid, even though the summers of 1991 and 1992 were relatively cool. The improved growth could be due to the lack of competition with previous weak year classes of 1986 and 1987. This observation suggests that density-dependent factors might affect growth even near the northern limits of the distribution range of perch.     

Habitat-choice interactions between pike predators and perch prey depend on water transparency

A mesocosm experiment indicated that water transparency influenced antipredator behaviour in young-of-the-year perch Perca fluviatilis , which partly contradicts another study by showing that high transparency decreases rather than increases perch antipredatory use of vegetated habitats when predators are also free to choose habitat. The present study emphasizes the importance of simultaneously considering both prey and predator habitat-choice behaviours when evaluating predator–prey interactions in relation to water visibility     

Distribution of the bathypelagic perch fry layer along the longitudinal profile of two large canyon-shaped reservoirs

The distribution of the bathypelagic perch Perca fluviatilis fry (BPF) layer and its qualitative and quantitative changes were studied along the longitudinal profiles of the large canyon-shaped Slapy and Orlík Reservoirs (Czech Republic), using acoustic methods (SIMRAD EY500 echosounder, split-beam transducer, Sonar5 post-processing software). In Slapy Reservoir (sampled in late May), the BPF layer created by the mass of non-shoaling perch larvae and juveniles (average total length, L _T, 10·4 mm) was recorded from the dam for 29 km upstream. The BPF layer only vanished in the upper third of the reservoir due to the extremely cold hypolimnetic water discharged from Orlík Reservoir, which is situated upstream in the cascade. Both abundance and size of BPF increased significantly upstream following, in Slapy Reservoir, the trophic gradient. In Orlík Reservoir (sampled in late June), the BPF layer was created predominantly by shoaling perch fry individuals (average L _T 31·8 mm), recorded along the whole longitudinal profile of the reservoir (>50 km, filled with relatively warm water). Both the sizes of BPF and their shoaling activity again increased significantly from the dam towards the inflow following, in Orlík Reservoir, the trophic gradient. Pooling the data from both reservoirs, it was evident that the tendency to flock in a dense layer and, much later, to create distinct shoals, increased continuously with the size of BPF. A number of variables describing the BPF layer in Slapy and Orlík Reservoir are given.     

Effect of water temperature and size of females on the timing of spawning of perch Perca fluviatilis L. in Lake Geneva from 1984 to 2003

The effects of water temperature on the timing of spawning of perch Perca fluviatilis in Lake Geneva were assessed in a 20 year survey (1984–2003). Spawning started at the end of April or at the beginning of May, when the water temperature rose to >10° C, but most of the spawns were laid when water temperature exceeded 12° C. This led to a positive correlation between the date of the mid-spawning period and the date when the water temperature rose to >12° C. Large perch had a tendency to spawn later than the small ones, which led to a positive correlation between the date of mid-spawning period and the yearly mean width of perch egg-ribbons. The coefficient of multiple determination between the date of mid-spawning period and the mean width of the ribbon of spawn, combined with the date when the water temperature rose to >12° C was r ²= 0·77. The perch generally chose deeper spawning places (12 m) at the end of the spawning period than at the beginning (4 m), which was related to water temperature.     

Cryptic barriers to dispersal within a lake allow genetic differentiation of Eurasian perch

Gene flow between coexisting or nearby populations normally prevents genetic divergence and local adaptation. Despite this, there are an increasing number of reports of sympatric sister taxa, indicating potential divergence and speciation in the face of gene flow. A large number of such reported cases involve lake-dwelling fish, which are expected to run into few physical barriers to dispersal within their aquatic habitat. However, such cases may not necessarily reflect sympatric speciation if cryptic dispersal barriers are common in lakes and other aquatic systems. In this study, we examined genetic differentiation in perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) from nine locations in a single, small lake (24 km(2)), using microsatellites. We detected significant genetic differentiation in all but two pairwise comparisons. These patterns were not consistent with divergence by distance or the existence of kin groups. Instead, they suggest that cryptic barriers to dispersal exist within the lake, allowing small-scale genetic divergence. Such an observation suggests that allopatric (or parapatric) divergence may be possible, even in small, apparently homogenous environments such as lakes. This has important consequences for how we currently view evidence from nature for sympatric speciation.