The effects of intraspecific competition on the prey capture behavior and kinematics of the bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus |
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Authors: | Janne A Pfeiffenberger Philip J Motta |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, 4202 E Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620, USA;(2) Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W University Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA |
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Abstract: | Competition has broad effects on fish and specifically the effects of competition on the prey capture kinematics and behavior
are important for the assessment of future prey capture studies in bony fishes. Prey capture kinematics and behavior in bony
fishes have been shown to be affected by temperature and satiation. The densities at which bony fish are kept have also been
shown to affect their growth, behavior, prey selection, feeding and physiology. We investigated how density induced intraspecific
competition for food affects the prey capture kinematics of juvenile bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus. High speed video was utilized to film five bold individuals feeding at three different densities representing different
levels of intraspecific competition. We hypothesized that: (1) the feeding kinematics will be faster at higher levels of competition
compared to lower levels of competition, and (2) bluegill should shift from more suction-based feeding towards more ram-based
feeding with increasing levels of competition in order to outcompete conspecifics for a prey item. We found that, with increased
intraspecific competition, prey capture became faster, involving more rapid jaw opening and therefore greater inertial suction,
shorter mouth closing times, and shorter gape cycles. Furthermore, the attack velocity of the fish increased with increasing
competition, however a shift towards primarily ram based feeding was not confirmed. Our study demonstrates that prey capture
kinematics are affected by the presence of conspecifics and future studies need to consider the effects of competition on
prey capture kinematics. |
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