Nile perch,Lates niloticus,predation on the freshwater prawn,Caridina nilotica,in the Nyanza Gulf,Lake Victoria,East Africa |
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Authors: | Nicholas F Hughes |
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Institution: | (1) The Queen's College, Oxford University, Oxford, England;(2) Present address: Alaska Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Arctic Health Research Building, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, U.S.A. |
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Abstract: | Synopsis The percentage of Nile perch, Lates niloticus, containing the prawn, Caridina nilotica, declined from 60–85%, for fish between 5 and 40 cm total length, to less than 10% for fish larger than 80 cm in length. The maximum number of prawns eaten by a Nile perch increased steadily, from 10 prawns for a fish in the 5–9.9 cm length group, to 913 prawns in a fish in the 60–69.9 cm length group, and then fell sharply for larger fish. The mean number of Caridina eaten by fish that were foraging on this animal followed a similar trend. Gill raker spacing increased in direct proportion to fish length and this may prevent fish larger than 70 cm in length from being effective prawn predators. |
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Keywords: | Crustacean Feeding habits Fish Gill rakers Introduced predator |
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